University Tips

Test yourself � part 4

By Ajarn Helen Jandamit

Over the past term, the University Tips column has presented many topics that will be of use to those of you who wish to take the University Entrance Examination.

In the columns we have looked at idioms, structures, grammatical points, vocabulary and various types of question forms that you will probably meet in any upper intermediate or higher-level English test.

This week, you have the chance to find out how much you have retained from reading these columns since the end of May. Regular readers will get the chance to see if they have absorbed all the information in the columns since then, while new readers can test their general knowledge.

Allow yourself no more than 50 minutes to complete all the questions.

Fill in the gaps in these extracts from news stories that appeared recently in the Bangkok Post. Each of the gaps will be filled by a word or words that show how one idea relates to another; for example, the gaps will require comparative or superlative forms.

1. Television talk show host Sorayuth Suthassanachinda moved ����� �����.. than the public health minister and the city in arranging a celebration yesterday for Bangkok-born Olympics Tae Kwon Do bronze medallist Yaowapa Burapolchai. (Bangkok Post, September 4, 2004)

a. fast
b. faster
c. the fastest
d. fastest

2. Three media entertainment groups � BEC-TERO Entertainment Plc., Traffic Corner Radio Co. (TCR) and Virgin Radio (Asia) Co. � are undertaking a complicated share-swap to create the ��� ������. radio network operator. (Bangkok Post, September 4, 2004)

a. country�s largest
b. largest
c. country largest�s
d. larger country�s

3. Mrs Pranee said its sales in the first half of this year grew at 40 percent, faster than the industry average due to the opening of three new outlets. She expects sales for the full year to reach 350 million baht, �������� ���.. 25 percent from last year. (Bangkok Post, September 4, 2004)

a. higher
b. better than
c. increased
d. up

4. I fully agree with Khun Songdej Praditsmanont (Postbag, September 2, 2004) that the Thai Rak Thai party can gain from their (governor) election loss if it makes them ��������� �����. and willing to listen to others, and am glad that PM Thaksin has now become more open � for, as Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr notes: �The first rule of democracy is to distrust all leaders who begin to believe their own publicity.�

a. humbler
b. more humble
c. the humblest
d. humble

5. It remains to be seen,����� �..., whether our CEO�s willingness to listen to others lasts ����� �6��.. a few days. (Postbag, Bangkok Post, September 4, 2004)

5.
a. however
b. though
c. although
d. but

6.
a. more than
b. more
c. than
d. the most

What do these abbreviations and acronyms stand for?

7. GMO = ..........................................................

8. WTO = ...........................................................

9. UN = ...............................................................

10. EU = ............................................................

11. PC = .............................................................

12. Ad = ............................................................

13. UK = ............................................................

14. Maj-Gen= .................................................

15. GPA = ..........................................................

16. dB = .............................................................

What are the meanings of the following colloquial idioms?

17. You bet!
a. How much did you bet?
b. You are gambling, right?
c. I agree enthusiastically with your suggestion.

18. What�s up?
a. What�s that?
b. What can you see up there?
c. What�s happening?

19. She can�t make it out.
a. She isn�t very good at maths.
b. She cannot understand it.
c. She cannot construct it outside.

20. Oh, come on!
a. Be reasonable
b. I agree
c. Let�s go

Questions 21-32. The following news story gives the follow up to a previous story about the prime minister allowing open field trials of GM crops. Put the following events in the order that they actually happened or probably will happen.

A. Processed papaya shipments from at least ten fruit exporters are delayed.
B. Importers in European countries fear contamination from genetically modified organisms.
C. There is about a 1 billion baht loss for the industry.
D. Prime Minister Thaksin says that open field trials of GM crops will be allowed in Thailand.
E. Sun Sweet Co. is informed by several papaya exporters about bans and delays of papaya shipments.
F. Exporters fear that the ban will spread to other tropical fruit and vegetable products.
G. The Carrefour supermarket chain in France delays the company�s processed papaya shipments.
H. Another processed fruit exporter says its papaya shipments have been banned by a well-known food distributor in Germany.
I. The well-known German food distributor resumes canned papaya imports from the company.
J. The processed fruit exporter proves that their products are GM-free.
K. The processed fruit exporter spends a lot of money on the GM-testing process.
L. The processed fruit exporter suffers a loss of about 3 million baht.


