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A young jockey

Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul

Just like any other sport, being a good jockey requires extensive training, and it should be done when the jockey is still at a tender age. At least that's what the man in the story believes in. Our lesson this week will show you that training to be a jockey is not as easy as shelling peas. When you read the story, take note of our equine vocabulary and its associated terms.

at a tender age - at a young age อายุน้อย
as easy as shelling peas - very easy, quite simple ง่าย
equine - connected with horses เกี่ยวกับม้า

To download audio file, right click here

A day in the life of a child jockey

Songpol Kaopatumtip
Photos by Pattanapong Hirunard

cjockey3

During the week, Nat’s day begins at 5.30am, when his father takes him to a stable to exercise horses. On Wednesdays and Thursdays he goes directly to the provincial race course, where he does the same job for 50 baht per horse.

Returning home by 7.30am, Nat has his breakfast and then goes to school.

jockey2

After school, he takes a minibus to the stable. He does his homework there until 5pm, when he begins the daily regimen of 30-minute jogging and working out on a wooden horse fitted with stirrups and elastic reins made from the inner tube of a motorcycle tyre. Perched on the wooden simulator, he pulls the elastic reins 300 times to maintain the strength of his arms and legs.

Nat and his father, Tieng, who is a trainer there, return home together by 6pm.
The exercise may seem harsh for a 13-year old boy, but Nat says he has gotten used to it. ‘‘Every boy weeps their first day on that wooden horse,’’ said a mirthful stable hand.

Tieng says a great deal of patience and guidance is necessary to train young jockeys. ‘‘We are trying to develop athletes, and this is not done overnight,’’ he explains. ‘‘We can get a jockey with a good foundation by slow, steady incremental training.’’

Nat was seven years old when his dad first put him on the back of a horse. He later learned to walk, ride and handle horses. It took about a year before Tieng decided that his son was ready to race. At the age of 11, Nat passed a test on horse riding and handling skills, and received a licence to become a professional jockey.

He feels young jockeys are better off than stable hands, who have to do tasks like filling haynets, sweeping the yard, mucking out stables, grooming, feeding and watering horses.

stable - a building in which horses are kept คอกม้า
race course - a wide, usually circular, path with a grass surface, on which horses race, or the whole area in which this path is situated, including buildings สนามแข่ง, สนามม้า
stirrups - a pair of D-shaped pieces of metal that hang from the side of a horse's saddle and which is used for resting your foot in when you are riding เหล็กสำหรับเท้าเหยียบ (เวลาขี่ม้า)
elastic reins - a long thin piece of material, especially leather, which helps you to control and direct a horse สายบังเหียน
perched - seated on or near the edge of something นั่งบนที่สูง
simulator - a piece of equipment which represents real conditions ของจำลอง
harsh - unpleasant, unkind, cruel or unnecessarily severe ที่ไม่สามารถทนได้ (ต่อสภาพอากาศหรือสภาพความเป็นอยู่)
weeps - cries tears ร้องไห้
mirthful - full of laughter, amusement or happiness เต็มไปด้วยความรื่นเริง
hand - a person who does physical work or is skilled or experienced in something คนงาน
jockeys - people whose job is riding horses in races นักขี่ม้าแข่งอาชีพ
athletes - people who are very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who competes in organized events นักกีฬา
foundation - basis รากฐาน
incremental - small การเพิ่มขึ้นทีละน้อย
better off - to be in a better situation, if or after something happens ดีขึ้น
haynets - nets used for holding hay ตาข่ายสำหรับอุ้มฟาง
mucking out - cleaning a place where a large animal lives, especially a stable, by removing the excrement and old straw ทำความสะอาด
grooming - cleaning an animal, often by brushing its fur ดูแลม้า

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 07:06 AM

Taking the robe

Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul

It is a token of gratitude for young Thai Buddhist males to be ordained monks at least once in their lifetime for their parents. However, it can be quite a hard decision to make for some people as they will need to abstain from the material world and live under Buddhist rules. After reading the story below, you may want to discuss with your friends the main purpose for entering monkhood for most people and the benefits that they can get from it.

a token of gratitude - a symbol of being grateful สัญลักษณ์แห่งความกตัญญู
abstain from - stay away from ละเว้นจาก

To download audio file, right click here

Awakening stillness

Story and photo by SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT

stillness

The water splattered to the floor after it streamed down a boy who was cleaning his newly shaven head. Tomorrow, he will become one of 41 boys to join the summer novice ordination ceremony at Wat Phanittaram in Chachoengsao province.

