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READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4

DIRECTION: Choose the best answer, or do as directed.

PASSAGE 1

Life in the newsroom

STORY: Napamon Roongwitoo

Nattha Komolvadhin on the role of TV reporting in today's digital world Nattha Komolvadhin has been a news enthusiast ever since she was young. With her first job as a newspaper journalist she knew she was on the right track, and there was no going back. (1) Currently the news editor and anchor of news analysis programme Tee Nee ThaiPBS, literally This is ThaiPBS, the 41-year-old has made TV appearances since 1995 on cable TV, and started reading news on the now-defunct iTV channel before moving to ThaiPBS in 2008. (2) Despite almost two decades in Thailand's television industry, the outspoken news anchor still remembers her first day on the small screen vividly. She had heard that you are bound to sweat when appearing on TV for the first time, no matter how cold the studio is. (3) "At first, I thought it was a ridiculous thing to say. How could one sweat when it's cold? But that's exactly what happened on my first day. I was sweating a lot, but thankfully that was
READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

Page |2 not noticeable on screen," recalled Nattha, whose beaming smile is an endearing trademark. Nattha has come a long way from the first-day jitters. Now she is loved for her natural fluency, and has won several awards for her confident and articulate style, which she said partly came from necessity. (4) "I am short-sighted, and my eyes are too dry for contact lenses, so I could not rely on reading off the prompter and had to memorise the news as much as possible. That includes the names, titles, numbers and sequence of things, which wasn't easy at all for me at the time. I decided that memorising would be better than reading because I didn't want to just read something mindlessly off the script - I wanted to make sure I got the essence of the news, and tell the story to my audience with real and honest emotions," said Nattha, who was named the Best Female News Anchor at the Mekala Awards in 2011. (5) Although most of her time is already spent working on TV, she also spends her free time watching the box too, especially international news channels such as CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and her recent favourite RT, a Russian English-language news channel. (6) "I like to see how other anchors present the news, how they interview people, how the whole atmosphere looks, so that I can get new ideas for my show. This habit causes me to stay up too late on some nights, but I can't help it if the content is fascinating," said Nattha, who admits she sometimes stays glued to the screen until 3am. (7) Nattha is an active audience member - she also tweets interesting news and shares information with her followers on Twitter and Facebook. She now has more than 100,000 followers on Twitter. (8)

READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

Page |3 Nattha is quite active on social media because she feels it is a quick and effective way to speak to her audience, especially when there are pressing issues such as political riots or flooding. However, she believes that when it comes to urgent news and events, nothing beats the good old TV broadcast. (9) "Television still plays an important role in today's society, and when something important happens, we still turn on the TV to stay tuned, despite having a smartphone in our hands. Just look at the volleyball competition earlier this month - almost every Thai person was in front of a TV screen. Watching something in real time with the rest of the country has not lost its appeal. The difference is that instead of just watching TV, people today watch and update their Facebook status or tweet something simultaneously," she said. (10) However, the abundance of online information means that journalists today have to do more than just re-telling a story that has happened. Analysis, in-depth interviews and investigation are required to make a good news programme. Most importantly, factchecking is necessary. "It's not just about being the fastest to present something, as we have seen that sometimes journalists can make mistakes and get caught out by the public. Today, the media is not the gatekeeper of information any more - anyone can be a citizen reporter. It's quite challenging to be fast and accurate, but that's what makes the job fun," said Nattha. (11) While she is perfectly happy with her work right now, Nattha, who received a PhD in Sociology and Gender Studies from the London School of Economics, hopes to one day create a TV programme that focuses on women in a non-mainstream way. She feels that Thailand still lacks an acknowledgement of women's roles in today's society, and a good TV programme could fill that gap. (12)
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Page |4 "When I say a women's programme, I don't mean a show that talks about health, beauty or finding Mr Right, because that kind of show already exists," said Nattha. "I want to talk about real women - politicians, businesswomen and academics who drive our society, and their challenges in life. Women's roles today are complicated and it would be a fascinating subject to explore." (13)
Adapted from http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/women/371919/life-in-the-newsroom

1. Write the main idea of paragraph 10. _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Write the main idea of paragraph 8 and 9. _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Write down all four names of international news channels which are mentioned in this story. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Why should journalists nowadays work harder than before? _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Why does she want to create a womans programme herself? _________________________________________ ________________________________________ 6. "When I say a women's programme, I don't mean a show that talks about health, beauty or finding Mr Right, because (paragraph 13)
READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

Page |5 What is a TV programme talking about finding Mr. Right? _________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Write the definition of each word. The definition in Thai is also acceptable. short-sighted (paragraph 5) simultaneously (paragraph 10) 8. What do these words refer to? they (paragraph7) this habit (paragraph7) 9. What do these words refer to? that (paragraph 5) the rest (paragraph10) ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

10. With her first job as a newspaper journalist she knew she was on the right track, and there was no going back. (paragraph 1) What can be inferred from the statement? Write by using your own words. _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 11. What is the passage mainly about? a) Successful news anchors. c) Social media VS television. 12. Nattha is now working as __________.
READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

b) Nattha Komolvadhin. d) Thai PBS.

