Bus boy

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 Melalin Mahavongtrakul from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Somwasin Udomphol looks like your average 18-year-old. He favours T-shirts worn loose over jeans and slings a messenger bag over his shoulder when he’s out and about.

But if you hand him a piece of paper, a pencil and some coloured markers, Somwasin could draw you a map of Bangkok’s major bus routes in 30 minutes or less, with the details neatly handwritten in both Thai and English and each route coded in a different colour.

Over the years, he has met many locals and foreigners who struggle to make sense of Bangkok’s confusing bus system, where bus stops list route numbers but rarely supply any other useful information. There are no signs or maps to tell people which bus to catch, or on which side of the road to stand in order to get to a particular part of town.

“The problem is that passengers don’t really know the routes,” said the budding cartographer. “There are no clear signs to tell them, and our bus stops are plastered with layers of advertising and posters.”

Somwasin added that what official signs there are usually have writing that is too small to read.

“The information displayed is often very old,” he said. “Some signs haven’t been updated for more than 10 years.”

First-time travellers who have not checked in advance which bus number to take have to read the names of stops listed on the sides of rapidly passing buses.

“Foreigners usually just have to guess,” Somwasin said. “Even though public buses are the cheapest means of transport around the capital, the system is far from user-friendly.”

In order to make things easier for everybody, Somwasin spent almost two years producing a series of maps showing all the bus routes departing from major hubs in Bangkok like Victory Monument and Chatuchak. He compiled the information from personal experience of each route, noting down details as he rode the buses.

Somwasin presented the maps he made to the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), which operates most of the city’s buses. One of his maps is now on display at Chatuchak bus station, where passers-by can benefit from all his painstaking research.

Aside from making maps, Somwasin is a volunteer who provides information on bus routes at the bus station in the Chatuchak area. He can speak Thai, English, Japanese and Chinese, and has been helping Chatuchak’s BMTA staff in guiding bus travellers.

“I want my work to benefit the public,” he said. “I wish authorities would do something about Bangkok’s transportation problems. I’ve met many travellers who want to get somewhere, but just don’t know which way to go.”

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Exercises

Section 1

Read the story and answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. How long did Somwasin spend creating a series of maps showing Bangkok’s bus routes?

a. About two months.
b. About two years.
c. About five years.

2. Where can people see one of Somwasin’s maps?

a. At MRT subway stations.
b. On BTS Skytrains.
c. At Chatuchak bus station.

3. How old is Somwasin?

a. 18 years old.
b. 20 years old.
c. 22 years old.

4. Besides making maps, Somwasin provides information on bus routes at a bus station in the ________________ area.

a. Chatuchak
b. Sampeng
c. Victory Momunent

5. Somwasin can speak Thai, English, Japanese and _______________.

a. German
b. French
c. Chinese

6. Why does Somwasin think that passengers are unable to get useful information from the signs at Bangkok bus stops?

a. The signs are not clear and the information is often very old.
b. The signs are covered with posters and advertising.
c. Both a and b are correct.

7. Which languages are used on Somwasin’s bus maps?

a. Thai only.
b. Japanese and Chinese.
c. English and Thai.

8. Somwasin said, “I want my work to benefit ___________.”

a. the buses
b. the drivers
c. the public

Section 2

Read the story and decide whether the following statements are true or false.

9. Somwasin likes to dress in a formal suit.

………………….

10. Somwasin is in his twenties.

………………….

11. BMTA stands for Bangkok Metropolitan Train Authority.

………………….

12. Somwasin is a multilingual person.

………………….

Section 3

Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.

Some buses finish up at the same terminus although …..13….. take separate routes. …..14….. the names of places served by a bus are …..15….. only in Thai, foreigners usually cannot read them.

“I’ve met foreigners …..16….. wanted to get to Khao San Road from Chatuchak,” Somwasin said. “The problem was …..17….. after getting off the BTS at Mor Chit, …..18….. couldn’t find …..19….. stops for the No. 3 bus.”

13.

a. they
b. it
c. this

14.

a. Since
b. Despite
c. So

15.

a. write
b. written
c. writing

16.

a. whom
b. who
c. whose

17.

a. that
b. however
c. then

18.

a. it
b. she
c. they

19.

a. none
b. any
c. every

Section 4

Specify whether each of the following words is used in the story as a noun, verb, adverb or adjective.

20. benefit …………….

21. supply …………….

22. particular …………….

23. rarely …………….

24. markers …………….

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