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伦敦是一个传统保守与时尚前卫并存的多元化城市，而生活于其中的伦敦人自然也兼具多重性格：他们既彬彬有礼，也趾高气扬；他们既含蓄保守，也热爱八卦；他们既小心谨慎，也自负潇洒??他们似乎是一群看不透的矛盾体，需要我们细细地琢磨，慢慢地领悟。 Thanks largely to a film and television conspiracy, many people view London as a place where everyone drinks, all the time. And it’s sort of true. According to Britain’s National Health Service, 12 percent of Londoners (about 900,000 people) drink more than five days a week. And, according to a 2009 report, as many as 17 million working days are lost to booze each year in the United Kingdom. London excels in luxurious hotel bars and gastropubs, but more than once upon entering a local pub on my own, I’ve felt a bit like that unfortunate stranger blowing into the saloon in a western. Not long ago, though, I fell for an unassuming pub in Peckham called the Gowlett Arms. It had good, real English ale—they have Fuller’s London Pride on tap—in addition to a lavishly tattooed bartender, Betty, and regulars who were more than happy to talk to a stranger. After a few pints, I recalled that I was just steps away from Peckham Rye, where William Blake claimed to have had his first vision of angels. If I lived nearby, I’d be there every other night. Steve McNamara, the general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, who has driven cabs for more than 30 years, thinks they’re very, very smart. What, exactly, is the Knowledge? Every London cab driver has to know, by heart, every street and driving route within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross Station. There are 26,000 streets in London and approximately 148,000 places of interest. It can take more than three years just to prepare for the test, and it can take years to complete. There was a study done a decade ago at University College London, in which researchers discovered that — —cabdrivers have bigger brains? Yes, I’m aware of that study. I’ve always felt smarter than most people anyway. There are cabdrivers who saw this recession coming long before the financiers. Do you make snap decisions about passengers based on the way they’re dressed or their body language? Never. That’s the first thing you learn when you’re driving a cab. You can never judge a book by its cover. Ever. 史蒂夫·麦克纳马拉是英国注册出租车司机联合会秘书长，他驾驶出租车的时间长达三十多年。在他看来，伦敦的出租车司机真的非常聪明。 具体来讲，出租车司机要具备哪些知识？ 每一位伦敦出租车司机都需要将查令十字车站周围六英里范围内的每条街道和行驶路线熟记于心。伦敦共有2.6万条街道，约有14.8万处名胜古迹。司机仅仅准备资格考试就要花费三年以上的时间，而通过考试可能还需要好几年。 十年前，伦敦大学学院完成了一项研究，研究者发现—— ——出租车司机比一般人聪明？没错，我知道那项研究。反正我一直都觉得自己比大多数人聪明。其实早在金融家之前就有出租车司机预料到这次经济衰退来袭了。 你会根据乘客的衣着或肢体语言而对他们快速作出评价吗？ 绝对不会。这是身为出租车司机需要学习的第一课。绝对不要以貌取人，任何时候都不要这么做。 Start with the newspaper he or she is reading. The Daily Telegraph Older conservatives who mourn the loss of the empire by placing cricket before family. Last truly happy on D-Day. The Guardian (or The Observer on Sundays) Bikram-practicing middle-class liberals preoccupied with ending all wars and rolling their own cigarettes. The Times of London Definitely a member of the political and corporate elite; fancies him-or herself as tolerant; has zero middle-class friends. The Independent Slightly depressed and overeducated underachievers who are really worried about the environment. The Daily Mail Middle-class housewives who live in fear of rising house prices, Elton John and Gypsies. Loves: Lady Thatcher, talented-pet stories and George Clooney. The Daily Express Intolerant, easily outraged and yet to recover from Lady Diana’s death. Constant fear of terrorist attack is blunted by gin and reality TV. The Daily Mirror A really great night out starts with binge drinking at the greyhound track. The Sun Beloved by working-class conservatives eager to read a tabloid that goes for the jugular whether the topic is politics, soccer or topless women. 从他或她正在看的报纸入手。 《每日电讯报》 老一辈的保守主义者，他们把板球看得比家庭还重，以此悼念大英帝国的陨落。他们上一次真正开心的时刻是在诺曼底登陆的那天。 《卫报》(或周日版《观察家报》) 练习高温瑜伽的中产阶级自由主义者，一心想着要结束所有战争，喜欢自己卷烟抽。 《泰晤士报》 绝对是政治或企业精英；自以为宽容和蔼；没有中产阶级朋友。 《独立报》 接受过多教育又轻度抑郁的失意者，他们真的对环境问题非常担忧。 《每日邮报》 中产阶级家庭主妇，她们生平怕的是房价上涨、埃尔顿·约翰和吉普赛人，钟爱的是撒切尔夫人、天才宠物的故事和乔治·克鲁尼。 《每日快报》 一群不宽容、易发怒、尚未从戴安娜王妃之死的阴影中走出来的人。由于总是担心遭受恐怖袭击，他们只好靠杜松子酒和真人秀电视节目麻醉度日。 《每日镜报》 对于读这份报纸的人来说，美好的夜间户外活动从在赛狗场上痛饮开始。 《太阳报》 深受劳动阶层中的保守分子喜爱，他们热衷于阅读包含各种劲爆八卦的小报，此类小报无论抓住什么话题都直击痛处、毫不手软，无论话题涉及的是政治、足球还是袒胸露背的女人。  |
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