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Let's do sport!

Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul

Who says language is a barrier in forming friendships? Our lesson below has proven that playing sports is, in fact, a powerful communicative tool that transcends age, race, gender, etc. Perhaps the next time you plan on making some new friends, all you have to do is invite them to join a sports game with you.

barrier - anything that prevents people from being together or understanding each other อุปสรรค
transcend - go beyond, rise above or be more important or better than something, especially a limit อยู่เหนือ

Footie sans frontieres

Photo & text by KEM ISSARA

Given its proximity to the border it’s not surprising that Ko Chang, the popular tourist destination in Trat, attracts a large number of migrant workers from Cambodia. I took this picture late one afternoon in mid-March on Hat Sai Khao, the most developed beach on the island. These Khmer youths and their parents stroll along the strand after dark selling laser pointers, flashing pop-up toys and scary-looking headbands that light up. As they wait for nightfall they often kill time by kicking a football around.

A Thai teenager, having rented out all 12 of his air-beds and seeing how much fun the boys were having, asked if he could join in.

Fifteen minutes into the match, two young tourists, a guy and a gal, got bored being mere onlookers and invited themselves to the ‘‘party’’. They simply walked over, pointed at the ball and then at themselves and, after receiving a few nods of approval, teamed up with the Thai kid. A few minutes later a couple of teenagers, both female, joined in. To even things up, the farang boy changed sides, joining forces with the Cambodians.

The game ended about 40 minutes later. And the winning team was, of course, the predominantly female team.

Footie sans frontieres - 'football without borders', probably a play on words from Medicins Sans Frontieres which is a humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization ฟุตบอลไร้พรมแดน
proximity - the state of being near in space or time ความใกล้ชิด
migrant - moving from one place to another อพยพ
stroll - walk in a slow relaxed manner, especially for pleasure เดินเล่น
strand - a shore ชายหาด
pop-up toys - toys which have parts that push out from a surface or from inside ของเล่นที่มีส่วนกระเด้งออกมาได้
headbands - narrow strips of material worn around the head, usually to keep your hair or sweat out of your eyes
light up - become bright ทำให้สว่างสดใส
kill time - pass the time ฆ่าเวลา
gal - a woman or girl ผู้หญิง (คำสแลง)
onlookers - people who watch something that is happening in a public place but are not involved in it ผู้ดูเหตุการณ์
nods - moving of head down and up to show agreement, approval or greeting ผงกศรีษะรับ, แสดงอาการรับรู้
approval - when you have a positive opinion of someone or something ความเห็นชอบด้วย
teamed up with - cooperate with ร่วมมือกับ
to even things up - adjust or balance things ทำให้เท่ากันมากขึ้น
predominantly - mostly or mainly มีอิทธิพลเหนือ, มีมากกว่า

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 03:46 AM

The sound and the fury

Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul

Some countries have imported several units of a high-tech device called the Mosquito to prevent teenagers from hanging around in public places. This device works by sending out ear-piercing noise to annoy teens and young adults, and this noise can only be heard by them. However, some human rights groups have also voiced their objections to the use of this device, claiming that it violates personal freedom and could pose some long-term health-related dangers. You can find out more details from the story below and discuss with your friends the pros and cons of using this kind of device in your country.

ear-piercing - describes a sound that is so loud or high that it hurts your ears (เสียง) แหลมแสบแก้วหู
voiced - said what you think about a particular subject, especially to espress a doubt, complaint, etc. that you have about it แสดงความคิดเห็น
objections - feeling or expressing opposition to or dislike of something or someone การไม่เห็นด้วย
violates - broke or acted against something, especially a law, agreement, principle or something that should be treated with respect ละเมิด
pose - cause something, especially a problem or difficulty เป็นเหตุให้
pros and cons - advantages and disadvantages ข้อดีและไม่ดี

High-pitched teen-repellent has US abuzz

NEW YORK: A wall-mounted gadget designed to drive away loiterers with a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is infuriating civil liberties groups and tormenting young people after being introduced in the US.

Almost 1,000 units of the device, called the Mosquito, have been sold in the United States and Canada after the product appeared last year, according to Daniel Santell, the North America importer of the device sold under the company name Kids Be Gone.

The high-frequency sound has been likened to fingernails dragged across a blackboard or a pesky mosquito buzzing in your ear. It can be heard by most people in their teens and early 20s who still have sensitive hair cells in their inner ears. Whether you can hear the noise depends on how much your hearing has deteriorated, how loud you blast your iPod, for example, could potentially affect your ability to detect it.

