INTRODUCTION AND STORY
Serious business
I was looking through the Outlook section of the Bangkok Post about a week ago, when I saw the sad picture below. It was a picture of the famous young American actor Robert Downey, Jr. The short story accompanying the picture explains what was going on.
![[Robert Downey, Jr.]](downey.jpg) ACTOR Robert Downey Jr was taken to jail Monday to start serving a 180-day sentence for using drugs and alcohol in violation of his probation following a 1996 drug conviction.
Downey, 32, his hair slicked back and his eyes damp, was handcuffed in the Malibu, California courtroom where he appeared with his wife.
"I have no excuses. I find my self defenceless," said Downey whose voice broke as he talked about his 16-year battle with substance abuse.
Downey pleaded no contest in September 1996 to cocaine possession and driving while intoxicated.
He had been working recently on the films US Marshals and In Dreams. Downey starred in Natural Born Killers and Richard III, and received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the lead role in Chaplin. |
| sentence | punishment |
| violation | failure to obey a rule or law |
| probation | when someone who has committed a crime is not sent to prison but must not commit more crimes during a set period of time |
| conviction | a court decision that someone has committed a crime |
| (his) voice broke | he was unable to speak smoothly because of emotion, usually crying |
| substance abuse | misuse of drugs, alcoholic drinks, etc. |
| pleaded no contest | did not deny the charges |
| intoxicated | out of control because of having taken too much alcohol or drugs |
Mr Downey was arrested several times last year for drug and alcohol problems and his friends were very worried for him. Actor Sean Pean even rented an airplane to fly him to a drug treatment centre, but he ran away after one day. He couldn’t seem to control himself and his destructive behaviour. Now he is in jail because of it.
On the next page of the same newspaper, there was a story about a young Thai television star who had also been arrested for drug use. It was her first arrest and I couldn’t stop from wondering if she, too, might someday develop an uncontrollable need for drugs like Robert Downey, Jr. This week we will take a closer look at her case and the very important issue of drug abuse.
This week’s stories
Teenage TV star Kulanat Preeyawat, or "Namfon", has been featured in the Bangkok Post several times lately in stories I am sure she is not proud of. I have included three of these stories in the next section and yet another story from Outlook in the follow-up section. As you read, notice that understanding one story helps you understand the next because many of the ideas and many of the words are repeated in each. This is one big advantage of reading the newspaper because stories continue for more than one day.
As you read, consider what Namfon is accused of doing and what you think should happen to her. Does she appear to have learned her lesson or should she be punished in some way? And should she be allowed to continue with her television career?This week’s stories
Here is some vocabulary to help you with your reading.
| test positive | to have test results that prove that something (drugs, alcohol) were present in the blood |
| narcotics | to be formally accused of committing a crime |
| face charges | habit-forming (addictive) drugs |
| suppression | preventing something bad from happening |
| forensic medicine | the field of medicine which is used to discover information about a crime by scientific examination |
| amphetamines | a set of stimulant drugs, i.e., drugs which make the mind and body more active (yaa baa) |
| urine | liquid body waste |
| juvenile | a person under the age of 18 |
| offense | crime; wrongdoing |
| release on bail | to set a person free temporarily before a trial in return for money or property paid to a court of law |
| lace (a drink) | to put something (esp. a narcotic drug) into a drink |
| regret | to feel sorry about having done something wrong |
THE STORIES FOR YOU TO READ
STORY 1
TV actress tests positive for drugs
She was among 47 arrested at disco
![[Kulanat Preeyawat]](namfon.jpg)
All 47 people arrested at a suspected drugs party, including a teenage TV star, have tested positive and face charges of using narcotics.
Commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, Pol Lt Gen Noppadol Somboonsap, said among those tested was Kulanat Preeyawat, also known as Namfon.
But he would not say which drug she had been using, although the Institute of Forensic Medicine said she and four other people had taken amphetamines.
Pol Lt Gen Noppadol said the results were 100 per cent reliable. The suspects will now be called in for further questioning.
Institute of Forensic Medicine director, Pol Maj Gen Meechai Suraphakdi, said he had submitted the results to investigators. A batch of second tests had confirmed the initial ones.
The 47 were arrested when police raided a disco in Pathum Thani where a drugs party was allegedly being held. They were released pending results from urine tests.
November 29, 1997 |
STORY 2
Actress may face juvenile court trial
Drug suspect and teen actress Kulanat Preeyawat is under 18 and should
be tried by the Central Juvenile and Family Court, said a senior judge
yesterday.
Ms Kulanat, also known as Namfon, is likely to be put on probation and
put under court supervision if she is found guilty of drug abuse, said
deputy chief justice Vicha Mahakhun.
The actress is among 47 young people who tested positive for narcotics
use following a raid on a disco.
