Transcript
Stephen: While Ashlie’s in her exam, I’m going to have a look around Oxford. You probably know it’s famous for its university, but let’s find out a little bit more.
.....
Stephen: Hello.
Tourist lady: Hello.
Stephen: Er, I’m visiting Oxford for the day, what’s the best thing to do?
Tourist lady: Well it’s a lovely day. I suggest you walk around the colleges, take a bus tour, explore the Bodleian Library or take a punt on the river with a picnic.
Stephen: How many colleges are there?
Tourist lady: There’s around 39.
Stephen: What’s the best way to see Oxford?
Tourist lady: The best way to see Oxford is probably on foot with one of our green and blue badge guides.
Stephen: Great. Thank you so much.
Tourist lady: You’re welcome.
Stephen: Bye.
Tourist lady: Bye.
.....
Stephen: Hiya girls. You alright?
Students: Good, thank you.
Stephen: Are you students here?
Students: Yes
Stephen: What are you studying?
Student 1: History.
Student 2: Yeah History, too.
Stephen: What’s it like being a student here?
Students: It's great.
Student 2: Really good.
Student 1: It’s, like, the best university known worldwide so it’s a great place to be.
Stephen: So tell me what it’s like studying here in Oxford.
Student 1: We have lectures and seminars and then it’s your own time to go to the library and read your books and do your research for the next lecture so if you don’t do that reading, then you’re not prepared for the next lecture – so it’s really up to you to do your own work.
Stephen: And what’s the social life like here?
Student 2: Loads of stuff, like, really good pubs, really good clubs… erm, like, when it’s sunny and stuff it’s beautiful to just sit in the sun and, like, go punting and stuff. So it’s really nice.
Stephen: Right, I’ve got a great idea for what to do with Ashlie when she finishes her exam.
.....
Stephen: So? How did it go?
Ashlie: Really well, I think. I answered all the questions and I finished in time, so fingers crossed.
Stephen: Great. Listen, you deserve a treat after all your hard work. I’ve somewhere I want to take you.
Ashlie: Alright then, I’ll see you in a second.
Stephen: OK. Bye.
.....
Ashlie: Wow, it’s really nice down here.
Stephen: I know. I’ve booked us a boat for a trip on the river.
Ashlie: Really? Oh thank you. That’s great. I’ve always wanted to try this.
Stephen: Come on.
Ashlie: Can I have a go first? Watch out. Here I go…
Stephen: Ready?
Ashlie: Yup. Off we go!
.....
Stephen: This is great. Which way shall we go, Ash? Let’s ask the GPS.
Stephen: OK, my turn.
Ashlie: Stephen, not like that - we’re going round in circles! Stephen! Stephen – watch out for that.
Stephen: The GPS! Ashlie! What are we going to do now, without the GPS?
Ashlie: Oh, it was useless anyway. It didn’t help us get here.
Stephen: I’ll have to go and buy a map.
Ashlie: OK, you can read the map but give me the keys because… I’m driving home. Stephen! Watch out!
Comments
Hello ali k.
Yes, that's more or less what it means. The closest way to paraphrase it would be 'many things' and it is an informal way to say this, quite common in colloquial conversations between friends, for example.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I think I would like to open this page and answer all the task, just spend my time.
It was really useful, Thank u so much
Hello , I really like this series so much. It's so interesting and useful. I learnt loads of expression and i know more about Britain by this amazing series.
I have may be a silly Question but I have to understand .
In the sentence ( let's find out a little bit more ) in the transcript. what is the meaning of " little and bit " Can we say let's find out more ? instead of let's find out a little bit more .? what is the additional meaning of ( little -bit ) in the sentence?
another one is that why in the transcript Stephen asked ( how many colleges are there? the answer is ( There is ..... not There are .....)
Thanks a lot for assistance and help for all my questions in all the podcasts and series.
Hi littlemoon86,
We're glad to hear you enjoy Word on the Street!
a little, a bit, and a little bit all essentially mean the same thing. It would be fine to say "let's find out more". The difference between "let's find out more" and "let's find out a little bit more" is simply that in the second sentence, Stephen isn't talking about finding out a lot more, just a little bit more. You might want to look at our page on quantifiers for more information on this topic.
As for "There's around 39", good catch! Sometimes in informal speech, people say there is, even with plural nouns. I wouldn't recommend that you copy this, but it is something you can hear people say sometimes.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
When I read transcript I understand all word what used in the movie, but when I watch it without transcript I understand nothing! What should I do for understanding listening well?
Hello Sensei,
Listening is often a challenge because we can't control how fast the words come, and we can't go back and check the way that we can when we are reading. Apart from that, when we speak the words are not separate but are run together so a whole sentence can sound like one word! It can be difficult, I know, and the best way to improve is to practise.
Using the transcript is a good idea. You can listen and read at the same time, which will help you to recognise the words as you hear them. Try listening and reading the first time, then listening again without the transcript the second time. The more you practise, the better you will get and there are a lot of different videos and audio recordings you can listen to (click).
Another thing that can help with listening is trying to get used to connected speech - the way we run words together when we speak. Use the transcript and try to listen to how the words change when we say them quickly. This will help you to get used to listening to natural speech.
Good luck with your learning and remember - practise, practise and practise some more!
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you very much for your comprehensive advise Peter!
Kind Regards
Sensei from Azerbaijan
I'd like to know what's the meaning of "fingers crossed". What did she want to say?
Thank you ^v^
Hello zalazaza!
Here it means Good luck! You can read a little more about the expression and how we use it if you do a seach on fingers crossed in our online dictionary.
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
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