The traditional British taxi

Document 1 : London’s cabbies say “The Knowledge” is better than Uber and a GPS

Getting into the back of a black taxi is the quintessential London experience. Name any spot in Britain’s capital and the driver knows exactly where to go and how to get there as fast as possible. This is “The Knowledge.” Every cabbie must master it, and it takes years to learn.

For 150 years, drivers have known all the city’s streets by memory and passed tests requiring years of study. Now it just takes Uber and a GPS to get around – and this has unleashed a major battle that pits a London tradition against a company challenging the taxi industry worldwide.

Brian Nayar, a Knowledge instructor, is worried. He says that Uber is hurting the industry he loves.

“There are companies, you mention Uber, where as far as I’m concerned, they’re circumventing the law,” he says. Taxi associations contend that Uber’s online car-booking app is the same as a meter and is cheating the system. If you drive a car with a meter in London, then you have to have passed The Knowledge exams and hold a special license.

As the battle continues, London taxi drivers say Uber is undermining an important British tradition dating back to 1865.

On average, it takes more than three years to learn The Knowledge. Aspiring taxi drivers start the journey at places like the West London Knowledge School, one of several teaching programs in the capital.

First, they flit around the city on mopeds¹, learning the streets, and then spend months in rooms hunched over large, laminated maps. They draw routes with marker pens and then close their eyes and call out directions from the image in their mind. They’re build­ing a mental map that will help them pass stiff tests and get the coveted green badge to allow them to drive a metered black taxi.

For Nayar, it’s all part of a great British tradition that is more meaningful than simply relying on technology for navigation.

“I drive a London taxi, but I’m also an ambassador for this great city, and you can’t get that from a GPS,” he says.

Leila Fadel, “London’s cabbies say ‘The Knowledge’ is better than Uber and a GPS,” NPR, Markets section, October 21, 2015.

1. Mopeds: motorbikes.

Document 2 : From London to Sydney in a black cab

I decided to call Leigh.

“So… err… remember you said you want to go on an adventure D’ya fancy driving a black cab to Australia when we graduate ”

“Yeah, alright.”

“Sweet.”

“Cool, see you in a bit.”

“See ya… oh Leigh, you said you can fix cars last night, didn’t you ”

“Yeah, no problem.”

He hung up. I had a teammate for this adventure – and one who would fix a car at that.

Or at least claimed he could.

I put my doubts about his engineering prowess aside – he had said yes in about one second flat, as though a mate calling you up after a night out and asking if you fancied driving to the other side of the world in an iconic form of London transport was a regular occurrence. […]

The planning process for an expedition of this importance and magnitude is highly complex, so a few days later we packed up a map and a laptop and headed to the pub, where Johno, ex-RAF¹ -pilot-trainee-turned-student and never one to miss out on a pint or adventure, joined us to ‘consult’.

Now, here, you’ll see is where we made our first – and possibly gravest – error of the trip: never plan anything in a pub.

We agreed right away that a black cab would have to be the vehicle. There were no options other than possibly a yellow New York cab, and it was agreed that that was hardly very British. Next came the route. London to Sydney seemed as good as any none of us had been to Australia and we fancied seeing some kangaroos. As we started looking at the map and sketching out a roughly direct route to Sydney, some bright spark pointed out that a true black cab driver would take the longest route possible to ‘rack up the meter’².

Before long, a marker pen had carved a line across the map passing through Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, India, China, South East Asia and Australia.

This idea was faultless, perfect and, most importantly hilarious.

Well, it was at the time at least.

Paul Archer & Johno Ellison, It’s on the Meter, 2016.

1. RAF: Royal Air Force.

2. ‘rack up the meter’: gonfler le prix de la course de taxi.

Document 3 : Taxi Balloons

ph © Rogue One, Taxi Balloons

Taxi Balloons by street artist Rogue One, Glasgow, 2013.

Note: The man on the left is part of the mural. He is signalling to the taxi.

compréhension 10 points

Document 1

1 The following statements are TRUE. Justify each of them with one quote.

1. London cab drivers are exceptionally competent.

2. The cabbies’ training is extremely long.

2 Choose the correct answer. The “Knowledge” is:

1.an app used by cab drivers.

