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 Sophy Fisher from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Than Wai Aung was a construction worker until 18 months ago, when he attended the training course that transformed his life. The now 44-year-old left Myanmar 16 years ago and moved to Thailand, spending most of those years working on construction sites.
Three years ago he visited relatives in Ratchaburi province, along the border with Myanmar. There he saw local people growing mushrooms for a living. He decided to move there and attend a mushroom growing class run by a Thai government agency.
“Construction work is very hard, and as I love to be with nature, growing mushrooms appeals to me,” Than said.
Than later moved back to Bangkok, where he spent a lot of time looking for a location on which he could grow mushrooms. He also made sure he found markets where he could sell his products. He rented a small strip of land, sandwiched between two fish ponds on the outskirts of Bangkok and close to two markets.
Than soon found that he couldn’t produce enough to meet the demand and didn’t know how to calculate his income and expenditure, which made it difficult to save money. That prompted him to attend a business management training course designed by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Community-Based Enterprise Development (C-BED).
The innovative training programme for business start-ups teaches by sharing the experiences of other trainees.
“I never knew that I had to charge for my time, and include things like petrol and car rental into my costs,” Than said, adding that he used to rent a pickup truck to deliver his mushrooms to market for 300 baht a day.
“I have now learned to calculate my costs, to save money and to save my time,” he said.
Than is not the only migrant worker to turn himself into an entrepreneur. C-BED has worked with more than 40 partners in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in the past two years.
Since attending the training course, Than spends the time he saves tending his mushrooms. He now earns about 20,000 baht a month.
“I used to work without a goal, and whatever I earned, I spent,” Than said. He now uses his training and digitally records income and expenses.
Than is expanding his business. His goal now is to double his production, which would have him producing 70 to 80 kilogrammes of mushrooms every day.
“The training gave me a goal,” he said. “I can see that in two or three years time I will be an entrepreneur.”
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story and answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. Where is Than from?
a. Cambodia.
b. Laos.
c. Myanmar.
2. Where does he live now?
a. Ratchaburi.
b. Bangkok.
c. Myanmar.
3. How old was Than when he left his home country?
a. 44 years old.
b. 28 years old.
c. 16 years old.
4. How many mushrooms does he currently produce each day?
a. 35 to 40 kilogrammes.
b. 70 to 80 kilogrammes.
c. 90 to 100 kilogrammes.
5. Why did Than originally go to Ratchaburi?
a. He went there to visit relatives.
b. He went there to work on a construction site.
c. He went there to grow mushrooms.
6. Who held the mushroom growing class that Than took part in?
a. A Thai government agency.
b. A private school.
c. A village head.
7. What does ILO stand for?
a. The International Language Organization.
b. The International Labour Organization
c. The International Land Organization.
8. What is Than’s current business goal?
a. He wants to establish a public limited company.
b. He wants to open overseas branches.
c. He wants to increase his production.
Section 2
Read the story and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
9. Than’s mushroom production capacity is currently in the range of 70 to 80 kilogrammes per day.
………………….
10. Than said he used to work without a goal.
………………….
11. Than is in his forties.
………………….
12. C-BED stands for Community-Based Enterprise Development (C-BED).
………………….
13. Than said he doesn’t want to be an entrepreneur.
………………….
14. Than moved to Thailand 20 years ago.
………………….
Section 3
Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.
“The training tools designed by C-BED are simple and …..15…..,” the training specialist said. “Ninety-four …..16….. of the participants had never had access …..17….. entrepreneurship or business development training opportunities. After the training session had ended, the …..18….. of small business owners reported improvements in their…..19….. .”
15.
a. practical
b. practically
c. practice
16.
a. percentages
b. percent
c. percentage
17.
a. with
b. to
c. for
18.
a. majority
b. major
c. majors
19.
a. enterprising
b. enterprise
c. entrepreneur
Section 4
Read each of the following sentences and underline the grammatically correct word in each from the choices given.
20. He now aims to boost his/him/he production.
21. His life completely change/changed/changes when he went to a training course.
22. He noticed that the people who/which/whose lived nearby were able to support themselves by growing mushrooms.
23. I have learned to calculation/calculating/calculate how much money I need to save.
24. His relatives lived in/at/on Ratchaburi.
Vocabulary
- sandwich (v): to fit something or somebody into a very small space between two other things, or between two times
expenditure (n): the act of spending or using money; an amount of money spent
prompt (v): to make somebody decide to do something
innovative (adj): introducing or using new ideas, ways of doing something, etc.
entrepreneur (n): a person who makes money by starting or running businesses
