By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos courtesy of EPA
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 Amanda Davies from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
It’s here. We’ve hit that special, spine-tingling page on the football calendar, where all roads lead in one direction: to Brazil and World Cup 2014. Brazil is a country famed for football. It is the only nation that has won five World Cups.
The whole world is gearing up for a party but on the streets of Brazil, there are protests. Brazil is far from united. Many people are unhappy that the greatest show on earth is returning to their country. These people see no reason to celebrate. They feel that there are other, greater priorities than football for the government and national authorities to worry about.
Ahead of what is set to be the biggest moment in his career, Brazil’s World Cup poster boy, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior said that he didn’t object to the protests.
“My opinion is that protesting causes no problem as long as it is peaceful, without violence or vandalism,” he said.
Luis Felipe Scolari is aware that his team must not fail. The coach who led Brazil to their last World Cup success — in Japan and Korea in 2002 — said that there was no other objective that they were interested in.
“We’re at home and the conditions are in our favour,” he said. “We’re going to win.”
Having performed well at last year’s Confederations Cup, beating Spain 3-0 in the final, the hosts are the favourites. The famous yellow and blue team has many talented players as well.
As for the Netherlands — the 2010 runners-up — Group B’s opener is a repeat of the final from four years ago with the Dutch against defending champions Spain once again. Both the Netherlands and Spain know that whoever finishes as runners-up in their Group will probably have to face Brazil in the next round.
Spain is among the favourites to win the World Cup. Gavin Hamilton, editor of World Soccer Magazine believes that Chile, who are also in Group B, also have a decent chance.
“I’m hoping Chile will be the surprise, because their football skills can be breathtaking,” he said.
Germany, who won the 1990 World Cup, is competing under Joachim Loew. There’s a strong feeling that with a plethora of talent including Reus, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Oezil and Lahm, this could be their year.
“Germany are older and wiser than four years ago, with more attacking options,” Gavin said.
The last time Brazil hosted the World Cup was in 1950. This year, Argentina are the most likely of their South American neighbours to win.
“Argentina have a better forward line than Brazil,” Gavin said. “If they win their group, they could meet Brazil in the final.”
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. Which country is hosting the 2014 World Cup?
a. Spain.
b. Brazil.
c. Argentina.
2. Who won the 1990 World Cup?
a. Brazil.
b. Spain.
c. Germany.
3. Brazil previously hosted the World Cup in the year of________.
a. 2002.
b. 2010.
c. 1950.
4. According to the story, who is Brazil’s World Cup poster boy?
a. Neymar.
b. Scolari.
c. Schweinsteiger.
5. Which of the Group B teams is scheduled to play against the Netherlands in the opening match?
a. Spain.
b. Chile.
c. Brazil.
6. In which year was the previous World Cup held?
a. 2014.
b. 2002.
c. 2010.
7. ______________ is the editor of World Soccer Magazine.
a. Joachim Loew.
b. Gavin Hamilton.
c. Amanda Davies.
8. What are the colours of the Brazilian team?
a. Yellow and blue.
b. Blue and white.
c. Orange and black.
Section 2
Read through the story again. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.
9. World Cup 2014 is being held in an Asian country.
……………….
10. Luis Felipe Scolari led Brazil to their last World Cup success in 2002.
……………….
11. The author said that all Brazilian people are happy about hosting the World Cup this year.
……………….
12. Reus, Muller and Schweinsteiger are playing for Germany this year.
……………….
Section 3
Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who …..13….. for Spanish club FC Barcelona in La Liga and the Brazilian national …..14….. . He was born on February 5, 1992 in Mogi das Cruzes in São Paulo, Brazil. He …..15….. 1.75 metres tall. Neymar earned 8.8 million euros in 2014. Neymar .....16….. for FC Barcelona as number 11. He also plays for the ….17….. national football team as number 10. He is …..18…. forward in both teams.
13.
a. player
b. playing
c. plays
14.
a. teems
b. team
c. teaming
15.
a. has
b. are
c. is
16.
a. plays
b. to play
c. were playing
17.
a. Brazil
b. Brazilian
c. Brazil’s
18.
a. an
b. a
c. some
Section 4
Specify whether each of the underlined words in the following sentences is used as a noun, verb or adjective.
19. Argentina’s team is believed to have stronger forwards than that of Brazil.
20. Which football team do you support?
21. John hoped that his favourite team would perform well.
Section 5
Find words used in the story that are synonyms of the following words.
22. gifted …………………
23. officials …………………
24. choices …………………
Vocabulary
-
speculation (n): the act of forming opinions about what has happened or what might happen without knowing all the facts
famed (adj): very well known
vandalism (n): the crime of damaging or destroying something, especially public property, deliberately and for no good reason
runner-up (n): the person or team that finishes second in a race or competition
breathtaking (adj): very impressive, exciting or surprising
plethora (n): an amount that is greater than needed