2.a cab company in London.

3.a requirement to work as a cabbie.

3Quote two elements from the text showing the steps that cab drivers take to build “a mental map” (l. 29) of the city.

4 What is Brian Nayar’s viewpoint on Uber Justify your answer with two elements from the text.

Pour les candidat(e)s qui ne composent pas au titre de la LVA.

5 In your own words, explain why taking a black cab is a typically English experience. Justify with two elements from the text.

Uniquement pour les candidat(e)s de la série L-LVA.

6Explain what Brian Nayar means when he says “you can’t get that from a GPS” (l. 33).

Document 2

7 1. Copy and fill in the grid about the narrator’s plans using elements from the text.

2.In your own words, explain what makes this plan “an adventure” (l. 2-3).

8 1. TRUE or FALSE Justify each answer with a quote from the text.

a) Leigh takes time to answer the narrator’s offer.

b)The narrator does not completely trust Leigh.

2. What image of Leigh is conveyed through his answers

9 1.Find information about the planning process.

2. The following statement is TRUE. Prove it with a quote from the text.

The narrator is not completely satisfied with the way the trip was planned.

10 Select one quote that justifies the characters’ choice of vehicle.

Pour les candidat(e)s qui ne composent pas au titre de la LVA.

11 TRUE or FALSE Justify each answer with a quote from the text.

1. They have no real motivation in their choice of a specific route.

2. They end up selecting the shortest itinerary possible.

Uniquement pour les candidat(e)s de la série L-LVA.

12 1. How do the characters see cab drivers

2. How does that influence their final choice of itinerary

Document 3

13 Focus on the setting. What characterises the urban environment that the artist has chosen for his mural

14 Focus on the cab. What is unusual about it

15 What may have been the artistic intention in choosing this setting Give two ideas.

Documents 1, 2 and 3

16 Compare and contrast the symbolic dimension of cabs in the three documents.

expression 10 points

Les candidat(e)s qui ne composent pas au titre de la LVA traiteront l’un des deux sujets suivants.

1 Paul Archer, the narrator in document 2, tells the story of his adventure in his travelling journal. Write a passage about a memorable day of this adventure. (250 words)

2 Comment on the following statement by Tim Cahill, an Australian sportsman. “A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles.” (250 words)

Les candidat(e)s composant au titre de la LVA traiteront l’un des deux sujets suivants.

3 Paul Archer, the narrator in document 2, tells the story of his adventure in his travelling journal. Write a passage about a memorable day of this adventure. (300 words)

4 Discuss the following statement by Ray Bradbury, a very famous writer. “See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream.” (300 words)

Les clés du sujet

Document 1

L’auteur

Leila Fadel (1981-) est une journaliste américano-libanaise, correspondante de la National Public Radio, réseau de stations de radio privé et indépendant.

Pour en savoir plus : www.npr.org/people/158988722/leila-fadel

Résumé du texte

Les taxis londoniens appartiennent à une longue tradition britannique. Leurs chauffeurs, réputés pour leur connaissance de Londres acquise lors d’une longue formation, se sentent menacés par ceux d’Uber, sans formation ni permis spécifique et qui se contentent d’un GPS.

Vocabulaire utile à la compréhension

Cabbie (titre) : chauffeur de taxi  to unleash (l. 8) : déchaîner  to pit against (l. 8-9)  opposer à  to circumvent (l. 14) : contourner  to cheat (l. 16) : ­tricher, tromper  hunched (l. 26) : courbé  coveted (l. 30) : convoité.

Document 2

Les auteurs

Paul Archer, Johno Ellison et Leigh Purnell, cité dans le texte, sont trois amis qui se sont connus étudiants et ont décidé d’effectuer le long périple décrit dans le livre, et qui a permis de collecter des fonds pour la Croix-Rouge britannique.

Pour en savoir plus : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_on_the_Meter

Résumé du texte

Le passage raconte la genèse d’une expédition qui a mené trois amis de Londres à Sydney dans un taxi londonien qu’ils avaient acheté.

