By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos courtesy of AP, AFP and EPA
University Tips is here to help you prepare for the English exams and tests that are coming your way. It gives you practise answering questions similar to those you may have at school and also on the University Entrance Examination.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Capoeira, the national sport of Brazil, is a martial art with powerful movements set to Brazilian beats similar to samba. Capoeira is a combination of combat, dance, music, philosophy, strategy and the Brazilian way of life.
The movements are sometimes slow, complex and deceptive, like a dance. Other times, they are fast, beautiful and striking, like gymnastics.
The sport is required in all Brazilian schools’ physical education curriculum. There are national and international competitions, and the Brazilian government has been trying to push Capoeira into the Olympics.
A recent show was performed by the Movimentos Simples de Capoeira Thailand, led by Tong Buddha Bless, with help from Professor Rafael Barbosa Rosario, a Brazilian national from Movimento Simples de Capoeira Malaysia.
Palakorn Junpokapaiboon, Laila Mitnoi, Nipitpon Pholcharoen and Vasu Sunsaksawat, who have practised Capoeira with the group for more than 10 years, also performed. The event also featured a performance by Bangkok Batucada, which is considered the first Batucada team in Thailand. Batucada is a distinctive style of samba.
The audience could see Capoeira, Maculele (an Afro-Brazilian stick dance), Batucada and a bit of street Samba dance. There were three rounds each day, at 1 pm, 3 pm and 6 pm, at the Event Hall of The Mall Bangkae, Phetkasem Road. There was no admission fee.
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about Capoeira?
a. Capoeira is the national sport of Nigeria.
b. Capoeira is only taught at physical education colleges in Brazil.
c. Capoeira is taught at all Brazilian schools.
2. Which of the following best describes Capoeira?
a. It is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines dance, music and fighting.
b. It is a sport in which you fight with sticks.
c. It is a method of self-defence in which you try to throw your opponent onto the ground.
3. Where is Professor Rafael Barbosa Rosario from?
a. Thailand.
b. Brazil.
c. Indonesia.
4. What are Capoeira movements like?
a. They are slow, complex and deceptive.
b. They are fast, beautiful and striking.
c. Both a and b are correct.
5. Where is The Mall Bangkae located?
a. On Phetkasem Road.
b. On Sukhumvit Road.
c. On Ratchadaphisek Road.
Section 2
Specify whether the underlined words in each of the following sentences is used as a verb, noun or adjective.
6. All Brazilian schools teach Capoeira as part of physical education.
…………………
7. Some Thai people have been practising Capoeira for more than ten years.
…………………
8. Maculele is a type of street samba dance.
…………………
9. Rafael Barbosa Rosario is a Brazilian national.
…………………
Section 3
Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.
It is …..10….. that Capoeira was created nearly 500 years ago by African …..11….. in Brazil. Taken from their homes against …..12….. will and kept in slavery, they invented fighting techniques for self-defense. .....13….. hide their combat moves from their captors, the African slaves used their …..14….. music, singing and dancing. Capoeira continued …..15….. develop and soon became used not only for self-defense, …..16….. also for rebellion.
10.
a. believe
b. believing
c. believed
11.
a. slave
b. slaves
c. slavery
12.
a. they
b. them
c. their
13.
a. To
b. For
c. In
14.
a. traditions
b. tradition
c. traditional
15.
a. on
b. to
c. onto
16.
a. despite
b. because
c. but
Section 4
Read each of the following sentences and underline the grammatically correct words in each from the choices given.
17. Capoeira is a system of physical discipline and movement that originated above/about/among Brazilian slaves.
18. Martial arts were first develop/developed/developer in Eastern Asia.
19. A fight broke out/broke up/broke away between the two gangs.
20. He is an expert/expertise/experts in physical education.
Section 5
Write down the adjective forms of the following words used in the story.
21. art ……………….
22. education ……………….
23. gymnastics ……………….
24. practiced ……………….
Vocabulary
- national (adj): connected with a particular nation
deceptive (adj): likely to make you believe something that is not true
striking (adj): interesting and unusual enough to attract attention
