1. Read the text quickly and choose the best title for it.

(Đọc bài khóa nhanh chóng rồi chọn tiêu đề đúng nhất cho bài đọc.)

1. The Real Rain Man

2. The Biggest Slice of Pi

3. The Man with the Amazing Mind

Daniel Tammet is a linguistic and mathematical genius. He speaks eleven languages, performs complex mental arithmetic in seconds.

However, since childhood, despite his great mental abilities, Daniel has struggled to learn the personal skills that most of us take for granted: communication, empathy* and the ability to see the big picture.

Daniel's skills and limitations are the result of Asperger's syndrome*, a form of autism*. Life is easier for Daniel now that he is in his thirties, but growing up with autism was tough for him and his family. As a baby, he used to cry constantly and only repetitive motion would stop him. As a result, he never played with other children, or even with toys. 'Numbers were my toys,' he says.

To him, numbers have colours, shapes, textures* and personalities. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, and 333 as particularly attractive. This cross-connection between unrelated senses allows him to 'experience' numbers rather than calculate them. As he explains, 'When I multiply numbers together, I see two shapes. The image starts to change and evolve, and a third shape appears. That's the answer.'

Daniel has many gifts* often associated with autism. He can copy a picture so accurately that it could have been traced*. Nevertheless, he is more aware of the many things he can't do. He knows, for instance, that he is difficult to live with because he cannot understand what others are feeling. He admits that most of the time, he has to pretend to show emotions. He reveals that when his cat died, he cried and understood grief* for the first time.

Daniel gives regular lectures, has written three successful books, and has been the subject of numerous studies and documentaries. Much of his work involves helping scientists understand how the brain works. 'I used to long* to be like other people,' he says. 'But they tell me that I have the same effect on them as Professor Stephen Hawking. That in the contradiction* between ability and disability, they see humanity.’

2. Read the text again. Are statements 1-5 true (T) or false (F)?

(Đọc lại bài khóa một lần nữa. Các phát biểu 1 – 5 là đúng hay sai?)

1. Unlike other people, Daniel is able to explain his remarkable abilities.

2. At school, Daniel found interacting with others easy.

3. Daniel claims he can see, hear and feel numbers.

4. Daniel may not actually be experiencing the emotions he shows to other people.

5. Daniel says that people sometimes confuse him with Professor Stephen Hawking.