Vocabulaire utile à la compréhension

D’ya fancy… (l. 3) : ça t’dit de…    to graduate (l. 3) : obtenir sa licence universitaire  to fix (l. 7) : réparer  to claim (l. 12) : prétendre  an occurrence (l. 17) : un événement  a bright spark (l. 31) : un petit fûté.

Document 3

L’auteur

Rogue One est un peintre muraliste qui exerce son art sur les murs de Glasgow, sa ville natale.

Pour en savoir plus : https://streetart360.net/2017/04/26/interview-with-rogue-one-street-artist-from-glasgow/

La source

Cette peinture murale montre un taxi, porté par des ballons multicolores, hélé par un homme banalement vêtu, dans un quartier d’apparence sordide : murs sales, petite porte taguée, caméra de surveillance, tout incite à fuir.

Les points de convergence

Les trois documents ont pour point commun les traditionnels taxis britanniques. Dans le document 1, ils sont victimes de la concurrence d’Uber, dans le document 2, un taxi de ce genre est choisi précisément pour son aspect typique. Dans le document 3, le taxi est associé à l’idée du rêve et de l’évasion.

Le sujet d’expression 1 3

Une direction possible

Il s’agit d’un journal de voyage, écrit jour après jour. Donc l’événement mémorable que vous inventerez vient de ou est en train de se produire. Ce peut être une belle ou une mauvaise rencontre, un événement local auquel vous assistez, un problème de santé ou un incident mécanique…

Key ideas

A hard / happy day today. A good opportunity to exchange about our countries and cultures.

Le sujet d’expression 2

Une direction possible

Développez l’idée que vous pouvez parcourir des kilomètres pendant des heures, même en admirant de splendides paysages, sans que cela vous enrichisse réellement. Inutile d’avoir « fait » un pays si vous ne prenez pas le temps d’en rencontrer les habitants, de les connaître, d’en faire plus ou moins des amis. Ce qu’ils vous apprendront sur eux et sur vous vous enrichira.

Key ideas

There is no point in driving for miles if you don’t meet some people along the way. Meeting people and making friends is more rewarding than a simple road trip. You’ll learn about them but you’ll also learn about yourself. There is nothing better than human relationships and what others can bring you.

Le sujet d’expression 4

Une direction possible

Réfléchissez aux notions de « voir » et de « monde ». Il ne s’agit pas seulement de voyages et de pays lointains. « Le monde » est aussi une région de votre propre pays ou un lieu naturel que vous découvrirez. « Voir » le monde, de nos jours, peut aussi se faire par la lecture ou les média. Quant aux rêves, ils sont souvent nourris de que vous avez vécu, donc vu.

Key ideas

“Seeing the world” does not mean spending your life travelling. There are plenty of fantastic things to see in your own country. Just observe. Books or visual media also let you see the world. Your dreams come from what you have seen.

Correction

compréhension

Document 1

1 1. “Name any spot in Britain’s capital and the driver knows exactly where to go and how to get there as fast as possible.” (l. 2-3)

2. “On average, it takes more than three years to learn The Knowledge.” (l. 21-22).

2 3. A requirement to work as a cabbie.

3 1. “They flit around the city on mopeds, learning the streets,” (l. 25)

2. “They draw routes with marker pens and then close their eyes and call out directions from the image in their mind.” (l. 27-28)

4 He has a bad opinion of Uber drivers. They cheat as they don’t have the necessary training required from cabbies (“they’re circumventing the law”, l. 14). Besides, they are breaking one of Britain’s traditions (“Uber is undermin­ing an important British tradition dating back to 1865”, l. 19-20 • “He says that Uber is hurting the industry he loves.” l. 11-12).

Pour les candidat(e)s qui ne composent pas au titre de la LVA.

5 It is a typically British experience because black taxis are “all part of a great British tradition” (l. 31) “dating back to 1865” (l. 20). Each driver becomes “an ambassador for this great city” (l. 33-34).

Uniquement pour les candidat(e)s de la série L-LVA.

6 A GPS is only an electronic device which shows you the route from point A to point B. A taxi driver can speak to you and, being a sort of “ambassador to the city”, tell you about monuments you pass by, etc. There is a human relationship which you obviously can’t have with a GPS.

Document 2

7 1.