Processed papaya exports rejected after GM rumours

By Kultida Samabuddhi, Photograph courtesy of AP

Processed papaya shipments from at least ten fruit exporters have been delayed or rejected by importers in European countries fearing contamination from genetically modified organisms, a leading agribusiness operator said yesterday.

The bans and delays of canned papaya orders from European importers have resulted in about a 1 billion baht loss for the industry so far, said an executive of Sun Sweet Co., a leading fruit and vegetable exporter based in Chiang Mai.

The situation will worsen if the government and the Department of Agriculture (DoA) refuse to look into the alleged leakage and GM papaya contamination from the government�s Khon Kaen research station, said the executive, who asked not to be named.

The company did not export canned papaya, but had been informed by several papaya exporters about the bans and delays of papaya shipments, he said.

Exporters fear that the ban would spread to other tropical fruit and vegetable products if the government continued to ignore the problem.

Exporters of sweet corn, baby corn, tomato and other food products will be eventually affected, he said, adding that it would be better if the DoA called off the ongoing field trial of GM papaya and moved to clarify government policy on GMOs.

Chanyuth Boonyahong, managing director of Northern Food Co, an exporter of canned papaya in syrup, fruit cocktail and dried papaya, said the Carrefour supermarket chain in France had delayed the company�s processed papaya shipments for three weeks.

On Thursday, another processed fruit exporter said its papaya shipments had been banned by a well-known food distributor in Germany.

�They may resume canned papaya imports from our company if we could prove that our products are GM-free. However, the GM-testing process will cost us a lot of money,� said Chanyuth.

The company has so far suffered a loss of about 3 million baht.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry said the existing ban on Thai papaya shipments was not imposed by the national government, but only by an importing company.

(Bangkok Post, September 4, 2004)

Questions 33-38. The nouns in the box describe sound. Some of them are pleasant sounds and others are used for unpleasant sounds (noise). Put them in the correct boxes.

Nouns

whisper
racket
crash
bang
melody
discord
hum
murmur
sigh
boom
harmony
dissonance

Pleasant sounds
Unpleasant sounds
   

Questions 39-45. The following adjectives all describe feelings and emotions. Put them in the correct boxes according to whether each feeling is positive or negative.

Positive feelings
Negative feelings
   

distraught
upset
dehumanising
clean
depressed
frustrated
impressed
colourful
calm
toxic
cunning
timid
smart
dismayed

Questions 46-50. Put the following phrasal verbs in the correct places in the following sentences. Remember to use appropriate tenses, etc.

Verbs

to make up
to close down
to pull out of something
to figure out something
to turn on something

46. Mary can barely read Thai. It took her a long time to ������ ����� how to read the tax form.

47. James didn�t want to say that he has slept late so he ������ ���������. an excuse.

48. Mr Roberts only ������� ������ the air-conditioning when it gets too hot and humid.

49. When the bus company discontinued the Primrose Hill route, many shops����������� ���.. due to lack of custom.

50. When he strained his ankle, Mark ����������� the race.

Vocabulary

rumour (n): a piece of information, or a story, that people talk about, but that may not be true
shipment (n): the process of sending goods from one place to another; a load of goods that are sent from one place to another.
contamination (n): a dangerous substance that makes something else impure or dirty
agribusiness (n): the industry concerned with the production and sale of farm products, especially involving large companies
operator (n): a person or company that runs a particular business
alleged (adj): stated as a fact but without giving proof
leakage (n): an amount of liquid or gas escaping through a hole in something; an occasion when there was a leak
to ignore (v): to pay no attention to something. to pretend that you have not seen something or that it is not there
ongoing (adj): continuing, existing or developing
field trial (n): the testing of something, such as a piece of equipment, in the place where it will be used, grown, etc.
to clarify (v): to make clear
syrup (n): a sweet liquid made from sugar and water, often used in cans of fruit
distributor (n): a person or company that supplies goods to shops/stores, etc.
to resume (v): to start again especially after an interruption
meanwhile (adv): while something else is happening, in the period of time between two times or two events; it can also be used to compare two aspects of a situation

 

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September 27th, 2004 Edition