Really Easy English

Something is missing from the statues in this photo. Our story, told in really easy English, explains.

Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning

Look. What’s wrong in this photo by Sunthorn Pongpao?

Click button to listen to Missing swords and rightclick to download

Look, there’s something missing.

Look closely at the photo (above). Look at the hands of the soldiers. Can you see that there is something missing?

Thieves have stolen the swords the soldiers were holding. The swords were made of bronze so the thieves probably wanted to sell them to earn money.

Altogether, the thieves have stolen 30 bronze swords from statues of ancient Burmese war elephants and soldiers located at a community park which is part of Ayutthaya Elephant Kraal.

The statues are actual size. The soldiers are 170cms tall and the elephants are three metres high.

Here’s a second photo. Look closely at the soldiers on top of the elephants. Can you see that they still have their swords? They were up too high for the thieves to easily reach. SUNTHORN PONGPAO

They are all ready to fight. Each elephant is surrounded by four soldiers near the elephant’s legs. The soldiers are armed with two swords each.

It is unfortunate the soldiers are not real. Thieves would not steal swords from real soldiers.

Adapted from a story in today’s Bangkok Post.

missing – not in the usual place because it has been removed or lost ซึ่งหายไป
thieves – people who dishonestly take something that belongs to someone else and keep it ขโมย
steal (stole, stolen) – to take something from a person, shop/store, etc. without permission and without intending to return it or pay for it ขโมย
sword – a weapon with a short handle and a long sharp blade ดาบ
bronze – a dark reddish-brown metal made by mixing copper and tin ทองสัมฤทธ์, ทองแดง
altogether – a total number or amount ทั้งหมด
statue – a human or animal image that is made of stone, wood, metal, etc. รูปปั้น
ancient – very old ที่เก่าแก่ ที่โบราณ
located – where something is ตั้งอยู่
community – the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
kraal – an area surrounded by a fence in which animals are kept คอก
actual – real; existing in fact จริง
surround – to be everywhere around someone/something; encircle ล้อมรอบ
armed – carrying a weapon  ติดอาวุธ
unfortunate – unlucky โชคร้าย, เคราะห์ไม่ดี
real – existing, actual จริง

Related search: Missing swords, Burmese statues, Ayutthaya Elephant Kraal