‘‘It’s horrible, loud and irritating,’’ said, Eddie Holder, 15. The device was installed outside his apartment building to drive away loiterers. ‘‘I have to hurry out of the building because it’s so annoying. It’s this screeching sound that you have to get away from, or it will drive you crazy.’’

The device has already riled civil liberties groups in countries where it’s already in use, including Britain and Australia. Britain’s government-appointed Children’s Commission proposed a ban. They describe it as a weapon that infringes on the basic rights of young people, and claim it could even have unknown longterm health effects.

The $1,500 (47,290 baht) device has also been challenged in some American cities and towns that have proposed installing it, with some criticising the tactic as needlessly cruel.

high-pitched - describes a noise that is high and sometimes also loud or unpleasant (เสียง) แหลม
repellent - a device used to force someone to move away from a place ตัวขับไล่
abuzz - filled with noise and activity เต็มไปด้วยเสียงดังอึกทึก
wall-mounted gadget - a device fixed on a wall อุปกรณ์ที่ติดกับผนัง
drive away - cause someone to escape ขับไล่ไปให้พ้น
loiterers - people who move slowly around or stand especially in a public place without an obvious reason คนเชือนแช,คนเถลไถล,คนอ้อยอิ่ง
shrill - having a loud and high sound that is unpleasant or painful to listen to มีเสียงแหลม
audible - able to be heard ซึ่งดังพอที่จะได้ยินได้
infuriating - making someone extremely angry ทำให้โกรธ
civil liberties - the rights of a person to do, think and say what they want if this does not harm other people สิทธิของบุคคล
tormenting - causing a person or animal to suffer ทำให้ทรมาน
likened - similar to เปรียบเสมือน
pesky - annoying or causing trouble น่ารำคาญ
buzzing - making a continuous low sound such as the one a bee makes เสียงเหมือนผึ้งร้องหึ่งๆ
deteriorated - became worse ทรุดโทรม, เสื่อมโทรม, เลวลง, ชำรุด
blast - to make a very loud and unpleasant noise เปิดเสียงดังมากๆ
potentially - possibly เป็นไปได้
screeching - making an unpleasant loud high noise เสียงแหลมและดัง
riled - made angry ทำให้ขุ่นเคือง
infringes on - if something infringes on someone's rights or freedom, it takes away some of their rights or limits their freedom ล่วงละเมิด, ละเมิด
tactic - a planned way of doing something ยุทธวิธี
needlessly - in a way that is not necessary อย่างไม่จำเป็น

Santell said the noise can be heard by animals and babies, but is bothersome only to children older than 12 and becomes unbearable after several minutes, making it a perfect teen-repellent. The same sound is also used as a cell phone ring tone by deaf adults, and is a popular download on the Internet.

The town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, banned the device last year after a cinema owner installed one.

‘‘There was an outcry, and people didn’t like the idea of torturing kids’ ears like that,’’ said Ronald Dlugosz, a town official. Milford, Connecticut faced similar resistance when the city announced plans to install the Mosquito in a park. They increased police patrols instead.

Elsewhere, there have been few or no complaints. A mall in Maryland, announced plans to introduce the buzz to disperse skateboarders, and officials and police said they haven’t had any outcry. A school district in Columbia, South Carolina recently installed one on the front grill of a school vehicle and another one in a car park where students often gather after high school games, with no complaints.

‘‘We’d have crowds gather in parking lots, and there’d be the usual trash talk, then you’d have fights,’’ said Rick McGee, the school district’s emergency services manager. ‘‘Now there’s no confrontation at all, they just get aggravated and leave within a few minutes.’’AP

unbearable - too painful or unpleasant for you to continue to experience ซึ่งไม่สามารถทนได้, ซึ่งทนไม่ไหว, ซึ่งเหลืออด
outcry - a strong expression of anger and disapproval about something, made by a group of people or by the public การคัดค้านอย่างรุนแรง
torturing - causing great physical or mental pain to someone intentionally ทรมานให้เจ็บปวด
patrols - the act of going around an area or a building to see if there is any trouble or danger การลาดตระเวน, หน่วยลาดตระเวน
disperse - to scatter or move away over a large area, ot to make something do this ทำให้กระจัดกระจาย
skateboarders - one who rides a skateboard นักเล่นสเก็ต
grill - a frame of metal bars used to cover something such as a window or a machine ตะแกรงหน้าหม้อรถยนต์
trash talk - criticizing other people, especially unfairly or cruelly วิจารณ์(ในทางลบ), ประณาม
aggravated - annoyed รำคาญ

