It shouldn’t be surprising that we and our colleagues at Thai newspapers cover many of the same stories. Does this give you any ideas for reading the Bangkok Post? It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it, that if you first read a story in a Thai newspaper, the Bangkok Post’s version of the same story will be much easier to understand.

This is particularly true for international stories since both English and Thai newspapers obtain their news from news agencies such as Reuters, AP, DPA, and AFP. Below is an example of a recent story that received heavy coverage in both the Bangkok Post and the Thai newspapers.

First you will see an excerpt from the Thai Rath newspaper. Then you will see a very similar excerpt from the Bangkok Post. Both stories obviously came from the same source, the AFP news agency. Notice, however, that they are not identical.

There are at least two reasons for this. First, different newspapers will edit the stories differently, cutting them down to fit their available space. Secondly, news agencies constantly revise and update their stories, sometimes issuing new versions almost hourly.

The Nepalese royal family during the coming-of-age ceremony of Crown Prince Dipendra in 1990. All the family members in this photo were killed. From Left: Crown Prince Dipendra, King Birendra, Prince Nirajan, Queen Aishwarya and Princess Shruti. — REUTERS

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Crown prince wipes out royal family Row over bride leads to slaying at dinner Kathmandu, AFP Nepal’s crown prince shot dead his parents – the king and queen – and several other relatives during a family dinner at the royal palace before turning the gun on himself, officials said yesterday. An official statement on state-run radio said King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, their children Prince Nirajan, 22, and Princess Shruti, 24, and one of the king’s cousins, Princess Jayanti Shah, had been killed. However, Home Minister Ram Chandra Paudel said a further six people had been shot dead, including the king’s two sisters and one of their husbands, when Crown Prince Dipendra reportedly opened fire with two semi-automatic weapons during the family’s regular Friday dinner at the Narayan Hity Palace. The 29-year-old heir to the throne of this small Himalayan kingdom then turned the gun on himself. Sources close to the royal palace said the stunning massacre was triggered by a bitter family row over the woman the crown prince wanted to marry. The prince reportedly wanted to marry 22-year-old Devyani Rana, daughter of former foreign and finance minister Pashupati Shumshere Rana, but his choice was strongly opposed by Queen Aishwarya, who had another candidate in mind. Prince Dipendra had refused to be swayed, revealing that he had secretly already married Devyani in a temple according to Hindu rites. According to sources, King Birendra had warned the heir to the throne that unless he bowed to the queen’s wishes he would be passed over in the succession in favour of his younger brother Prince Nirajan. As the argument at the dinner table peaked, the crown prince apparently stormed out from the room. He went to his private quarters in the palace, armed himself with two semi-automatic weapons, walked back to the dining room and opened fire, before shooting himself.

ACTIVITY ONE Read the Thai Rath and the Bangkok Post versions of this story. Then complete the exercise that follows. 1. The Thai language uses special vocabulary to talk about royalty. Is English similar or does it use basically the same vocabulary to talk about royal and non-royal people? 2. Identify the people in the photograph, both in Thai and in English. Below are some of the key ideas of the story in English. How would you express them in Thai?: 3. Nepal’s crown prince shot dead his parents – the king and queen – and several other relatives during a family dinner at the royal palace before turning the gun on himself. 4. Sources close to the royal palace said the massacre was triggered by a bitter family row over the woman the crown prince wanted to marry. 5. The prince reportedly wanted to marry 22-year-old Devyani Rana, but his choice was strongly opposed by Queen Aishwarya, who had another candidate in mind. 6. The King demanded that the prince bow to the queen’s wishes. Otherwise, he would be passed over in the succession in favour of his younger brother Prince Nirajan. 7. Prince Dipendra had refused to be swayed, revealing that he had secretly already married Devyani in a temple according to Hindu rites. 8. The crown prince apparently stormed out from the room. He went to his private quarters in the palace, armed himself with two semi-automatic weapons, walked back to the dining room and opened fire, before shooting himself. ACTIVITY TWO Find today's issue of a Thai newspaper. Look for one or two local stories which are covered by both the Thai paper and the Bangkok Post. List some of the English vocabulary words you were able to learn by reading the Thai version of the story.

It is so much easier to understand something when you can see what is happening. That is why photos and their captions can be so useful in language learning.

Take the following for example. Look at the photo and read the caption. What does strain mean? (Hint: Look at the man’s face). What is a bow? What is the sport of archery?

An elderly man strains to pull his home-made bow back at an archery range in Thimphu, Bhutan. Archery is the national sport in Bhutan. — AP

Even with pictures, you will often have to do a bit of detective work like you did in last week’s lesson. Look at the second photo and the caption following it. What is an imposter? Unless you are a very knowledgeable "Man U" fan, you will probably have to read the full caption and look carefully at the photo to be able to answer. Now find a synonym for "imposter" in the same caption. What is a lookalike?

A TEAM PLAYER An imposter (left) walked onto the field in a Manchester United uniform for the team picture before yesterday’s match at Bayern Munich. Only captain Roy Keane (out of the picture) appeared to notice the interloper. The Eric Cantona lookalike left as mysteriously as he arrived. He wears a watch and has the wrong logo on his shorts. — AFP

ON THE BRINK An empty bus dangles on the Nanjing Yangtse River Bridge in eastern China's Jiangsu province after all passengers were rescued. Forty people escaped death on Thursday after climbing out of the bus windows one by one with the help of the police.— REUTERS

The ideas on this page are just suggestions. Feel free to add your own observations and techniques. Also feel free to find your own examples from the Thai-language press and the Bangkok Post.

A word about photos

Photos tell stories, often much more effectively than words. In the newspaper, however, photos go hand and hand with words, and together they can be a big help in learning English. Photos can help students visualise the story they are reading. Together with their captions, they can also help students guess the meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary.

The first example is the easiest. The look on the man's face gives a very good illustration of the word "strain" - perhaps even better than the dictionary definition: "to make a great effort".

The same is true of "bow" because you can actually see what a bow is. It shouldn't be very difficult to guess that "archery" is the sport using a bow and arrow.

The second example is more difficult. Students will have to look very carefully at the picture and its caption before they realise that an "imposter" is a person who pretends to be another person. Two key clues are "Eric Cantona lookalike" and "left as mysteriously as he arrived". If he were the real Eric Cantona he would not be a lookalike (someone who looks very much like someone else). If he were a real Manchester United player, why would he mysteriously disappear? The synonym for "imposter" is "interloper".

"On the brink" means on the edge and it is easy to see why this heading was chosen for the third picture. To "dangle" means to hang loosely – like a light hanging from a chain attached to the ceiling. Here the writer is emphasising how unstable the bus looks to be in this position.

Your students may not be able to guess the exact meanings, but they should quickly understand why they were chosen and the picture should help them to remember the words and their meanings.

Next week: note about next week's lesson