TEST YOURSELF: Reality check

Bangkokians weigh in on returning to 'normal'

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Read the following story by Eric E Surbano from Bangkok Post’s Guru Magazine. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Bangkok’s malls are busy again. The streets are lined with traffic. There seems to be more people (and motorcycles) on the pavements. But is the reopening a good idea? Guru speaks to some Bangkokians.

Nitchanan Komson, photographer and videographer

This soft reopening has no new direct consequences because the situation can't get any worse. Although malls are reopened, students still can't attend school. They're still taking online classes.

The problem is not just people gathering. The real problem is the lack of access to vaccines. Lockdown or not, it's still the same.

I believe we will go into lockdown again. The vaccine registration is still a mess. It requires a smartphone and/or Internet access, and there are so many people in Thailand who don't know how to use the Internet or a smartphone.

Francesco Lenzi, restaurant owner

We are certainly happy to open the restaurants again for dine-in, but we must be able to sell alcohol because restaurants cannot pay all the expenses without it. If drinking wine at the restaurant isn't allowed, customers won't be happy and decide not to go.

The reopening is the only thing that can save us. In Bangkok, a high number of vaccinations have been made and we hope that soon it will be easier to choose and buy any type of vaccine in private hospitals.

Jahziel John, teacher

I've been working on-campus despite the lockdown, which is not so bad. It does make it more convenient to have more restaurants open. I do miss the reduced traffic caused by the lockdown.

Since the Covid numbers haven't really gone down even if many people were working from home, we might as well learn to live with it.

Sasipha Kaewkham, hotel PR

I enjoyed being able to get a haircut for the first time in two months. The reopening has a more positive effect on my job and our business even though we must operate our hotel and restaurants with limitations.

I don’t think we can wait until it goes down to the ideal zero confirmed cases as businesses, large and small, need to survive. We have started to learn how to live with Covid-19.


Section 1: Write the correct answer in the space provided.
1. What does Nitchanan think is a mess? …………….
2. What does Francesco want to sell? …………….
3. What does Jahziel say reduced during lockdown? …………….
4. Sasipha thinks we have adapted to Covid. True or false? …………….
5. Who mentions working from home?…………..
6. Who talks about education? …………….

Section 2: Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
I …7… this is the last time we find …8… in lockdown or have restrictions. My hope is that from November, Thailand will be …9… to recover and have a majority of the population …10… .

7. __A. hoping             __B. hoped                __C. hope
8. __A. myself                 __B. us                  __C. ourselves
9. __A. can                __B. able               __C. possible
10. __A. vaccine            __B. vaccination            __C. vaccinated
       
Section 3: Find words that match the following definitions.
11. results of an action or situation……………
12. the ability to get something  ……………
13. amounts of money that are needed to pay for something  ……………
14. rules that put limits on things …………

Answers: 1. vaccine registration. 2. alcohol. 3. traffic. 4. true. 5. Jahziel. 6. Nitchanan. 7. c. 8. c. 9. b. 10. c. 11.  consequences. 12. access. 13. expenses. 14. limitations.

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