Taxi!

Behind the sunglasses and uniform is no ordinary cabbie… It's actually Norway's Prime Minster Jens Stoltenberg, working incognito in Oslo. He said taxis were the best place to hear the views of ordinary Norwegians. Passengers were astonished when they discovered who was driving. But, he is unlikely to moonlight again; Stoltenberg hasn't driven for eight years, so his skills are a little rusty.

Vocabulary:

cabbie informal word for ‘taxi driver’

incognito avoiding being recognised by changing appearance; in disguise

astonished shocked and surprised

to moonlight to work at an extra job, without telling your main employer

rusty (of a skill) needing practice; not as good as it was in the past

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports. Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly. cabbie / incognito / astonished / to moonlight / rusty

1. Mr Hughes said he had been _________ by the reaction to the film, which received 110,000 hits on You Tube in the first week after it was posted.

2. First broadcast in 2004, Veronica Mars told of a high-school student who moves on to college while _________ as a private investigator.

3. As Londoners will know some of the capital's _________ are not shy about sharing their views on everything from politics to the latest fashions.

Now one driver, Michael Dennis, has started reciting his own poetry to passengers and even patients at his local Clapham hospice.

4. Jean Moulin was the former prefect who in January 1942 was sent by General de Gaulle to organise the anti-German underground. For a year-and-a-half, he travelled _______ around occupied France, using the pseudonyms Rex then Max.

5. Question: Do you get nervous playing your new singles for the first time and why? Robbie Williams: Yes because I haven't done anything for three years. You just feel a bit _________.

Answers:

1. Mr Hughes said he had been astonished by the reaction to the film, which received 110,000 hits on You Tube in the first week after it was posted.

<span xml:lang="en">Source: Teachers reward pupils with Gangnam Style performance <link type="page"><caption> http://bbc.in/13h7DGZ</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22730180" platform="highweb"/></link> </span>

2. First broadcast in 2004, Veronica Mars told of a high-school student who moves on to college while moonlighting as a private investigator.

<span xml:lang="en">Source: Veronica Mars fans make film dream a reality <link type="page"><caption> http://bbc.in/14HjD2G</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21782941" platform="highweb"/></link> </span>

3. As Londoners will know some of the capital's cabbies are not shy about sharing their views on everything from politics to the latest fashions.

Now one driver, Michael Dennis, has started reciting his own poetry to passengers and even patients at his local Clapham hospice.

<span xml:lang="en">Source: All the world's a poem for London cabbie <link type="page"><caption> http://bbc.in/1473Erk</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21544889" platform="highweb"/></link> </span>

4. Jean Moulin was the former prefect who in January 1942 was sent by General de Gaulle to organise the anti-German underground. For a year-and-a-half, he travelled incognito around occupied France, using the pseudonyms Rex then Max.

<span xml:lang="en">Source: Raymond Aubrac: How I tricked the Gestapo <link type="page"><caption> http://bbc.in/16Ihkvi</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16761781" platform="highweb"/></link> </span>

5. Question: Do you get nervous playing your new singles for the first time and why? Robbie Williams: Yes because I haven't done anything for three years. You just feel a bit rusty.

<span xml:lang="en">Source: Robbie kicks off Electric Proms <link type="page"><caption> http://bbc.in/15z6nta</caption><url href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10002475" platform="highweb"/></link> </span>