The Cost of Getting Lost

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 418.

As I studied the London A – Z street guide on the way to a party we (1) _________ (to be) late for, I decided to tell my girlfriend about a new report I (2) ____________ (to read) which said that men (3) _________ (to be) much better map-readers than women. “The report by any chance (4) _____________ (to write) by a man?” she asked. “Yes,” I replied. “But that's irrelevant. It scientifically (5) ___________ (to prove) that on average …” But she (6) ___________ (to stop) (7) _________ (to listen).

The reason for apparent male superiority in navigating (8) ______________ (mod.v./be) nature, or the different travel experiences available to males as they grew up, with males (9) _____________ (to give) more opportunities to travel by themselves. Either way, there is little doubt that one of the major causes of in-car arguments is disagreement over navigation.

It (10) _____________ (to estimate) that 5% of car journeys (11) ____________ (to make) in unfamiliar areas. A fifth of our mileage during these journeys is the result of navigational mistakes, which means (12) ___________ (to waste) more than 100 million gallons of petrol a year. While the extra fuel puts an unnecessary strain on our wallets, ‘map-rage', as it (13) _______________ (to become) (14) _________ (to know), can put an ever greater strain on our relationships. The stress of navigating along an unfamiliar route, (15) __________ (to combine) with the different ways in which men and women communicate and navigate, (16) _____________ (mod.v./lead) to tears or worse.

Although some men (17) _____________ (mod.v./see) it as their destiny to be the driver-map-reader, it is not always possible in a car. 79% of women report that if they and their partner are together in the car during the day, their partner (18) ______________ (to drive (repeated action). Thus, unwillingly, women often (19) _____________ (to force) to do the map-reading. But not always. Sharon Carr-Brown, a radio researcher, resists (20) __________ (to become) the reluctant navigator. “I stopped that right at the beginning of our relationship,” she says. Her husband Jonathan, a journalist, confesses to the male stereotype of refusing to stop and ask the way: “I (21) ________ (not to ask (refusal) directions because I don't see the point. I can't stand people (22) __________ (to give) me directions.” Neither (23) ___________ (to take) their navigation disagreements very seriously, but many motoring couples are less relaxed.

Gill Mills describes her trip to Scotland with her friend Andrew. “We had to go to Fife in Scotland – I can't drive so I was in the passenger seat. And unfortunately I get car sick so I can't read the map. Fife is lovely but finding your way around is pretty complicated. At one point we (24) _____________ (to drive) round in circles. I (25) ________________ (mod.v./kill) him,” confesses Gill. “We (26) ____________ (to travel) in this tiny VW Polo on a boiling hot day, with Andrew (27) ________ (to complain) because he had to read the map. It was like (28) ____________ (to have) a small child on the seat next to you. We (29) ___________ (not to talk) for six months after that.”

Meanwhile, on the way to the party I (30) ____________ (to find (emphasized) the right road eventually but I had to loop round it twice before I (31) ___________ (to find) the right house. My girlfriend spent the wasted time (32) __________ (to smile) sweetly. “The report is obviously absolutely accurate,” she observed irritatingly.

“If you (33) __________ (to let) me finish, I was going to say that it also says that a minority of women have superior navigation skills to a significant minority of men,” I replied. I at the same time (34) _______________ (to think) that neither of us (35) __________ (to be) a member of the respective minorities and that some fool (36) ______________ (to number) the houses atrociously.

(From “Advanced English CAE Practice Tests” by S. O'Connell)

Exercise 18. Read and discuss thefollowing letters to the “Fortune” magazine.