In steaming weather, I observed these seedlings of buddhahood and my heart glowed.

‘‘Clear and chilled water may have awakened someone from their sleep. It is the awakening of stillness,’’ a thought drifted by while I was capturing pictures of the boys who, one by one, were having their heads shaven.

And another thought emerged: The act of giving up one’s hair is an initial step to discharge one’s bondage.

I used to feel like this at one time when I became a nun some three years ago. But I wasn’t sure if any of these boys shared similar thoughts as I did.

Some of the smaller boys looked delighted with their new guise, while some of the other boys who were more grown up appeared to be calm and ready to take on their new role at this particular stage of their lives; to nurture the faith that is deep in the hearts of the people and be a guidance toward monkhood.

Becoming ordained is a moment of courage in which one must persevere on the path of noble practices deservant of respect by the people in the community.

splattered - hit and covered a surface with small drops
streamed down - produced liquid quickly and in large amounts without stopping
novice ordination ceremony - ceremony for those training to be a monk or a nun
steaming - producing steam or hot and wet like steam
seedlings - young people who are compared to very young plants which have grown from seeds
glowed - felt positively
awakened - made someone stop sleeping
drifted by - moved slowly with no control over direction
emerged - came out
discharge one's bondage - let oneself go of worldly possessions
delighted - happy
guise - the appearance of someone
take on their new role - accept their new role
nurture - help someone or something develop and be successful
persevere - try to do or continue doing something in a determined way, despite having problems
noble practices - activities that involve high moral principles

