Test Yourself is where you can improve your reading skills. Whether it’s for tests like University Entrance Exams or IELTS and TOEFL, or even just for fun, these pages help you to read, understand and improve your English.

Read the following story by Petchtachat Arayasomboon from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Many students say the newly-introduced university entrance exam is unfair because needy students don’t have enough money to pay for the exam fees while those from wealthy families can take as many exams as they want.

NEW ADMISSION SYSTEM

Frustration among students and parents has peaked over the trouble-plagued new admission procedures, known as the Thai University Central Admission System (TCAS).

Introduced this year and supposedly designed to enable students to compete on a level playing field and reduce complications, the TCAS seems to have instead doubled the woes of students fighting to get seats in universities.

The system consists of five rounds of admission. The first, which began late last year, requires students to submit their portfolios to be considered by universities.  

The second round is dubbed “quota round,” where each university allots placements to students in specific regions or with special talents. These first two rounds involve no written exam.

PROBLEM ROUND

It’s the current third round that has stirred debate. This round involves a central examination with each student choosing four possible subjects without ranking their preferred order. This has caused a massive seat-hogging problem with top students winning exam spots for several (if not all four) courses and in effect shutting out those who come after them even though their scores are also considered acceptable. The fourth round consists of another central exam with each student choosing another four courses, now ordered by preference. Applications for this round recently ended in the middle of June.

Lastly, the final round in July sees those who are still left without a place seeking out vacant spots at individual universities.

COSTLY FEES

Students have complained about the high cost of the exams (to increase their chances, students can take exams on several subjects if they can afford them), technical glitches (the website is prone to crashing) and time-consuming procedures (the application process can take more than six months).

The Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT), which devised and oversees the TCAS, has apologised for some of the hiccups. The council insisted that the system was created to ensure equality, and vowed to consider various recommendations from academics, parents and applicants to fix the flaws next year.

The TCAS is still another perennial problem, since Thai university admissions have gone through at least eight different systems in the past 60 years.

THE VOICE OF EXAMINEES

As the debate is ongoing, one thing is often missing - the voices of students, who are most affected by every new rule and system imposed by the authorities.

Here, we listen to their concerns, frustrations and what they think the admission system should look like.

Piyawan Namvichai, 18, who finished high school from Nawaminthrachinuthit Suankularb Wittayalai Samutprakarn School said, “As a result of too many users, the TCAS web portal crashed almost every time I went in. The schedule keeps changing and the fees are so expensive. The whole process takes too long — which makes me feel insecure and worried."

Debsirinromklao School’s former student Piyachat Kirdsaeng, 19, is waiting for the interview at the Faculty of Architecture at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. She has paid more than 3,000 baht for the application fees. “It’s expensive because I took several exams on several subjects, each of which costs at least 100 baht. Besides, there are charges for university preferences and administrative fees,” she explained.

“The university admission shouldn’t cost this much and it should have only one or two central exams. The whole process should take less time than it does now, which is around five months. That way, high-school graduates can prepare themselves before university starts,” Piyachat added.

---

Section 1

Read through the story and answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. What is the article about?

a. Examination fess for the TCAS.  
b. Thailand’s newly-introduced university admission system.
c. How to get a high score in the TCAS.

2. How many rounds of admission does the TCAS contain?  

a. Three. 
b. Four. 
c. Five.

3. When will the final round of the TCAS be held?

a. In the middle of June.
b. In July.
c. In August. 

4. Why did Piyawan say the portal crashed?   

a. It had too many users.
b. It’s too expensive.
c. It takes too long.

5. Where did Piyachat Kirdsaeng study?

a. At Suankularb Wittayalai School.
b. At Nawaminthrachinuthit School.
c. At Debsirinromklao School.

6. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the article?

a. Piyachat paid 300 baht for the application fees.
b. The Council of University Presidents of Thailand supervises the TCAS.
c. TCAS stands for Thailand’s Center of Admission System.
 
7. Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the article?

a. Piyawan thinks that the exam fees are too expensive and the whole process takes too long. 
b. Piyawan is waiting for the interview at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.
c. Piyawan said the exam schedule kept changing.

Section 2

Match each of the following words used in the story with the correct definitions from the choices given.

8. needy	a. a person who teaches and/or does research at a university or college
9. flaws	b. not having enough money, food, clothes, etc
10. portfolios	c. a thing that makes a situation more complicated or difficult
11. academics	d. connected with organizing the work of a business or an institution
12.administrative	e. a mistake in something that means that it is not correct or does not work correctly
13. complications	f. a collection of photographs, drawings, etc. that you use as an example of your work

Section 3

Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.

Samita Sueplerk, 18, is still waiting for the …..14….. round. She admitted that she put in a lot of effort and felt …..15….. “I don’t want to disappoint my parents,” she said. Samitra would like authorities to …..16….. the duration of the whole process from five months to two months, so that she would have more time to prepare before the term starts. Fourth-year university student Kantachai Sae-Ung insisted that he preferred the old system. “The current system costs a lot of money and …..17….. too long,” he said. “I feel sorry …..18….. the applicants and would like to say that I, too, have …..19….. miserable moments like this. Don’t blame yourself. Just keep going.”

14.

a. four  
b. fourth  
c. fourthly

15.

a. stress  
b. stressful  
c. stressed

16.

a. short  
b. shorten  
c. shortening

17.

a. takes  
b. took   
c. taken

18.

a. from  
b. to   
c. for

18.

a. experience 
b. experienced  
c. experiences

Section 4

Write down the noun forms of the following words used in the story.

20. involves

…………………………

21. considered

…………………………

22. supposedly

…………………………

23. central

…………………………

24. special

…………………………

---

Answers

Section 1

1. b.
2. c.
3. b.
4. a.
5. c.
6. b.
7. b.

Section 2

8. b.
9. e.
10. f.
11. a.
12. d.
13. c.

Section 3

14. b.
15. c.
16. b.
17. a.
18. c.
19. b.

Section 4

20. Involvement.
21. Consideration.
22. Supposition.
23. Centre.
24. Speciality/specialisation.

SCORE

21-24: Excellent!
17-20: Good.
13-16: Fair.
12 or fewer: You'll do better next time!