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This column is for self-study or classroom use and gives guided help with reading the wide variety of writing styles and topics that appear as feature articles in the Bangkok Post. The lessons include background information, skill-building practice and vocabulary explanations. August 23, 2005 Flood season INTRODUCTION

TEACHERS The floods will likely be with us for some time and, while they are unpleasant for those affected, the stories do offer us an opportunity for students to master the vocabulary related to a specific topic. If you are one of the many teachers doing research for a master’s degree or a promotion (e.g., “Ajarn 3”), here is an opportunity for you to pick up a useful technical term. The term is “semantic field”, which refers to the type of vocabulary common to a particular subject or type of writing. Semantic fields can be quite general or quite specific. In this story, for example, you will see words related to disasters, which is a very general semantic field. More specific is “natural disasters” and even more specific is “floods”. Let’s pick “floods” as our semantic field. The main object of our lesson then becomes to help students learn the key vocabulary in this field so that they can read and understand not just this flood story, but any flood story. Since this year’s floods in the North are so bad — the worst in decades — your students can probably pick up most of the key vocabulary this week. Over the next few days, I suggest you start a collection of flood stories by copying them from the Bangkok Post website and having your students help you build up your vocabulary list. Notice that “floods” is a legitimate semantic field. Much of the vocabulary here is most likely to occur in flood stories as opposed to other types of disasters. Some words do commonly cross over, however, especially “evacuation”, “relief”, “impassable”, “devastated”, and “bear the brunt” of something. Notice also that a semantic field typically limits the meaning of an individual word. “Inundate”, for example, has more than one possible meaning, but in a flood story you can expect it to refer to covering an area with water. STUDENTS It’s that time of the year again. For the next several weeks, we’ll probably be reading a lot about floods and this story gives you good preparation for learning some of the basic vocabulary used in such stories. The stories themselves are not difficult to read and understand. They all talk about the death and destruction caused by the floods, what people are doing to try to help the victims and, in some cases, what needs to be done to prevent future floods. In this case, it is a bit early in the season to talk about flood prevention, although there is a brief mention of the subject. Read stories like this not only for the news but also to start building your flood-related vocabulary.

OUR STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST Four dead in northern floods Central Chiang Mai a chest-deep lake CHEEWIN SATTHA and SUBIN KHUENKAEW An elderly man lies in a boat as he is rescued from his flooded home in Chiang Mai. — SUBIN KHUENKAEW Downtown Chiang Mai became a chest-deep lake in the worst flooding the province has seen in many years, while four people died and six rafters were reported missing yesterday in torrential water run-off in Mae Hong Son. Heavy flooding forced evacuations in many parts of the northernmost provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. At Chiang Mai’s tourist magnets, the Night Bazaar and Varoros Market, vendors raced to move their stock to higher ground but many were unable to beat the rapid surge of water. The floods are seasonal, but came early this year. The main thoroughfares in Chiang Mai’s central business district, such as Chang Klan and Charoen Prathet, were submerged. The water reached 1 metre high in some spots. Municipal relief workers handed out sandbags to waterfront residents. Strong currents surged in the Ping river, the province’s main waterway, which was predicted to rise by another 10-40 centimetres to five metres. Housing estates near the airport were submerged under neck-deep water. Flat-bottom boats were sent out to rescue stranded residents. Schools on the Ping river banks were closed for two days starting today. Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop toured the flooded provinces and said Chiang Mai's economy would take a battering. The flood water threatened to overflow to downstream districts of San Patong, Chom Thong and Hod. Chiang Mai’s flood prevention plan would be reviewed, he said. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in the province to inspect the damage and handed out relief supplies to residents. Anant Siripappokil, village headman of Ban Dong Palan in the Mae Tang district of Chiang Mai, said more than 100 houses were under water. Main roads were impassable and only one boat was available to take the sick out of the village, which had received no help from the province. Chiang Mai governor Suwat Tantipipat told the prime minister that 10 districts, 56 tambons and 174 villages were flooded. The Ping river level at the main Naovarat Bridge topped 4.9 metres, the highest in 40 years. The State Railway of Thailand cancelled its Chiang Mai-bound trains yesterday as water surged 30 centimetres above the 20km tracks between Chiang Mai and Sarapee stations. The governor said rain in some areas had let up and the flood appeared to be stabilising. A man, Alongkarn Jampathong, 32, was killed and seven people critically injured in an accident while attempting to flee water run-off from the mountains. The Tourism Authority of Thailand said the impact on tourism would be minimal and short-lived although revenue from the sale of souvenirs would fall since the Night Bazaar was one of the better-known shopping attractions in Chiang Mai. The government says Mae Hong Son was worst hit. Large areas of farmland were devastated in Pai, Pang Mapa and Muang districts. Mr Suwat said Pai district was a sea of mud and damage was put at one billion baht. More than 3,000 rai of farmland, seven tambons and 62 villages were inundated. A 47-year-old woman, Chantra Unmuang, of tambon Wiang Tai, drowned after floods swept her away. Twenty-seven people were injured. In Pang Mapa district, a schoolboy from Pang Mapa Vitthayasan School and a 39-year-old man were killed in the flood. Six people are also missing after they went rafting. The Mae Hong Son-Pai road and bridges connecting at least four villages were cut off. Wilas Pusilp, Mae Hong Son assistant governor, said damage to property and farmland in the three districts exceeded 120 million baht. Mae Hong Son governor Supoj Laowansiri said as rainfall eased, water in the Pai river was falling back. Helicopters would airdrop foodstuffs and drinking water to isolated areas, and sirens would be installed at villages at risk of flash floods and mudslides. Uthai Luechai, Mae Saruay district chief, expected the Lao River, which bore the brunt of the downpour and persistent run-off from neighbouring Chiang Mai to begin receding today. People living near the river in Muang district were told to prepare to evacuate. rafters people who float on rafts (flat structures made of pieces of wood tied together, in rivers, lakes or oceans) torrential (of rain) extremely heavy; falling in large amounts evacuation leaving a place of danger tourist magnets places that attract a lot of tourists stock a supply of goods available for sale surge (used a both a noun and verb in this story) a sudden rise; to move quickly and forcefully submerged completely covered with water relief food, money, medicine, etc. that is given to help people in which there has been a disaster of some kind currents movements of water or air stranded to be left in a place where there is no way of getting out take a battering to be badly damaged overflow to become so full (of water, etc) that the contents fall over the sides of a river, container, etc. downstream in the direction in which a river flows impassable (of a road, area, etc.) impossible to travel through let up (of rain) to begin to stop or to rain less heavily; to ease minimal very small in size or amount devastated very badly damaged or completely destroyed inundated covered with water eased let up isolated far away from any others flash floods floods that begin very suddenly bore the brunt of received the most of something bad (a storm, damage, etc.) receding (of flood water) moving gradually back to normal levels • This lesson is adapted from the Bangkok Post’s You Can Read website. For more inspiring lesson ideas, log on to www.bangkokpost.com/youcanread. Read our other learner centre columns here. Return to our home page. | © The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2005 | Last modified: August 15, 2005