Aprende inglés: 10 datos asombrosos sobre los taxis de Londres

La revista para aprender inglés I Love English Junior invita a tus hijos o alumnos adolescentes a practicar el idioma de forma divertida. Se trata de una revista dirigida a jóvenes entre 8 y 12 años en la que encontrarásn interesantes artículos en inglés adaptados a sus gustos.

I Love English Junior nos invita a leer 10 amazing facts about London black cabs (10 datos asombrosos sobre los taxis de Londres), se trata de una lectura amena y útil para adquirir nuevo vocabulario y aprender algunas expresiones inglesas.

¡No dejéis de leer este texto en inglés hasta el final! Os planteamos un reto en forma de investigación.

10 amazing facts about London black cabs: 10 datos asombrosos sobre los taxis de Londres

How much do you know about this London?s icon? 
¿Cuánto sabes sobre este icono de Londres? 

Love London? Check out these amazing 10 facts about one of its most iconic features: black cabs!
¿Te encanta Londres? Echa un vistazo a estos 10 datos asombrosos sobre uno de sus iconos más emblemáticos: ¡sus "taxis negros"!

1. London taxis are called cabs or black cabs. Sometimes they are also referred to as hackneys or hackney carriages. The term hackney derives from the French word hacquenée, which refers to a horse that was available to hire. The word cab derives from the word cabriolet, which refers to the old fashioned two-wheeled, one-horse carriages.

2. Hackney coaches first appeared in London in the 1600s. By the 1700s there were over a thousand coaches on the London streets. Today, there are around 21,000 black cabs operating in London. Many black cab drivers own their own vehicle and are considered self-employed.

3. Even though black may be the most common colour for cabs, a "black cab" doesn?t have to be black. To start with and for many years, all the cabs were black, because black paint was cheaper than coloured paint and taxi drivers didn?t want to pay more money for a coloured cab. But today, London taxis can be almost any colour. They can even be covered in advertisements.

4. All black cabs have to be tall enough to accommodate a passenger wearing a bowler hat (in Spanish, this type of hat is called bombín or sombrero hongo).

5. London cab drivers have to pass "The knowledge" test before taking fares. This test requires drivers to learn 25,000 streets and 20,000 landmarks and to memorise 320 routes within a six mile radius of Charing Cross (a junction in London where six routes meet). The average time taken to pass the test is 3 years.

6. Black cabs are designed "to turn on a two-pence coin". This means that drivers have to be able to manoeuvre in tight spaces, making a turning radius (or turning circle or U-turn) of just 25 feet (7,6 metres). The true London cab has to have other characteristics: a ramp for wheelchairs and an intercom so that the driver and passengers can talk.

7. Did you know that shouting "taxi" at a moving black cab is technically illegal? If you want to stop a cab, simply raise your arm out.

8. In October 2015, the black cab was elected by Londoners as their favourite transport design icon. Along with the red double-decker buses and Big Ben, black cabs are an iconic feature of the London landscape.

9. The classic London taxi has appeared in more than 5,000 films and TV shows, including James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, The Da Vince Code, Mamma Mia, Fast and Furious and Tomb Raider.

10. Today some London taxis are electric and don?t pollute the capital!

Now it is your turn to do a bit of research... Do you know what percentage of black cab drivers are women?