TEST YOURSELF: Image is learning how to be famous
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Read the following story by Tatat Bunnag from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Singer-songwriter Suthita 'Image' Chanachaisuwan, who has been in the spotlight for a few years, is still struggling with the positive and negative sides of fame.
LUCKY BREAK
"Recently, I’ve come to accept a lot more about other people's opinions and comments about me online, but I'm still learning new things every day about how to behave properly as a public person," she said.
The 21-year-old has recently released her latest single “Unlucky”, and although it is only the second song released with her new record label Smallroom, Image was a familiar face in showbiz long before that. In fact, her career began at 16 when she came second in The Voice Thailand in 2014.
Fast forward several years and as she gained popularity, Image became a model, actress and a famous singer, known for hits like “Not A Goodbye”, “Jai Yen (Still)” and many other songs she's done for films and TV series. “Unlucky” is a synthesizer-based pop ballad where Image sings about a lonely person who's finally met her long-awaited partner.
"I first got an idea of lyrics for the song from a phrase that popped into my head, which goes, 'I'm an unlucky person who's lucky enough to meet you', " said Image. "I picked up an acoustic guitar and started singing these words on top of these guitar chords I came up with, and somehow it worked."
ROOM TO GROW
Image started working on the song with her producer and Smallroom's managing director Rungroche "Rung" Uptampotiwat who signed her to his indie label.
"I've been a long-time fan of Smallroom and remember growing up listening to songs by the label's artists such as Tattoo Colour, Somkiat, Greasy Cafe or Polycat," she recalled. "It was like a dream come true. So far, I've really enjoyed working with Smallroom because they gave me 100% creative freedom on how I'd like my music to sound, or how I want to speak my mind with my lyrics."
Last year, Image was chosen to be the mysterious "Mattress Mask" in the third season of The Mask Singer. She started crying onstage after revealing her face to the audience, who gave her a standing ovation. When asked why she cried, she replied: "I always have this doubt that I'm not good enough. And I wasn't sure that I'd still be accepted if people found out who I really was under the mask."
Image is typically seen wearing a long-sleeve black jumper and black trousers, which is quite different from the way other young singers dress nowadays. Her choice of clothes is because she has been a victim of cyberbullying and harassment.
While her fans offer kind words and support online, others sexually harass her, criticising her body in vulgar terms instead of focusing on her music and work.
"I used to get mad at a lot of those comments, and it made me very uncomfortable about how I should look in public," she said. "But now I'm aware that these things are beyond my power, and I can't control everything. You can't stop what people think or say. But I can be more cautious about what I do or what I wear in public."
TWEET YOUR MIND
Image was the subject of a mini-scandal in 2017 after criticising the country's poor public transport on Twitter after waiting hours to catch a bus home in Bangkok. She tweeted: "What a lousy country. It's not going to improve in 1,000 years from now. Now shoot me." To her surprise, the post went viral. She was criticised to the point that she had to apologise for making an "inappropriate" tweet, even though what she said was true.
"I can only say that I won't repeat my mistake. If I’d have complained more politely, then things would have turned out better," she said.
Now apart from playing concerts and touring, Image is finding time to hit the studio, working on a song that will soon be her third single, and she said the song could be in either Thai or English.
"It depends on my mood or what I think is appropriate for the song. At the moment it might be easier for me to write words in English, but I also want to write good lyrics in Thai too," she said.
Section 1: Read through the story and answer the following questions.
1. How old will Image be on her next birthday? …………….
2. How many songs has she released with Smallroom? …………….
3. Image has a song called “No Goodbye”. True or false? …………….
4. Who writes the lyrics for Image’s songs? …………….
5. People are always supportive of Image online. True or false? ………….....
6. Why did Image write a negative tweet?
a. She missed her bus. b. She was frustrated. c. She wanted it to go viral.
7. Image’s new single will be in which language?
a. English. b. Thai. c. The story doesn’t say.
8. Image finds it more difficult to write lyrics in which language?
a. English. b. Thai. c. The story doesn’t say.
Section 2: Write the noun form of the following words.
9. accept.……………
10. mysterious. ……………
11. criticising.……………
12. complain.……………
13. easy.……………
Section 3: Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
“Unlucky” is a slow and sad song …14… on themes of self-doubt and the lack of …15… to be in a relationship, which the singer admitted is something she also struggles with in her personal life.
"I …16… call myself a real songwriter or a talented artist,” she said, “because I'm still in a process of learning to be one at the moment. I …17… try not to have any high expectations for anything, .18. it won't hurt that much if I …19… .”
14. a. reflect b. reflection c. reflecting
15. a. confide b. confident c. confidence
16. a. hadn’t b. wouldn’t c. couldn’t
17. a. usually b. seldom c. never
18. a. and b. but c. so
19. a. fall b. fill c. fail
Section 4: Find synonyms in the story for the following words.
20. Fortunate.
21. Rude.
22. Careful.
23. Low quality.
24. Unsuitable.
Answers: 1. 22. 2. Two. 3. False. 4. Image. 5. False. 6. b. 7. c. 8. b.
9. acceptance 10. mystery 11. criticism 12. complaint 13. ease
14. c. 15. c. 16. b. 17. a. 18. c. 19. c.
20. lucky. 21. vulgar. 22. cautious. 23. lousy. 24. inappropriate.
SCORE
21-24: Excellent! 17-20: Good. 13-16: Fair. 12 or fewer: You'll do better next time!
