What it takes to get a driving licence – exercise B – key and notes

It is currently recommended ¹ that a learner driver undertakes ² 45 hours of practice ³ with a professional driving instructor ⁴ combined ⁵ with 22 hours of private practice to reach testing standard. At an average cost of £23 per hour this adds up to ⁶ approximately ⁷ £1,035 to learn to drive.

But after all these hours of practice and the considerable financial investment ⁸ the driving test itself ⁹ is still quite a challenge¹⁰. In fact the current average pass rate ¹¹ for the practical test is just 44%. Generally, most candidates find it easier¹² to pass the theory test than the practical ¹³, even though the theory test has been expanded ¹⁴ to further test the candidate’s knowledge ¹⁵.

In recent years a ‘Show Me, Tell Me’ element has been included in the practical test and the candidate must demonstrate ¹⁶ knowledge of how to carry out vehicle safety checks ¹⁷. A common reason for failing ¹⁸ the practical test is lack of preparation. Candidates don’t take enough lessons with a professional instructor and book their test too soon ¹⁹. This can prove costly in terms of ²⁰ time and money in the long run ²¹. Taking professional tuition ²² from a fully qualified ²³ instructor can increase the chances (of either here) ²⁴ or here (of) passing ²⁵ the practical driving test.

 

Notes
Spellings: currently – Did you get both ‘r’s and the ‘e’?; recommended – Did you get the single ‘c’ and the double ‘mm’?; undertakes – Did you write just one word?; practice – Did you realise this was the noun, not the verb (which is spelt with an ‘s’?) professional driving instructor – the single ‘f’ and the double ‘s’ is what was being checked here – and ‘instructor‘ spelt with ‘or’ at the end; approximately – 2 possible mistakes to avoid here – the double ‘p’ and the ‘e’ after the ‘t’; financial investment – the ‘ci’ sounds like a ‘ch’ – were you taken in*? itself – one word!; average – the sound is ‘idge’, but you have to watch the spelling! ; easier – did you remember the ‘y’ would turn to an ‘i’?; practical – people often forget the first c, before the t; knowledge – another misleading word from its pronunciation; demonstrate – it’s easy to write the wrong vowel from the way ‘mon’ sounds, and people do forget the ‘r’ after the first t; tuition – the ‘sh’ sound can lead you to write this incorrectly.Did you write the ‘h’ in vehicle, even though you didn’t hear it?

*To be taken in – to be misled, cheated or deceived

Vocabulary: undertake – a slightly formal verb – to commit yourself to do, or to do or begin to do something, especially something that will take a long time or be difficult. Eg "He’s undertaken various additional political responsibilities." It’s quite an undertaking = it is a demanding venture.
add up to – phrasal verb – amount to, result in
quite a challenge – quite demanding
the pass rate – the number of people, shown as a percent, who were successful in a particular exam or test
expand – make or become larger or more extensive;
(Note – to expand on is to give a fuller version or account of – eg "You mentioned the idea of higher taxes – could you just expand on that for a few minutes?")
vehicle safety checks – notice the word order when these 3 nouns are put together, and also that the words are separate!
in the long run – ultimately, in the end or ‘at a time that is far away in the future’ – eg Getting my qualification was worth it in the long run.
tuition – teaching in a small group or one-to-one
chance – probability, likelihood

Grammar: too soon – ( too easy, perhaps?)
Structures to notice: What it takes to get a licence = What is necessary, or required to get a licence. If you have what it takes you have the skills / insights / strength(s) / vision / experience / competence / necessary qualities etc to be able to be successful in doing sth, to rise to the challenge of something. Eg I’m not sure she’s got what it takes (eg to do the job).

A common reason for failing …. (is)
tuition from a fully qualified instructor
to increase the chances of passing…

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