In a recent survey London taxi drivers were revealed to have the most stressful job in the country. But why is this? Find out about the life of a London taxi driver in this edition of London Life.

Before you listen look at the following questions. You can hear the answers in the programme.

1: Where does the word 'cab' come from?
2: What is the name of the test that London taxi drivers must take?
3: About how long does it take to prepare for and pass this test?
4: What does Mickey think of the congestion charge?

Listen
	Taxi!

You can download the script and audio for this programme from the 'Extras' section below.

Vocabulary

a cab
a taxi

a cabbie
a taxi driver

would-be
an adjective used for people who are want to have or who are training for a particular job

Example
Would-be cabbies have to do a difficult test before they can get a license.

a traffic jam
when the road is so busy that the cars are not moving or are moving very slowly

from A to B
from one place to another place. This expression is used when talking about travelling and journeys in general.

Example
A cabbie's job is to take passengers from A to B.

congestion
when there are so many cars that it causes the traffic to move slowly. Congestion causes traffic jams.

the Congestion Charge
a scheme which is used in London and other cities. Drivers have to pay to drive their cars in central London during the day.

to ease off
to get less

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Extras:
Programme script (pdf - 22k)
Download this programme (mp3 - 2.1 mb)