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The cleverest man on earth

Kim Peek was labelled 'mentally deficient' at birth. By the age of four, he was reading encyclopedias for fun. Today he can play the piano likeMozart and recall any fact from more than 9,000 books.

There is something familiar about this man in the hotel lobby, who is muttering to himself about airlines and heavy snow. He gives a bellow of laughter and people turn round in surprise, then smile as they recognise the shuffling gait and large bespectacled head of Kim Peck. Something of a local hero here in Salt Lake City, it's Kim's life on which an Oscar-winning film was based. Rain Man was a film about an autistic savant with a stounding mathematical skills, although Kim himself is developmentally disabled, not autistic. Most savants possess remarkable expertise in one to three subjects; Kim, an expert in at least 15 different subjects, is known as a mega-savant, although he has a Joe in common with Rain Man, such as the lightning speed at which he can memorise facts.

Recently dubbed 'the living Google', no one in the world is thought to possess a brain quite like Kirn Peck's. As soon as he was born it was immediately clear he was different. His head was so huge that his neck muscles couldn't support it and a later brain scan revealed he had one solid brain hemisphere instead of two. It is possible that, because the two sides of the brain were unable to communicate with each other, the brain may have turned into one megacomputer. However, this is one of many theories, none of which have yet been proved.The analysis of Kim's brain does, however, explain the reason for his severe motor deficiencies. He is looked after by his father, Fran, on whom he totally depends. 81-year·old Fran, although not in the best of health himself, takes care of his son fulltime, helping him to wash and dress and checking on him in the night. Doctors believe it is Fran's unconditional love and belief in his son that are partly responsible for Kim's exceptional brilliance. However, it obviously runs in the family; Kim also has a brother and a sister, both of whom, along with Fran himself, are exceptionally clever and are classed as geniuses.

When Kim was a child, doctors advised putting him in an institution,at which point his parents took him home instead and introduced him to books. By four and a half, although no school would accept him, he had sought out encyclopaedias, atlases and telephone directories, all of which he memorised. It has recently been discovered that each of Kim's eyes can read a separate page simultaneously, taking just ten seconds, rather than the average three minutes. These days, he spends most afternoons in the local library, where he is a much-loved figure.

It's hard to hold a conversation with Kim, whose mind flits from one subject to another with confusing speed. Physically, he can be a little intimidating. A big man, he rises suddenly out of his chair to distribute bear hugs; his mild, kindly father keeps an eye on him andtries to explain what he's talking about. However, although Kim is charming and affectionate, he hasn't always been socially confident. Until a chance meeting with the screenwriter led to the making of Rain Man, Kim seldom dared look another person in the face. It was Dustin Hoffman, the actor who played Kim in the film, who urged Fran to take Kim out into the world. The way in which social contact has transformed Kim's life is immeasurable. It has developed in him a marked sense of humour and he loves meeting people. "It is only since Rain Man that Kim's mind became connected to his heart," says Fran. "Now I think his heart is even bigger than his brain."

Adapted from the Sunday Telegraph

06/02/05

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Задание: к выделенным жирным шрифтом словам находим синонимы:

1 changed
2 frightening
3 at the same time
4 watches carefully
5 a way of walking
6 moves quickly