Taxi driver offers free rides for singing karaoke
Try easier levels of this lesson: Karaoke - Level 0, Karaoke - Level 1 or Karaoke - Level 2.
The reading
A taxi driver in Taiwan is offering free rides in exchange for singing a karaoke song. Mr Tu Ching Liang, 57, is a big fan of driving, karaoke and of listening to people sing. Mr Tu has become famous for the disco lights in his taxi and his offer of free rides. It is easy to spot his yellow taxi. It has a pink neon star on the dashboard and colourful flashing lights inside. People can select a "karaoke" option if they use a taxi-locating app in the capital city of Taiwan. Mr Tu will appear on your smartphone screen. When Mr Tu's taxi arrives, he will give you a microphone and an iPad on which you can go to YouTube and select the song you want to sing. He says people have more bravery to sing at night.
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Mr Tu loves his job. He joked: "No one is as lucky as me, walking out the door every day rushing to go to work and not make any money." He added: "I've been driving a taxi for 27 years, giving money as rewards for singing karaoke for eight years, and filming videos for six years. I've filmed over 10,000 videos." He told a reporter from the UK's "Guardian" newspaper that if people do not sing, they do not get a discount or a free ride. Mr Tu uploads his videos on YouTube. Some have been viewed over two million times. He has become a celebrity, saying: "I was on TV shows from 10 different countries. I'm an international influencer." His dream is to have singer Ed Sheeran as a passenger.
Sources:
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/04/training-their-courage-taiwan-taxi-driver-offers-free-rides-for-karaoke
- https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/here-is-why-a-taxi-driver-in-taiwan-is-offering-free-rides-7133680/
- https://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/taxi-driver-in-taiwan-gives-free-rides-to-people-who-can-sing-karaoke/703045
