Toon Bodyslam is ready to hit the road again
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Read the following story by Tatat Bunnag from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
To music fans, Artiwara "Toon" Kongmalai has long been known as one of Thailand's leading rock stars, fronting the rock band Bodyslam. In recent years he has become recognised as a heroic figure, a man who ran across Thailand -- from the south to the north -- raising money for hospitals that care for the poor.
RUNNING TOTAL
In 2016, the Bodyslam frontman became a media phenomenon as he held a 400km charity run that raised 63 million baht for Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan. And the next year Artiwara led a 2,215km, 55-day charity run -- the longest run of his life -- starting from the country's southern tip in Betong, Yala, and arriving in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, the northernmost district of the country. The run raised 1.37 billion baht from donations and merchandise sales for 11 state-owned hospitals.
The charity money far exceeded his initial goal of 700 million baht, giving the people of Thailand a symbol of unity. Donations reportedly continued to flow in long after his run was completed.
The new programme will start in the Northeast on June 15-16. The running event will be followed with more in the southern, northern, eastern and central regions later in 2020. Unlike Artiwara's much-acclaimed 2017 fundraising run, this one will not span the length of the country in one go. Instead, Artiwara will lead a smaller trek running through the Isan region, covering 180km, passing through Nong Khai, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen provinces.
"This time it won’t be a one-man show," said Artiwara. "The previous two events were all about challenging myself and pushing past my own limits. I wanted to give some inspiration, as well as prove to those who underestimated me who said I'm just a skinny singer that looks like a junkie and will not make it. I have proven all that already, so this time I invited my friends to join me on the run.
RELAY RACE
A parade of celebrities, such as Surivipa "Mam" Kultangwattana, Vuthithorn "Woody" Milintachinda, Rachwin "Koy" Wongviriya, Patcharasri "Kalamare" Benjamas, Jeeraroj "Maggie" Hathaiphongsakun, Puttichai "DJ Push" Kasetsin, Warattaya "Jooy" Nilkuha and many more will be joining Artiwara on the upcoming Northeast run weekend.
"None of these people are real athletes or professional runners, but they are people who love exercising and each of them will come with their hearts, and join me on the run," he said.
"It's going to be a relay run, so I'll run for only 10km. Then I'll pass the baton [a small wooden stick] to my friends who will help me inspire the people."
Artiwara is inviting the public to join him and his friends on the last 10km of the run to be a part of this historic event.
"It's one of the gimmicks we came up with, which we planned to do in all five regions. Starting in Isan, we would like to invite everybody to come together and set a new record for the biggest mini marathon in Thailand," he said.
Despite being the lead singer of one of the country's most popular rock bands, Artiwara said that he never before had such a high stature.
"I'm really happy at where I am today," he said. "Especially over the past few years that I realised that I could use my status as a singer to do good deeds for the country. I'm so grateful and thankful to those who always believed in me. I promise to keep doing this until the day I run out of energy."
Section 1: Read through the story and answer the following questions.
1. When was Artiwara’s first charity run? …………….
2. What year was his longest run? …………….
3. How long did his longest run take and how much money did it raise? …………….
4. When does he plan to run in the central region of Thailand? …………….
5. How long will his Isan run be? …………….
6. Everybody believed that he would complete his 2017 run. True or false? …………….
7. Artiwara’s celebrity friends are professional runners. True or false? …………….
8. Members of the public can join any of his runs anytime. True or false? …………….
Section 2: Write the noun forms of the following words in the space given.
9. heroic .……………
10. longest ……………
11. completed ……………
12. prove .……………
13. popular .……………
Section 3: Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
…14…, the rock singer turned the title of his running project "Kao Kon La Kao" (translated as "Each Of Our Steps") into a …15… foundation. He then …16… announced plans to embark on new running events in all five regions of the country. These …17… next month with an …18… to raise funds for small provincial and district-level hospitals as well as inspire people to run or …19… other forms of exercise.
14. a. Before b. Then c. Recently
15. a. proper b. properly c. property
16. a. suddenly b. promptly c. accidentally
17. a. start b. starting c. started
18. a. aimed b. aim c. aims
19. a. take for b. take to c. take up
Section 4: Find words that match the following definitions.
20. was greater in number or amount ……………
21. to stretch across something, from one side to the other ……………
22. a drug addict ……………
23. unusual tricks that are intended to attract attention ……………
24. the importance and respect that a person has because of their ability and achievements ……………
Answers: 1. 2016. 2. 2017. 3. 55 days, 1.37 billion baht. 4. 2020. 5. 180km. 6. False. 7. False. 8. False.
9. hero/heroism 10. length 11. completion 12. proof 13. popularity
14. c. 15. a. 16. b. 17. a. 18. b. 19. c.
20. exceeded. 21. span. 22. junkie. 23. gimmicks. 24. stature.
SCORE
21-24: Excellent! 17-20: Good. 13-16: Fair. 12 or fewer: You'll do better next time!