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 03:25 AM

	Weekend Practice
Words in the News General News Business, Economics, and Technology News 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 60 years ago World Cup English About Site General suggestions for teachers Building your vocabulary Suggestions for learners Suggestions for parents Who is Acharn Terry? Who is Acharn Jon?	May 10, 2008 Let's do sport! Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul Who says language is a barrier in forming friendships? Our lesson below has proven that playing sports is, in fact, a powerful communicative tool that transcends age, race, gender, etc. Perhaps the next time you plan on making some new friends, all you have to do is invite them to join a sports game with you. barrier - anything that prevents people from being together or understanding each other อุปสรรค transcend - go beyond, rise above or be more important or better than something, especially a limit อยู่เหนือ Footie sans frontieres Photo & text by KEM ISSARA Given its proximity to the border it’s not surprising that Ko Chang, the popular tourist destination in Trat, attracts a large number of migrant workers from Cambodia. I took this picture late one afternoon in mid-March on Hat Sai Khao, the most developed beach on the island. These Khmer youths and their parents stroll along the strand after dark selling laser pointers, flashing pop-up toys and scary-looking headbands that light up. As they wait for nightfall they often kill time by kicking a football around. A Thai teenager, having rented out all 12 of his air-beds and seeing how much fun the boys were having, asked if he could join in. Fifteen minutes into the match, two young tourists, a guy and a gal, got bored being mere onlookers and invited themselves to the ‘‘party’’. They simply walked over, pointed at the ball and then at themselves and, after receiving a few nods of approval, teamed up with the Thai kid. A few minutes later a couple of teenagers, both female, joined in. To even things up, the farang boy changed sides, joining forces with the Cambodians. The game ended about 40 minutes later. And the winning team was, of course, the predominantly female team. Footie sans frontieres - 'football without borders', probably a play on words from Medicins Sans Frontieres which is a humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization ฟุตบอลไร้พรมแดน proximity - the state of being near in space or time ความใกล้ชิด migrant - moving from one place to another อพยพ stroll - walk in a slow relaxed manner, especially for pleasure เดินเล่น strand - a shore ชายหาด pop-up toys - toys which have parts that push out from a surface or from inside ของเล่นที่มีส่วนกระเด้งออกมาได้ headbands - narrow strips of material worn around the head, usually to keep your hair or sweat out of your eyes light up - become bright ทำให้สว่างสดใส kill time - pass the time ฆ่าเวลา gal - a woman or girl ผู้หญิง (คำสแลง) onlookers - people who watch something that is happening in a public place but are not involved in it ผู้ดูเหตุการณ์ nods - moving of head down and up to show agreement, approval or greeting ผงกศรีษะรับ, แสดงอาการรับรู้ approval - when you have a positive opinion of someone or something ความเห็นชอบด้วย teamed up with - cooperate with ร่วมมือกับ to even things up - adjust or balance things ทำให้เท่ากันมากขึ้น predominantly - mostly or mainly มีอิทธิพลเหนือ, มีมากกว่า Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 03:46 AM May 03, 2008 The sound and the fury Lesson by Zack Laohavoravudhikul Some countries have imported several units of a high-tech device called the Mosquito to prevent teenagers from hanging around in public places. This device works by sending out ear-piercing noise to annoy teens and young adults, and this noise can only be heard by them. However, some human rights groups have also voiced their objections to the use of this device, claiming that it violates personal freedom and could pose some long-term health-related dangers. You can find out more details from the story below and discuss with your friends the pros and cons of using this kind of device in your country. ear-piercing - describes a sound that is so loud or high that it hurts your ears (เสียง) แหลมแสบแก้วหู voiced - said what you think about a particular subject, especially to espress a doubt, complaint, etc. that you have about it แสดงความคิดเห็น objections - feeling or expressing opposition to or dislike of something or someone การไม่เห็นด้วย violates - broke or acted against something, especially a law, agreement, principle or something that should be treated with respect ละเมิด pose - cause something, especially a problem or difficulty เป็นเหตุให้ pros and cons - advantages and disadvantages ข้อดีและไม่ดี High-pitched teen-repellent has US abuzz NEW YORK: A wall-mounted gadget designed to drive away loiterers with a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is infuriating civil liberties groups and tormenting young people after being introduced in the US. Almost 1,000 units of the device, called the Mosquito, have been sold in the United States and Canada after the product appeared last year, according to Daniel Santell, the North America importer of the device sold under the company name Kids Be Gone. The high-frequency sound has been likened to fingernails dragged across a blackboard or a pesky mosquito buzzing in your ear. It can be heard by most people in their teens and early 20s who still have sensitive hair cells in their inner ears. Whether you can hear the noise depends on how much your hearing has deteriorated, how loud you blast your iPod, for example, could potentially affect your ability to detect it. ‘‘It’s horrible, loud and irritating,’’ said, Eddie Holder, 15. The device was installed outside his apartment building to drive away loiterers. ‘‘I have to hurry out of the building because it’s so annoying. It’s this screeching sound that you have to get away from, or it will drive you crazy.’’ The device has already riled civil liberties groups in countries where it’s already in use, including Britain and Australia. Britain’s government-appointed Children’s Commission proposed a ban. They describe it as a weapon that infringes on the basic rights of young people, and claim it could even have unknown longterm health effects. The $1,500 (47,290 baht) device has also been challenged in some American cities and towns that have proposed installing it, with some criticising the tactic as needlessly cruel. high-pitched - describes a noise that is high and sometimes also loud or unpleasant (เสียง) แหลม repellent - a device used to force someone to move away from a place ตัวขับไล่ abuzz - filled with noise and activity เต็มไปด้วยเสียงดังอึกทึก wall-mounted gadget - a device fixed on a wall อุปกรณ์ที่ติดกับผนัง drive away - cause someone to escape ขับไล่ไปให้พ้น loiterers - people who move slowly around or stand especially in a public place without an obvious reason คนเชือนแช,คนเถลไถล,คนอ้อยอิ่ง shrill - having a loud and high sound that is unpleasant or painful to listen to มีเสียงแหลม audible - able to be heard ซึ่งดังพอที่จะได้ยินได้ infuriating - making someone extremely angry ทำให้โกรธ civil liberties - the rights of a person to do, think and say what they want if this does not harm other people สิทธิของบุคคล tormenting - causing a person or animal to suffer ทำให้ทรมาน likened - similar to เปรียบเสมือน pesky - annoying or causing trouble น่ารำคาญ buzzing - making a continuous low sound such as the one a bee makes เสียงเหมือนผึ้งร้องหึ่งๆ deteriorated - became worse ทรุดโทรม, เสื่อมโทรม, เลวลง, ชำรุด blast - to make a very loud and unpleasant noise เปิดเสียงดังมากๆ potentially - possibly เป็นไปได้ screeching - making an unpleasant loud high noise เสียงแหลมและดัง riled - made angry ทำให้ขุ่นเคือง infringes on - if something infringes on someone's rights or freedom, it takes away some of their rights or limits their freedom ล่วงละเมิด, ละเมิด tactic - a planned way of doing something ยุทธวิธี needlessly - in a way that is not necessary อย่างไม่จำเป็น Santell said the noise can be heard by animals and babies, but is bothersome only to children older than 12 and becomes unbearable after several minutes, making it a perfect teen-repellent. The same sound is also used as a cell phone ring tone by deaf adults, and is a popular download on the Internet. The town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, banned the device last year after a cinema owner installed one. ‘‘There was an outcry, and people didn’t like the idea of torturing kids’ ears like that,’’ said Ronald Dlugosz, a town official. Milford, Connecticut faced similar resistance when the city announced plans to install the Mosquito in a park. They increased police patrols instead. Elsewhere, there have been few or no complaints. A mall in Maryland, announced plans to introduce the buzz to disperse skateboarders, and officials and police said they haven’t had any outcry. A school district in Columbia, South Carolina recently installed one on the front grill of a school vehicle and another one in a car park where students often gather after high school games, with no complaints. ‘‘We’d have crowds gather in parking lots, and there’d be the usual trash talk, then you’d have fights,’’ said Rick McGee, the school district’s emergency services manager. ‘‘Now there’s no confrontation at all, they just get aggravated and leave within a few minutes.’’AP unbearable - too painful or unpleasant for you to continue to experience ซึ่งไม่สามารถทนได้, ซึ่งทนไม่ไหว, ซึ่งเหลืออด outcry - a strong expression of anger and disapproval about something, made by a group of people or by the public การคัดค้านอย่างรุนแรง torturing - causing great physical or mental pain to someone intentionally ทรมานให้เจ็บปวด patrols - the act of going around an area or a building to see if there is any trouble or danger การลาดตระเวน, หน่วยลาดตระเวน disperse - to scatter or move away over a large area, ot to make something do this ทำให้กระจัดกระจาย skateboarders - one who rides a skateboard นักเล่นสเก็ต grill - a frame of metal bars used to cover something such as a window or a machine ตะแกรงหน้าหม้อรถยนต์ trash talk - criticizing other people, especially unfairly or cruelly วิจารณ์(ในทางลบ), ประณาม aggravated - annoyed รำคาญ Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 03:25 AM
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May 10, 2008

Let's do sport!

Footie sans frontieres

Photo & text by KEM ISSARA

May 03, 2008

The sound and the fury

High-pitched teen-repellent has US abuzz