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 01:59 AM

	Weekend Practice
Words in the News General News Easy English News Easy Business News Economics and Business Business Words in the News Teaching with the Bangkok Post Feature Focus From the Weeklies Mainly for Fun Hey kids! Weekend Practice Lessons on H.M.the King Focus on Thailand Buddhism Business and Economics Library 60 years ago General Links Terry's blog About Site General suggestions for teachers Building your vocabulary Suggestions for learners Suggestions for parents Who is Acharn Terry? Who is Acharn Jon?	February 06, 2010 A young jockey Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul Just like any other sport, being a good jockey requires extensive training, and it should be done when the jockey is still at a tender age. At least that's what the man in the story believes in. Our lesson this week will show you that training to be a jockey is not as easy as shelling peas. When you read the story, take note of our equine vocabulary and its associated terms. at a tender age - at a young age อายุน้อย as easy as shelling peas - very easy, quite simple ง่าย equine - connected with horses เกี่ยวกับม้า To download audio file, right click here A day in the life of a child jockey Songpol Kaopatumtip Photos by Pattanapong Hirunard During the week, Nat’s day begins at 5.30am, when his father takes him to a stable to exercise horses. On Wednesdays and Thursdays he goes directly to the provincial race course, where he does the same job for 50 baht per horse. Returning home by 7.30am, Nat has his breakfast and then goes to school. After school, he takes a minibus to the stable. He does his homework there until 5pm, when he begins the daily regimen of 30-minute jogging and working out on a wooden horse fitted with stirrups and elastic reins made from the inner tube of a motorcycle tyre. Perched on the wooden simulator, he pulls the elastic reins 300 times to maintain the strength of his arms and legs. Nat and his father, Tieng, who is a trainer there, return home together by 6pm. The exercise may seem harsh for a 13-year old boy, but Nat says he has gotten used to it. ‘‘Every boy weeps their first day on that wooden horse,’’ said a mirthful stable hand. Tieng says a great deal of patience and guidance is necessary to train young jockeys. ‘‘We are trying to develop athletes, and this is not done overnight,’’ he explains. ‘‘We can get a jockey with a good foundation by slow, steady incremental training.’’ Nat was seven years old when his dad first put him on the back of a horse. He later learned to walk, ride and handle horses. It took about a year before Tieng decided that his son was ready to race. At the age of 11, Nat passed a test on horse riding and handling skills, and received a licence to become a professional jockey. He feels young jockeys are better off than stable hands, who have to do tasks like filling haynets, sweeping the yard, mucking out stables, grooming, feeding and watering horses. stable - a building in which horses are kept คอกม้า race course - a wide, usually circular, path with a grass surface, on which horses race, or the whole area in which this path is situated, including buildings สนามแข่ง, สนามม้า stirrups - a pair of D-shaped pieces of metal that hang from the side of a horse's saddle and which is used for resting your foot in when you are riding เหล็กสำหรับเท้าเหยียบ (เวลาขี่ม้า) elastic reins - a long thin piece of material, especially leather, which helps you to control and direct a horse สายบังเหียน perched - seated on or near the edge of something นั่งบนที่สูง simulator - a piece of equipment which represents real conditions ของจำลอง harsh - unpleasant, unkind, cruel or unnecessarily severe ที่ไม่สามารถทนได้ (ต่อสภาพอากาศหรือสภาพความเป็นอยู่) weeps - cries tears ร้องไห้ mirthful - full of laughter, amusement or happiness เต็มไปด้วยความรื่นเริง hand - a person who does physical work or is skilled or experienced in something คนงาน jockeys - people whose job is riding horses in races นักขี่ม้าแข่งอาชีพ athletes - people who are very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who competes in organized events นักกีฬา foundation - basis รากฐาน incremental - small การเพิ่มขึ้นทีละน้อย better off - to be in a better situation, if or after something happens ดีขึ้น haynets - nets used for holding hay ตาข่ายสำหรับอุ้มฟาง mucking out - cleaning a place where a large animal lives, especially a stable, by removing the excrement and old straw ทำความสะอาด grooming - cleaning an animal, often by brushing its fur ดูแลม้า Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 07:06 AM January 30, 2010 Taking the robe Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul It is a token of gratitude for young Thai Buddhist males to be ordained monks at least once in their lifetime for their parents. However, it can be quite a hard decision to make for some people as they will need to abstain from the material world and live under Buddhist rules. After reading the story below, you may want to discuss with your friends the main purpose for entering monkhood for most people and the benefits that they can get from it. a token of gratitude - a symbol of being grateful สัญลักษณ์แห่งความกตัญญู abstain from - stay away from ละเว้นจาก To download audio file, right click here Awakening stillness Story and photo by SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT The water splattered to the floor after it streamed down a boy who was cleaning his newly shaven head. Tomorrow, he will become one of 41 boys to join the summer novice ordination ceremony at Wat Phanittaram in Chachoengsao province. In steaming weather, I observed these seedlings of buddhahood and my heart glowed. ‘‘Clear and chilled water may have awakened someone from their sleep. It is the awakening of stillness,’’ a thought drifted by while I was capturing pictures of the boys who, one by one, were having their heads shaven. And another thought emerged: The act of giving up one’s hair is an initial step to discharge one’s bondage. I used to feel like this at one time when I became a nun some three years ago. But I wasn’t sure if any of these boys shared similar thoughts as I did. Some of the smaller boys looked delighted with their new guise, while some of the other boys who were more grown up appeared to be calm and ready to take on their new role at this particular stage of their lives; to nurture the faith that is deep in the hearts of the people and be a guidance toward monkhood. Becoming ordained is a moment of courage in which one must persevere on the path of noble practices deservant of respect by the people in the community. splattered - hit and covered a surface with small drops streamed down - produced liquid quickly and in large amounts without stopping novice ordination ceremony - ceremony for those training to be a monk or a nun steaming - producing steam or hot and wet like steam seedlings - young people who are compared to very young plants which have grown from seeds glowed - felt positively awakened - made someone stop sleeping drifted by - moved slowly with no control over direction emerged - came out discharge one's bondage - let oneself go of worldly possessions delighted - happy guise - the appearance of someone take on their new role - accept their new role nurture - help someone or something develop and be successful persevere - try to do or continue doing something in a determined way, despite having problems noble practices - activities that involve high moral principles Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 01:59 AM
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February 06, 2010

A young jockey

To download audio file, right click here

A day in the life of a child jockey

January 30, 2010

Taking the robe

To download audio file, right click here

Awakening stillness