INTRODUCTION
What's "news"?
Welcome to Post tips. For some of you it is welcome back because you used this column during the first school term. This term we are going to look at many different columns and features in the Bangkok Post, but I will begin with the most basic of all Bangkok Post stories - the news story.
Have your ever wondered why news is called "news"? This week we are going to find out. We are going to follow the same story through several different days. As you will clearly see, the purpose of each story is first and foremost to tell you what is "new" about the situation. Starting the second day, there is also some "old" information for people who are not yet familiar with the story, but that is of secondary importance.
Last term, I prepared a very similar column to show my readers the advantage of following a story over several days. The first day is always the most difficult. As you become familiar with the story, it gets easier and easier to read - and more enjoyable as well.
One big advantage of following a story over time is that you can usually guess many of the words that are unfamiliar to you. I suggest you avoid your dictionary completely this week. If you have difficulty with any of the words, the follow-up exercise will probably clear them up.
Activity 1: What's new?
This week, you should read all four parts of the story. As you do so, make a list of the new facts that you discover from each. To make your job easier, I have made a list of the new facts found in the first story. That will give you an idea of what to do.
Be sure to list only the new facts. Do not repeat facts that were given in previous stories.
Facts from the September 30th story:
- On September 29th, veterinarians from the Dusit Zoo sawed off a coconut to free a monkey's right hand which had been stuck in the coconut for three weeks.
- They found that 80 percent of the skin was dead.
- They expected to decide today (September 30th) if they would have to amputate the hand.
- The animal is a two-year-old crab-eating monkey
- The monkey was found in a forest in Bang Khun Thian, Thon Buri.
- The monkey probably got his hand stuck when he tried to get the coconut meat out from a small hole in its shell.
- The monkey caused the wound to get worse by struggling to get its hand free.
- The vets found out about the monkey from hearing the local people talk about it on TV and radio.
- They rushed to the forest but failed to capture the monkey the first day after a five-hour attempt.
- Finally, with the help from city police and the district office, the vets were able to capture the monkey by hitting it with an anaesthetic dart.
- Since some parts of the hand were covered with hair, there was still some blood circulation.
- The doctors dressed the wound and wrapped it with cotton gauze.
Activity 2: Telling the story chronologically
When you have finished all four parts of the story, your next task is to tell the story yourself. But don't do it in newspaper style by beginning with the latest news. Tell the story as it actually happened from beginning to end. This, incidentally, is known as telling the story chronologically.
Try to put the story into your own words. And don't give every detail. That would make your story too long and boring. Also remember that telling a story is not just a matter of listing facts. It needs to be connected. Your teacher will give you some ideas of what I mean.
STORIES
| STORY 1
![[Monkey's hand being freed]](monkey.jpg)
Monkey gets hand freed after weeks
Vets fear amputation may be necessary
Anjira Assavanonda
Veterinarians came to the relief yesterday of a monkey whose right hand had been stuck in a coconut for three weeks.
The vets, from Dusit Zoo, sawed off the coconut and found most of the skin to be dead. They expect to decide today if they will have to amputate.
Dr Alongkorn Mahannop, director of the Zoological Park Organisation, said the two-year-old crab-eating monkey was found in mangrove and nipa palm forest behind Tha Kham police station in Bang Khun Thian, Thon Buri.
It was thought the monkey put his hand in a small hole in the shell to get at coconut meat. While struggling to extract himself, the monkey caused the wound to worsen.
After local people raised the plight of the distressed monkey on TV and radio on Monday, the vet team and staff from Dusit Zoo rushed to the forest, which is the habitat of a colony of about 100-150 monkeys. After a five-hour attempt on the first day, the monkey proved elusive.
"We saw him on top of a tree, with his hand stuck in the coconut," said Dr Alongkorn. "He had to use his left hand to help carry the shell while walking."
In the second attempt, with support from city police and the district office, the team was close enough to fire an anaesthetic dart and then took the monkey to the animal hospital at Dusit Zoo.
After splitting the shell, Dr Alongkorn said 80 percent of the skin was dead since the hand had been stuck for 15-20 days. However, some parts were still covered with hair, which indicated blood circulation.
The vet team dressed the wound and wrapped the hand with cotton gauze. Dr Alongkorn said the monkey would be kept for one more night, and if the wound did not recover, the vets would have to cut the hand off to save his life.
September 30, 1998 |
| STORY 2
Monkey's hand might be saved
Vets will know in two or three days
Anjira Assavanonda
Veterinarians are hoping to save the monkey's hand which was stuck in a coconut for almost three weeks.
The hand, retrieved from the coconut by vets from Dusit Zoo, was showing signs of recovery yesterday.
The two-year-old crab-eating monkey damaged his right hand while trying to free himself from the coconut. Doctors estimate 80 percent of the skin is dead.
