1. . .
2. () . .
3. . .
4. . .
5. . .
6. . .
7. . .
, .
1. The car was stopped.
2. My friend will be offered this job.
3. This specialist will be sent to our factory.
4. I was asked to help them.
5. This engineer is often seen at our plant.
6. When will he be bought a new computer?
7. Nobody knows when the wheel was invented.
8. These letters were brought in the morning.
9. What was he promised?
4, 5
4: 1 b; 2 c; 3 a; 4 b; 5 a; 6 d; 7 - c
5: 1 3; 2 2; 3 1; 4 1; 5 3; 6 - 3
Unit 7
Text 7
The Cabbies Are Smarter Than Google Maps
London has the most informed cab drivers in the world and theyve got diplomas to prove it. To become a certified taxi operator in London, a driver must first pass the Knowledge, an extraordinarily difficult exam that involves the detailed recall of 25,000 streets within a six-mile radius of Londons Charing Cross railway station. But thats just the beginning. Cabbies must also memorize the points of interest along the routes including streets, squares, clubs, hospitals, hotels, theatres, embassies, government and public buildings, railway stations, police stations, courts, diplomatic buildings, important places of worship, cemeteries, parks and open spaces, sports and leisure centres, places of learning, restaurants and historic building. Plus they have to be fluent in English.
Most drivers take three years to master the Knowledge, and much practice by tracing the routes on a bicycle. Its not uncommon to see future cabbies pedaling through the city in the early morning with plastic-covered maps clipped to their handlebars. Drivers must know their directions backwards and forwards, which is a complicated task in the maze of Londons one-way streets and blocked-off pedestrian zones.
The testing process isnt quick, either. The exam comprises a six-month series of evaluations that includes written, oral and practical tests, and only one-quarter of the candidates make it through.
Taxi-driver applicants must be of good character, meeting strict requirements1 regarding any criminal record2. During testing Knowledge boys and girls must, without looking at a map, identify the quickest and most sensible route between any two points in metropolitan London that their examiner chooses.
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But there is an additional benefit for those who pass the exam. In 2000, researchers at the Welcome Trust in London scanned the brains of 16 London taxi drivers and found that each cabbys hippocampus the area of the brain associated with memory was larger than that of control subjects. Scientists believe that the hippocampus grew larger as the drivers spent more time on the job. Storing and retaining that much information could actually be a prescription for avoiding dementia.
Notes
1 meeting strict requirements -
2 criminal record -
Words
cabby -
map -
prove -
involve -
route -
embassy -
court -
worship -
cemetery -
handlebar -
maze -
pedestrian -
include -
oral -
applicant - ,
sensible -
benefit - ,
researcher -
brain -
retain - ,
prescription -
avoid -
dementia -
