Camden Scene 1

Stephen and Ashlie realise they have quite similar ideas about what their Mum would like, but Ashlie soon gets distracted from the task in hand!

Do the Preparation task first. Then watch the video. Next go to Task and do the activity. If you need help, you can read the transcript at any time.

Preparation

Before you watch

Think about the following questions:

  • Do you ever shop in markets in your country?
  • Think about markets in Britain. Do you think they will be the same as markets in your country, or different?

Watch Stephen and Ashlie go shopping in Camden Market in London.

Transcript

 

Stephen: Here we are in Camden Lock Market. It’s a great place to go shopping and we need to buy a birthday present for our Mum. What do you think we should get her, Ash?

Ashlie: Well our Mum loves nice clothes and costume jewellery. So - I’m sure we’ll find something here.

Stephen: It's huge here, Ash. I’ll tell you what, let’s split up, see what we can find and I’ll meet you back here in one hour.

Ashlie: OK, I’ll see you back here in an hour, then.

Stephen: Oh, Ash – can you lend me 50 quid?

Ashlie: 50 quid, eh?

Stephen: Don’t worry, you’ll get it back!

Ashlie: That should do it.

Stephen: Thank you.

Ashlie: OK, I’ll see you back here later.

Stephen: See you!

.....

Stephen: Wow, look at these! I’ve never seen one of these before. How much are these?

Shopkeeper: Five pound each.

.....

Ashlie: Excuse me. Do you have this in another colour?

.....

Stephen: Hiya – how’s it going?

Shopkeeper: Hi, very well. How are you?

Stephen: Good, thanks.

Stephen: I like these, how much are they?

Shopkeeper: Er, the leaf lights – they are £21.95.

Stephen: Hmm, I’m not sure she’ll like them. Can you help me? I’m looking for a birthday present for my mum. Any ideas?

Shopkeeper: What type of thing does she like?

Stephen: Well, she’s quite stylish – modern, I suppose.

Shopkeeper: Well, the yin yang’s really modern. What do you think of that?

Stephen: Hmm. What about that one over there?

Shopkeeper: Ah, the ball lights – lovely – it’s fifty pounds.

Stephen: Oh.

Shopkeeper: How about... forty, seeing as it’s your mother’s birthday?

Stephen: Twenty?

Shopkeeper: Twenty? That’s really cheap. How about I meet you halfway – twenty-five?

Stephen: Great, thanks mate. My Mum’s going to love this.

Shopkeeper: You’re welcome.

.....

Ashlie: Aah - I'm running out of time…

.....

Ashlie: Excuse me, how much is this?

Shopkeeper: Er, that’s fifty pounds.

.....

Stephen: So? How did you get on?

Ashlie: Pretty good, I guess. I bought this fantastic candle holder. It was a little bit expensive, but I think Mum will love it. In fact I almost bought one for myself!

Stephen: Yeah… great – and look what I found!

Ashlie: Well, that is just crazy – how did we end up buying the same candle holder in this huge market??!

Stephen: I’ll tell you what we’ll do. You take this one. You said you almost bought one for yourself - and you lent me fifty pounds, right?

Ashlie: Right.

Stephen: So you take this one, I’ll get lunch and we’ll call it quits! Come on – it’s time to get something to eat. Lunch is on me, remember. Come on!

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

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Average: 5 (2 votes)

Submitted by Dayana Fontoura on Mon, 12/11/2018 - 23:40

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I'm from Brazil and I think the markets here are quite similar to those in England, with a lot of stores and pretty things. Actually, I love to go shopping. I usually buy clothes, shoes or jewerly, and I also enjoy to go lunch or dinner at the restaurants.

Submitted by xr on Wed, 17/10/2018 - 04:04

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hello at the end Ashlie said: in fact I almost bought one for myself. from the context it feels that she wish she could buy one for herself but she did not. is that correct? thanks.
Profile picture for user Kirk Moore

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Wed, 17/10/2018 - 08:50

In reply to by xr

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Hello xr,

That would make sense and it could certainly be true. To be honest, though, I can't really tell if she was really considering buying one for herself or if she was saying this to emphasise how much she likes it and how much she thinks their mother will like it.

I'm sorry not to be able to give you a more definitive answer. If only we could ask her!

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ames5 on Sat, 13/10/2018 - 23:56

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Another Question: When Ashlie says: "That should do it." what does it mean?
she means that( her friend should give him back the money which he takes)

Submitted by ames5 on Sat, 13/10/2018 - 23:43

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Hi, In the last expression which Stephan said, " I’ll get lunch and we’ll call it quits!" Whats does he mean when he says "we’ll call it quits!" ? Thanks, Ali
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Submitted by Peter M. on Sun, 14/10/2018 - 08:04

In reply to by ames5

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Hi ames5,

In this context 'we'll call it quits' means 'we do not owe each other anything'.

For example, let's say I buy dinner for you. The next day, you might offer to pay for us both to go to the theatre and say 'we'll call it quits'.

We can use this for other things than money, such as when people help each other in some way.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by masud1971 on Fri, 21/09/2018 - 06:01

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I am sorry, I can't see this video. How can I see or download it?

Hello masud,

There seems to have been some kind of technical error with our server today, as other users have also reported problems with our videos. If you're not able to see it now, please do let us know and I'll investigate it further, though please let me know what browser and browser version you're using.

I'm afraid our videos are not available for download for legal reasons.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team