Skin tissue had begun to recover somewhat after the monkey, which was shot with a sedative dart in a mangrove forest in Bang Khun Thian, Thon Buri, was treated at the zoo.
Vets have found that wrist and finger bones are in good condition and the swelling has gone down. Hair covering patches of skin was healthy and shiny, indicating good circulation.
Dr Somchai Chotaphisitkul, one of the vets who took care of the monkey, said he would know in two or three days if the hand would recover.
"Examining the wound today, there is a possibility the hand needn't be amputated, which would be the last resort. The animal is in better condition now and can eat normal food such as fruit," said Dr Somchai.
Dr Alongkorn Mahannop, director of the Zoological Park Organisation, said vets would keep the monkey under close observation, administering tissue regeneration treatment and antibiotics to prevent infection.
If the hand can be saved, the monkey would be kept for another two months for further treatment. Once recovered, he would be returned to his habitat.
October 1, 1998 |
| STORY 3
Monkey won't lose his hand
Anjira Assavanonda
Vets have decided to save the hand of a monkey which was badly wounded from getting stuck in a coconut for nearly three weeks.
Dr Alongkorn Mahannop, director of policy and planning at the Zoological Park Organisation, said the hand has much recovered and need not be amputated.
The two-year-old crab-eating monkey hurt his right hand while trying to pull it out of the coconut shell. The vets thought they might have to amputate as nearly 80 percent of the skin was dead.
After examining the hand yesterday, Dr Alongkorn said that although the swelling has not completely gone down, the palm is warm as a result of good circulation.
The finger nerves have not yet returned to normal condition, but the bones are strong and healthy. The vets are now trying to prevent infection of the wounds.
According to Dr Alongkorn, now the monkey can eat many foods, such as rambutan, stringbeans, banana, and apple.
The vets will keep the monkey at the animal hospital in Dusit Zoo for further treatment for another two months before releasing it to the habitat in the mangrove forest in Bang Khun Thian district.
October 3, 1998 |
| STORY 4
Monkey may only get 50% hand use
Anjira Assavanonda
First he was going to lose his hand, then he wasn't - now vets say they are not sure if Kala the monkey, who got his hand stuck in a coconut, will ever have full use of his fingers.
Dusit Zoo vet staff say they think the crab-eating monkey will only get 50 percent of his hand use back.
Two-year-old Kala hurt his right hand while trying to pull it out of a coconut in his mangrove forest in Bangkok's Bang Khun Thian district.
October 14, 1998 |
Matching exercise
Once you have read all four stories, this exercise should be very easy for you. All the words in the left-hand column come from the stories. Match each word with the most appropriate meaning in the right-hand column. You will not use all the meanings in the right-hand column.
- ____ veterinarian
- ____ amputate
- ____ extract
- ____ plight
- ____ habitat
- ____ anaesthetic
- ____ circulation
- ____ regeneration
- ____ swelling
- ____ palm
|
- a very unpleasant situation
- causing to grow again
- an unhealthy increase in size
- to take out of or free from
- to cause great pain
- to cut off
- the inside part of a hand
- a chemical that causes sleep
- a doctor who cares for animals
- a shape similar to an egg
- the flow of blood through the body
- a place where a particular animal or plant lives naturally
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FOLLOW-UP
Teacher’s Note
Last term, Post tips was really a mini-course to introduce your students to the Bangkok Post. We covered news stories, opinion, features and even the comics. This term, we will focus largely on the types of activities you can use with the various types of reading material found in our newspaper.
I thought it would be a good idea, however, if we would begin with a little review of the most basic of all newspaper stories, the news stories. You might remember from last term that I suggested strongly you take advantage of the fact that news stories often continue over several days or weeks. Students are, therefore, able to apply what they learn from one day to the next.
This week we will put this to good use with an interesting story about a monkey which had the unfortunate experience of getting its hand stuck in a coconut for almost three weeks. The activities for this lesson are explained in the students' introduction. I suggest you stress that the main purpose of news stories is to give the latest news which almost always comes at the top of the story. The first activity should make this clear.
Because of their focus on the latest news, news stories are seldom chronological - telling stories in the order in which they actually happened. But this shouldn't prevent you from having the students tell this week's story that way and that is the purpose of the final activity. I think you will agree that this will cause the students to think about what they read more carefully. Make sure your students tell the story in a connected fashion. For example, they should use phrases like "At first doctors thought they might have to amputate the monkey's hand but..."
Next week: Combining news with opinion
•This lesson was prepared by Acharn Terry Fredrickson, BA Stanford, MA (TESL) University of Minnesota, Manager of the Educational Services Department at the Bangkok Post and general editor of this programme.
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Winner
of PANPA Award for Excellence
