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 Napamon Roongwitoo from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Sisters Wowdow and Raweeras Poocharoen and their friend Pornthip Patiluntakalkool share a passion for tie-dyed fabric and love the brand they've built together.
AMAZING RESULTS
Wowdow, a 33-year-old softly-spoken interior designer, has a confident, mature personality, while her 26-year-old sister Raweeras is a young, hip artist type. Pornthip, 30, is described by her two friends as a "go-getter.”
Wowdow was born and bred in America, while her artsy sister grew up in Chiang Mai. Pornthip was raised in Chantaburi province.
Wowdow said their business Kanjana started out really small, with just two plastic tubs at home. "Our mother took a tie-dye class after she retired, and we learned the craft from her. She would take our old clothes to dye, and we were amazed by the results." So the brand was named after her mother.
They were delighted to discover this new skill which also happened to make some money. They began to make their own dresses, wraps and scarves. Soon, they began getting orders from friends, and decided to take their hobby to another level.
GLOBAL STYLES
Raweeras, who is in charge of the design and production of the brand, said that every piece of fabric comes out differently.
Tie-dyeing fabric is done by twisting or tying a piece of fabric and then putting it into liquid dye. The pattern you get depends on how you fold it, how tight you tie it and sheer luck.
"Untying and unfolding the fabric is the best part of my job,” Raweeras said. “I'm always excited to see how it turns out. It's sort of like opening a present.”
Wowdow said tie-dyeing is something that has been practiced globally for centuries. In Japan, there is a tie-dyeing technique called shibori. In India, bandhani is a type of tie-dye that is still popular today. Thailand also has tie-dyeing techniques of its own. However, when speaking of tie-dyed fabrics, people automatically think of American psychedelic tie-dye and the bohemian look from the ‘60s.
"When you buy tie-dyed fabric from us, you know that there's nothing else in the world that looks like it,” Pornthip said. “You have a unique piece and you can feel proud of it.”
BEST SELLERS
Kanjana offers clothes, bags and home furnishing items. Their bestselling products, however, are clothes. "Our clothes look good on anybody because they are so simple,” said Raweeras. “I'm not the type to wear trendy clothes, and I really want to encourage people to feel the same way. There is no need to follow trends all the time.”
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story and answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. Who was born in the US?
a. Pornthip Patiluntakalkool.
b. Wowdow Poocharoen.
c. Raweeras Poocharoen.
2. Who did Wowdow and Raweeras Poocharoen learn tie-dying from?
a. Pornthip Patiluntakalkool.
b. Somchai Poomlard.
c. Their mother.
3. According to the story, what do many people associate tie-dyed fabrics with?
a. The Kanjana brand.
b. American psychedelic tie-dye and the bohemian look from the ‘60s .
c. A technique called shibori.
4. Where did Raweeras grow up?
a. In Chiang Mai.
b. In the US.
c. In Chantaburi.
5. Who was raised in Chantaburi province?
a. Pornthip Patiluntakalkool.
b. Wowdow Poocharoen.
c. Raweeras Poocharoen.
6. Who is in charge of untying and unfolding the tie-dyed fabric?
a. Pornthip Patiluntakalkool.
b. Wowdow Poocharoen.
c. Raweeras Poocharoen.
7. What does the pattern resulting from tie-dying depend on?
a. It depends on the colour of the dye.
b. It depends on the bohemian look from the ‘60s.
c. It depends on how you fold it, how tight you tie it and luck.
8. In which country is bandhani practised?
a. In Japan.
b. In India
c. In Thailand
Section 2
Read the story and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
9. Wowdow is in her thirties.
………………………
10. The three women were born in Thailand.
………………………
11. According to the story, Kanjana encourages people to keep up with trends all the time.
………………………
12. Bandhani tie-dye is no longer popular in India.
………………………
Section 3
Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.
Kanjana was founded three years ago. Initially, it was meant …..13….. be just a small business, with occasional pop-up booths …..14….. arts and crafts fairs. To their surprise, the feedback …..15….. been very positive. Raweeras said that they finally had to …..16….. another plastic tub.
13.
a. too
b. to
c. two
14.
a. at
b. for
c. within
15.
a. has
b. was
c. have
16.
a. getting
b. get
c. got
Section 4
Find vocabulary words in the story that are synonyms of the following words.
17. category ……………….
18. pals ……………….
19. fascinated ……………….
20. outcomes ……………….
Section 5
Find vocabulary words in the story that are antonyms of the following words.
21. shy ……………….
22. difficult ……………….
23. worst ……………….
24. immature ……………….
Vocabulary
- mature (adj): behaving in a sensible way, like an adult
scarf (n): a piece of cloth that is worn around the neck, for example for warmth or decoration
bohemian (adj): related to a person, often somebody who is involved with the arts, who lives in a very informal way without following accepted rules of behaviour
trendy (adj): very fashionable