"If it is a first-time offense, the court will consider it a mistake
rather than an offense. It is likely to put her on probation and give
her a chance to clear her record," he said.
The judge said the teenager would be protected from the media once her
case came to court.
Pol Maj Gen Khomkrit Pattanapongpanit, deputy commissioner of the
Narcotics Suppression Bureau, said the suspects would be released on
bail when they showed up to face drugs charges.
Ms Kulanat has denied taking drugs and her brother accused the pub owner
of lacing her drinks. The pub owner denied the accusation.
December 2, 1997 |
STORY 3
Tearful soap star says she took ecstasy by accident
Pleading for mercy
Tearful teen TV soap star Kulanat "Namfon" Preeyawat told a press conference that she accidentally took the drug ecstasy and pleaded for the matter not to destroy her career. She said she unknowingly took the drug when she drank from a friend's glass.
Namfon was among 47 youngsters arrested when police raided a suburban nightclub during a crackdown on ecstasy use.
She was released on bail after she and the group tested positive for the drug.
The actress said she did not know the drug was in her friend's glass.
"But I don't want to blame her. I was the one who was wrong," she said, adding, "This thing will never happen again."
The actress, who disappeared for 12 days after the nightclub raid, said the incident had upset her father and mother and she regretted being the cause of their pain. She said she would apologise to her father.
Namfon said her story should serve as a lesson to other youngsters.
December 6, 1997 |
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FOLLOW-UP
Fair opinion?
You have just read three news stories on Namfon. Now let’s take a look at the Outlook story I mentioned at the beginning of the lesson. It comes from a regular column by Andrew Hiransomboon in the Friday entertainment section and you will quickly see that the language is much different from that found in a news story. It is much more informal and it also contains the personal opinion of the writer.
Columnists like Andrew often base their stories on some news event and this is a good example. As you read it, decide if Andrew is being fair to Namfon. Does he believe her excuse? What does he think should happen to her? And what does he think of the attitude of people in the Thai entertainment business toward Namfon?
Spins
Andrew Hiransomboon
It’s my press conference and I’ll cry if I want to
It’s nice to know that some things never change – like excuses
OK, so this is a bit beyond the bounds of this supposedly music-oriented column, but did Namfon’s teary-eyed explanation of why her urine tested positive for ecstasy make anyone else cringe? Or blush?
I didn’t take it on purpose, the soap star sobbed. It was in my friend’s beer...she didn’t tell me...I’ll never do it again! (No doubt It was my first time! and I didn’t even enjoy it! Were there as well.)
Certainly the poor girl deserves a bit of sympathy – and a "second chance" – after being pariah-tised by the notoriously judgmental (and hypocritical) Thai entertainment industry. But, judging by her excuses, Namfon should first learn an important reality about show-business, that an actress’ livelihood is as dependent on her ability to act as it is on her ability to choose material. In other words, next time pick a better, more original scriptwriter.
December 12, 1997 |
| beyond the bounds | outside the normal limits; unusual |
| cringe | to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed by something you think is not very clever or not very believable |
| blush | to turn red with embarrassment |
| sob | to cry very hard |
| pariah-tised | (not a real word) to make a pariah (a person who is not accepted by society) |
| notoriously | well known for (in a bad way) |
| hypocritical | pretending to believe or feel something that you do not |
Teacher’s Note
This week I have used one of my favourite techniques for teaching reading – taking several related stories and putting them together into one lesson. This helps students learn to make connections between information they have read from different sources, something focusing on a single story does not normally do.
Use the introduction to help your students make the first connection. The first story concerns an American actor that has a long history of drug abuse – a problem that has got worse and worse over time. Namfon, on the other hand, has just had her first problem (we think it is her first). Your students should understand, however, that any drug abuse should be taken seriously because it can lead to very damaging future consequences.
Next look at the three news stories and make connections of a different type. Help your students notice how much of the information and vocabulary is repeated from day to day, making each new story progressively easier to read. This is why following stories over time in the newspaper is such a valuable technique – one you can teach again and again.
Have the students consider the questions I have given them and then let them look at the follow-up reading. First have the students decide if Andrew thinks Namfon’s excuse is genuine (he does not). What can they point to in the story as evidence? (Words like cringe and blush and the fact that he appears to think a very unoriginal scriptwriter wrote the words for her.)
Another chance tomorrow
By coincidence, Acharn Ketkanda chose two of the same stories for her translation column tomorrow, so your students can have a second lesson on Namfon – only this time with some Thai language support. I think many of them will like that.
•This lesson was prepared by Acharn Terry Fredrickson, BA Stanford, MA (TESL) University of Minnesota, Manager of the Educational Services Department at the Bangkok Post and general editor of this programme. This week Acharn Terry also had the help of an energetic group of university teachers plus a group of university students.
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Winner
of PANPA Award for Excellence
