By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos 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 Duangphat Sitthipat from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Nipaporn Saluphon fell in love with sepak takraw, a sport native to Southeast Asia, when she was young. She used to watch sepak takraw matches on television, admiring the players and dreaming of becoming one.
DREAM CATCHER
A few years later, Nipaporn’s dreams have come true — she is now a sepak takraw player for the Thai national team. She even hogged the limelight when she first appeared on television during the broadcast of the recent ISTAF (International Sepak Takraw Federation) Super Series competition, held in Gunsan, South Korea, in April.
Now 17, standing 170cm tall and good-looking, Nipaporn became a sensation as a tekong — the player at the back of the court — at the competition, which was broadcast live to 87 countries, outshining Pornchai Kaokaew, a male sepak takraw star who had been the focus of previous competitions. The Thai national team beat South Korea 2-0 in the Women’s Finals.
PRETTY PLAYER
Nipaporn was the star attraction because she is pretty and she also played well. During the final match with South Korea, she scored two aces — the only two of the game — and had a serve success rate of over 80%, the highest among all servers in the women’s finals.
Nipaporn is happy about the compliments she has received online. However, she said that she would be even happier if people complimented her performance instead.
ISSAN champion
Nipaporn was born and raised in a small village in the north-eastern province of Buri Ram. When she was 10, she played sepak takraw with her friends after school. But it was not until 10th grade that she began to take it seriously.
One day, the principal brought in his friend, a coach from the Thai national team, who came to the school to scout for potential athletes once a year. With Nipaporn’s height being 168 centimetres at the time, the coach was interested and offered her a place at Chonburi Sports School.
Nipaporn’s parents, both farmers, wanted her to grab the opportunity. Although she was unsure at first, Nipaporn finally decided to go.
Nipaporn said that when she started at the sports school, she realised that she was just a tall country girl.
“I’ve learned that to be a real sepak takraw player, I have to have diligence and discipline, as well as the dream,” she said.
Nipaporn joined Thailand’s national team last year.
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story and answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. What does ISTAF stand for?
a. International Sepak Takraw Fraternity.
b. International Sepak Takraw Foundation.
c. International Sepak Takraw Federation.
2. Where was Nipaporn raised?
a. In Chon Buri.
b. In Buri Ram.
c. In Bangkok.
3. When did Nipaporn begin to take sepak takraw seriously?
a. When she was 10.
b. When she was in the 10th grade.
c. When she was in Korea.
4. What do Nipaporn’s parents do?
a. They are farmers.
b. They are teachers.
c. They work for ISTAF.
5. What was Nipaporn’s serve success rate in the final match in South Korea?
a. Less than 50%.
b. About 70%.
c. More than 80%.
6. What was Nipaporn’s childhood dream?
a. She wanted to be a sepak takraw player.
b. She wanted to be an actress.
c. She wanted to be a nurse.
7. How tall is Nipaporn?
a. She’s 168 cm tall.
b. She’s 170 cm tall.
c. She’s 180 cm tall.
8. When did Nipaporn join the Thai national team?
a. At the beginning of this year.
b. In the middle of this year.
c. Last year.
Section 2
Read the story and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
9. Nipaporn never wanted to be a sports player.
………………………
10. Nipaporn’s parents did not support her playing sepak trakraw.
………………………
11. Gunsan is located in North Korea.
………………………
12. Nipaporn is 17 years old.
………………………
Section 3
Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.
“My parents wanted me …..13….. for a better future, Nipaporn said. “As much as I enjoyed …..14….. the sport very much and wanted to continue playing it, I was not …..15….. sure of the idea of pursuing this sport track. I didn’t know what it really …..16….. to be a player in a national team yet. I was just …..17….. I had to take this …..18…...”
13.
a. go
b. to go
c. going
14.
a. play
c. to play
c. playing
15.
a. real
b. really
c. reality
16.
a. mean
b. means
c. meant
17.
a. told
b. tell
c. tells
18.
a. opportunist
b. opportunity
c. opportune
Section 4
Find vocabulary words in the story that are synonyms of the following words.
19. tournament ……………….
20. aired ……………….
21. former ……………….
Section 5
Find vocabulary words in the story that are antonyms of the following words.
22. lowest ……………….
23. large ……………….
24. failure ……………….
Vocabulary
- native (adj): connected with the place where you were born and lived for the first years of your life
sensation (n): a person who causes great surprise, excitement, or interest among a lot of people
compliment (n): a remark that expresses praise or admiration of somebody
diligence (n): careful and thorough work or effort
discipline (n): the ability to control your behaviour or the way you live, work, etc.
