00:00:00:14 00:00:02:32 Welcome section A,

00:00:02:58 00:00:04:44 Exercise 1b.<br/>

00:00:05:32 00:00:07:88 Read the text again and listen.<br/>
00:00:08:70 00:00:13:82 Mark the statements T for true or F for
false.<br/><br/>
00:00:15:34 00:00:16:87 The Real Rain Man<br/><br/>
00:00:17:94 00:00:23:70 Laurence Kim Peek was born in Salt Lake City on November
11th 1951.
00:00:24:37 00:00:28:47 It was clear from an early age that he was not like other
children.
00:00:28:85 00:00:34:57 A scan showed that the two halves of his brain were not
connected in the usual way.
00:00:34:92 00:00:39:49 As a result, Laurence developed the most amazing memory
skills.
00:00:39:94 00:00:43:86 From as early as two, he showed a fascination with books.
00:00:44:19 00:00:51:92 He used to pick up books, read them and put them back on
the shelf upside down to show that he had finished reading them.
00:00:52:72 00:00:55:30 He remembered everything he had read.
00:00:56:18 00:01:04:82 He soon began to memorise huge amounts of information on
subjects such as history, geography, sport, music and literature.
00:01:05:16 00:01:09:24 He also had an incredible ability with numbers and
dates.<br/>
00:01:10:09 00:01:14:15 He developed a special technique to help him read quickly.
00:01:14:43 00:01:20:21 He read the left page with his left eye and the right page
with his right eye.
00:01:20:70 00:01:31:82 He could read at a speed of about ten seconds a page and,
by reading two pages at the same time, it would take him less than an hour to read
a whole book.
00:01:32:33 00:01:38:47 By the age of 30 he had memorised the contents of around
12,000 books.<br/>
00:01:39:06 00:01:43:61 However, other areas of his development were not so
advanced.
00:01:43:82 00:01:53:03 He did not walk until the age of four and had problems with
ordinary motor skills such as doing up a button or tying his shoe laces.
00:01:53:59 00:01:58:86 He had poor social skills and was extremely sensitive when
meeting new people.
00:01:59:07 00:02:02:99 He also did badly in intelligence tests.
00:02:04:08 00:02:12:52 In 1984, Peek and his father were attending a convention,
when they met Hollywood film writer Barry Morrow.
00:02:12:94 00:02:19:83 He was fascinated by Peek and began to write a new script
based loosely on his experiences.<br/>
00:02:20:13 00:02:28:35 The result was <i>Rain Man,</i> a film which won four
Oscars, including best film, in 1988.
00:02:28:84 00:02:31:60 The film made a big difference to Peek's life.
00:02:31:86 00:02:36:66 His new–found fame helped him to become more
self–confident and independent.
00:02:37:10 00:02:42:62 He quickly got used to being the centre of attention and
made several appearances on TV.
00:02:43:21 00:02:50:14 He also travelled extensively around the country with his
father to raise awareness of the condition he suffered from.
00:02:50:36 00:02:54:62 Morrow gave his Oscar statuette to Peek to take with him.
00:02:55:05 00:03:04:10 It became known as the 'most loved Oscar ever', as Peek
insisted that everyone he met should take a turn at holding it.
00:03:04:52 00:03:09:76 He died, sadly, of a heart attack at the end of 2009.