Physical education
By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos by Chalaem Boonlum,
courtesy of Bangkok Post
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 by Pongpet Mekloy from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University in Ratchaburi offers bike riding classes as part of their physical education curriculum. MCRU has been offering biking classes to its students for several years, with over a thousand young men and women having attended them.
Assistant Professor Chalaem Boonlum, who is head of the university’s Department of Physical Education, is the man behind the programme. Chalaem is also an avid mountain biker who teaches the bike course himself.
Chalaem said that the PE department is currently running three bike classes, each with 50 students. Like those who attended the previous classes, the new batches of students will learn why cycling is good for their health. They also learn about different types of bikes, bicycle components and maintenance, how to ride safely and efficiently, and even how to fall with minimum impact.
However, Chalaem believes that the biking students learn more than just the practical aspects of riding.
“Biking also helps the students to learn more about life and the society they live in,” he said.
The classes include regular outings, and on such trips Chalaem leads his riding students to villages and sites of natural beauty near the university. For the students, many of whom unsurprisingly welcome any opportunity to escape the classroom, this is probably nothing more than pure fun. But it’s also a learning process, the nature of which the students themselves may not realise until the end of the day.
Another important thing that the students get from the bike classes and outings is knowledge of how to care for one another.
“When a friend gets a puncture or another problem with his or her bike, the others must wait and help,” Chalaem said. “The faster riders never leave the others behind. We always stick together as a group.”
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. MCRU is located in Bangkok.
……………………………………………..
2. Each of the three bike class currently has 15 students.
……………………………………………..
3. Chalaem Boonlum is the head of MCRU’s Department of Physical Education.
……………………………………………..
4. MCRU has been offering the bike classes for several years.
……………………………………………..
5. According to Chalaem, biking helps students learn more about life and society.
……………………………………………..
Section 2
Rewrite each of the following sentences and select the grammatically correct prepositions from the choices given.
6. Cycling is good for/on/in their health.
………………………………………………………………
7. The classes also teach students to care above/about/with one other.
………………………………………………………………
8. MCRU has offered the classes since/from/for years.
………………………………………………………………
9. It’s a learning process that the students may not realise within/on/until the end of the day.
………………………………………………………………
10. Chalaem Boonlum is the man behind/beyond/beneath the programme.
………………………………………………………………
Section 3
In each of the following groups of synonyms there is one word that has a different meaning. Underline the word that does not share the same meaning as the other words in each group.
11. obvious/clear/apparent/vague
12. efficiently/effectively/successfully/immediately
13. colleague/classmate/teammate/animate
14. epic/escape/evade/elude
15. procedure/process/stage/proactive
Section 4
Write down the adjective forms of the following words used in the story.
16. Department ........................................................
17. Beauty ........................................................
18. Probably ........................................................
19. Help ........................................................
20. Safely ........................................................
Section 5
Find words used in the story that are antonyms of the following words.
21. Surprisingly ........................................................
22. Subsequent ........................................................
23. Inefficiently ........................................................
24. Maximum ........................................................
Vocabulary
- curriculum (n): the subjects that are included in a course of study or taught in a school, university, etc.
avid (adj): very enthusiastic about something
biker (n): a person who rides a bicycle, especially a mountain bike
batch (n): a number of people or things that are dealt with as a group
component (n): one of several parts of which something is made
maintenance (n): the act of keeping something in good condition by checking or repairing it regularly
outing (n): a trip that you go on for pleasure or education, usually with a group of people and lasting no more than one day
puncture (n): a small hole in a tyre made by a sharp point