2. It is an adventure because it is a very long road trip, to the other end of the world. Besides, going by taxi is quite unconventional for such a long trip. Trav­elling with friends means new discoveries about the places and the people you travel with.

8 1. a) False. “he had said yes in about one second flat” (l. 13-14)

b) True. “I put my doubts about his engineering prowess aside” (l. 13)

2. He gives short and spontaneous answers, as if not really thinking about what his words imply. He seems rather easy-going and not stressed at all.

9 1.

2. “Here, you’ll see is where we made our first – and possibly gravest – error of the trip: never plan anything in a pub.” (l. 23-24)

10 “Driving to the other side of the world in an iconic form of London tran­sport” (l. 15-16) • “We agreed right away that a black cab would have to be the vehicle. There were no [other] options” (l. 25-26).

Pour les candidat(e)s qui ne composent pas au titre de la LVA.

11 1. True. “We started looking at the map and sketching out a roughly direct route to Sydney” (l. 30-31).

2. False. “a true black cab driver would take the longest route possible” (l. 31-32).

Uniquement pour les candidat(e)s de la série L-LVA.

12 1. They think that cab drivers would cheat on the routes, in order to take the longest ones and make fares as high as possible.

2. They decide to take the longest route, such as a real cab driver would have chosen.

Document 3

13 The dirty brick wall, the small door with graffiti on it and the litter on the ground are signs that this must be a poor or derelict place in a town. There is a CCTV camera on the right, pointing at the man calling the taxi, giving the uneasy impression that you are being watched all the time.

14 It is floating in the air, carried by lots of balloons.

15 With these balloons the taxi seems to be going to take the man up above traffic jams and the CCTV camera, as if to help him flee this drab area unseen. With the balloons, a symbol of lightness and evasion, the artist may have wanted to put some hope and poetry in an ordinary scene of dull modern city life. The balloons represent freedom and escapism, a childlike way to escape the realities of boring everyday life in the city. The mural conveys the feeling that taking a taxi is an inspiring, unforgettable experience

Documents 1, 2 and 3

16 In document 1, cabs are a typically British tradition. They represent London all over the world. In document 2 a cab is chosen by the three friends specifically as a British symbol, with the pessimistic or cynical idea that cabbies would choose the longest route for the highest price. In document 3, the taxi symbolises escapism, as it will help the passenger fly away from his dull work day.

expression

1 3 Guidelines

From London to Sydney. Day 21.

A hard but finally happy day today. We were in the middle of nowhere, miles south of Moscow when the cab stopped. We had filled it up, so we hadn’t run out of petrol. A serious problem, probably. No garage around of course! And as I had initially feared, Leigh wasn’t as good at fixing cars as he’d claimed to be… After an hour all alone wondering what we were going to do, a police car stopped. I gathered the very little Russian vocabulary I remembered from my school years and tried to explain the situation. After carefully checking our identities they called a garage and someone came to pick up the car.

Repère
Vocabulaire

spare parts : pièces de rechange

The problem is they don’t have spare parts for old black cabs, as Russian cabbies don’t often drive London taxis! They had to order the broken part from Britain! It should take about four days or more for it to get here! So here we are, in a small cheap hotel in a Russian village. But the people around here are very nice. Some of them have studied English. So, with their basic English and my basic Russian, and a lot of gestures, it is a good opportunity to exchange about our countries and cultures. Great fun, in fact!

4 Guidelines

There are so many things to see in this world, known or unknown to you. You can spend more than a life visiting foreign countries, with their cultures so different from yours, their sometimes breathtaking landscapes. But “seeing the world” does not mean spending your life travelling all around the planet in cars or on trains, ships or planes. There are plenty of fantastic things to see in your own country, even near where you live, maybe. If you live in a city, for example, just spend some time in a village and look around. Just observe nature, talk with local people, you will quite certainly learn from them enjoy a quieter life. And when there are places you cannot go to, books or films or photos can help you see them. Open a photographer’s book, you’ll see places you could not imagine, or if you know them, seen through another person’s eyes.

Your most fantastic dreams do not come from nowhere. They come from your own experiences, from what you have seen or experienced, and are given a twist by your brain. So, the more you see of the world, the more food there will be for your imagination and dreams. Just see the world and let dreams happen.