Road rage

Along with Big Ben, red double-decker buses, and the pigeons that lived in Trafalgar Square until Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, decided to banish them, the black cab is one of the most recognizable symbols of the capital. But London's cabbies are worried that a perverse regulation may drive them off the streets. The wrangle involves allegations of monopoly dealing, pits the claims of

safety against environmentalism, and highlights the perils of devolution. The regulation is not the brainchild of some crazed European bureaucrat, but anancient domestic one.

London's first recorded cab journey took place in 1588. The requirement for cabbies to know the capital like the back of their hands - or,to give the rite its proper title, to "do the knowledge" - derives from the Great Exhibition of 1851, when there were widespread complaints about ignorant drivers. The first cab with an internal combustion engine hit London's streets in 1903.

The regulations issued by the Public Carriage Office (established in 1850, but now under the auspices of the mayor's Transport for London) state that cabs must be able to perform a u-turn in a space not more than 8,535m wide. Transport for London says that the rule ensures the necessary manoeuvrability, and guarantees that passengers can hail a cab from the wrong side of the road.

But critics say that other towns have modernised their regulations, and that the rule should go the same way as the requirement for Hackney carriages to carry a bale of hay.

London's cabbies must hope that the mayor has more affection for the black cab than he was shown to pigeons.

Упражнение 1.

Поставьте глагол в правильную форму в страдательном залоге.

1. Chinese / speak / in Singapore.

2. The Taj Mahal / build / around 1640.

3. The new hospital / open / next year.

4. She / interview / now.

5. I realised I / follow.

6. / You invite / to Andy Cindy's party?

7. He found that all his money / steal.

8. When / invent / the telephone?

9. You / suppose / to report it to the police as soon as possible.

10. All the pictures you see here / paint / by one artist.

Упражнение 2.

Выберите сказуемое в предложении, определите его время и залог.

1. We use polymers for different purposes.

2. Polymers are used for different purposes.

3. These shops (цеха) were built last year.

4. The machine-tool measures its production itself.

5. The part is measured with great accuracy.

Упражнение 3.

Найдите и назовите в первом ряду глаголы, относящиеся к группе Continuous, во втором - к группе Perfect, в третьем - к группе Perfect Continuous и в четвертом ряду - к группе Simple.

1. was taken

2. will take

3. are being taken

4. has been taken

5. took

6. am taking

7. hadtaken

8. were taking

II.

1. shall enjoy

2. had enjoyed

3. shall have been enjoyed