Page |6 a) a news enthusiast b) a cable TV news anchor

c) an editor of a news program d) a TV producer of a womens program 13. What happened to Nattha in the first day of being a newscaster? a) She shivered because the temperature in the studio was very low. b) She felt uncomfortably hot although the newsroom was cold. c) She made some mistakes in reporting the news. d) She became so nervous in front of the camera. 14. Which of the following is not true about Nattha Komolvadhin? a) She earned a doctorate degree from the London School of Economics. b) She has been working as a TV news anchor for more than 20 years. c) She learns new reporting techniques from other TV anchors. d) She received the Mekala award in 2011. 15. According to the passage, it can be concluded that __________. a) Russia Today, called RT, broadcasts especially for Russian people. b) online media is more effective than traditional media, like TV. c) news reporting today is quick and without any mistakes. d) people today integrate their lives into both social media and old media. 16. Which word cannot describe Natthas characteristic? a) Jittery. c) Enthusiastic. b) Articulate. d) Outspoken.

17. Which word is closest in meaning to fascinating (paragraph 7)?

READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

Page |7 a) Attractive. c) Beneficial. b) Boring. d) Annoying.

18. The word box (paragraph 6) could be replaced by __________. a) news c) television 19. What does their (paragraph 13) refer to? a) Womens programs. c) Women. b) Politicians. d) Womens roles. b) sport d) container

20. What is the authors purpose in writing this article? a) To criticize Natthas work. b) To inform Natthas life and thought. c) To advertise her workplace Thai PBS and other news channels. d) To suggest how a reader will becomes successful in his/her life.

READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

Page |8 PASSAGE 2 The following text was taken from Around the world, which is the column in the Bangkok Post, an English language newspaper published in Thailand.

AROUND THE WORLD BRINGS YOU INTERESTING NEWS, SERIOUS OR TRIVIAL, OF WOMEN ALL OVER THE WORLD IN THE PAST WEEK

Oregon, US
Tipping is a common thing in the US, but one bartender got quite an uncommon gratuity, worth $17,500. Aurora Kephart was given two lottery tickets by one of her regular customers, and one of them was a $17,500 winner. When she found out, she handed the ticket back to the man, but he would not take it. The lucky bartender said she plans to buy a new couch with the money, but she also gave a part of it to the man who brought her the lucky ticket.
Source: abcnews.go.com

UK
Most women talk about how expensive their handbags are, but expensive or not, it has been found that womens handbags are incredibly dirty. According to recent research by Mentos Gum, E.coli, poisonous bacteria and even traces of faeces have been found lurking at the bottom of womens handbags, as well as on the average laptop and gym bag. The study also published information on the participants handbag habits and revealed that 33% of women never clean their bags. Many people admitted too that they

READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

Page |9 carry dirty underwear and used tissues in their bags every day. Worse yet, a fifth of them wouldnt think twice about eating loose gum found in the bottom of the bag.
Source: dailymail.co.uk

Kuwait
Kuwait is to conduct gay tests to bar LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people from entering the Gulf Region. According to director of public health Yousouf Mindkar, health centers will take stricter measures in order to detect gay people. This will mean LGBT people will effectively be banned from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Gay sex is already banned in all of Arab countries. In Kuwait male homosexuality is punishable for up to six years in jail. If they are below the age of 21, gay men can be imprisoned for a decade. It is not yet known what these gay tests are or will involve.
Source: gaystarnews.com Adapted from Bangkok Post, October 12, 2013.

21. The main idea of the second news is __________. a) most women talk about how expensive their handbags are b) womens handbags are incredibly dirty c) E.coli, poisonous bacteria and even traces of faeces have been found lurking at the bottom of womens handbags d) 33% of women never clean their bags 22. They in the last news refers to __________.
READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai

P a g e | 10 a) LGBT people c) gay tests b) gay men d) homosexuality

23. Which country is not included in the Gulf region? a) UAE. c) Saudi Arabia. 24. Which statement is true? a) Kephart gave her female customer a portion of prize. b) The estimated worth of her lottery prize is about 5,000,000 baht c) About 20% of women in the research eat gum found in the bottom of their bags. c) Kuwaiti gay men over 21 may be sentenced in prison to for more than 10 years. 25. What is the main target of this column? a) Women. c) Men. b) Children. d) Educated people. b) Kuwait. d) Turkey.

READING COMPREHENSION QUIZ 4 by Nuttapong Rutamornchai