Snowdon Scene 2

Ashlie surprises Stephen by beating him to the top of the mountain.

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:

  • How is Ashlie going to travel to the top of Snowden?
  • Who do you think will get to the top first?

Watch Ashlie and Stephen as they make their way to the top of the mountain.

Transcript

Transcript

Ashlie: Hi. Can I have a return ticket, please?

Ticket Seller: Yes, of course you can.

Ashlie: Brilliant. How much is that?           

Ticket Seller: Twenty-five pounds, please.

Ashlie: Great. Thank you. Twenty-five. And when is the next train?

Ticket Seller: Four o’clock.

Ashlie: Four p.m. Thank you very much.

Ticket Seller: Thank you.

Ashlie: This is the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Now, this train goes all the way from here, up to the top of the mountain. It’s a steam train so it is quite slow but I’m sure I’ll get to the top before Stephen. Now, I must take some photos.

Train Driver: Yeah – that looks good – nice one! OK then?

Ashlie: Thank you. That’s lovely. Are you the train driver?

Train Driver: Yes, I drive these locomotives and I’ve done so for about 29 years now.

Ashlie: So how long does it take to get to the top?

Train Driver: Just under an hour.

Ashlie: Under an hour? It must be pretty high then. How high is it?

Train Driver: It's about 1000 metres and it is the highest mountain in England and Wales. And it gets very cold there as well, so if I were you, I’d wear something a little warmer!

Ashlie: Don’t worry, I've got a big coat.

Train Man: That’s good.

Ashlie: Thank you.

Train Man: You’re welcome, bye.

Ashlie: What an amazing train!

.....

Stephen: Ashlie! What are you doing here? How did you get here?

Ashlie: Oh, hiya Stephen. What an amazing place. You know, it’s a shame about the view though.

Stephen: What an amazing place? How did you get here?

Ashlie: Well, I got the train, of course. You know, it’s much easier than cycling.

Stephen: You got the train!? You mean to say while I’ve been riding up the mountain all afternoon, you….

Ashlie: Oh, and I also got a spa treatment. Look, aren’t they lovely?

Stephen: You’re unbelievable!

Ashlie: You look exhausted, Stephen. Come on, shall we go and get a coffee or a sandwich or something?

Stephen: A sandwich? You’re on the top of a mountain! It isn’t some kind of High Street, you know.

Ashlie: Follow me.

.....

Stephen: Just what we needed; a café at the top of the mountain.

Ashlie: OK, what are you having, Stephen? 

Stephen: Hmm. I’ll have a coffee and one of these, a cheese sandwich.

Ashlie: I think I’ll have the soup and I’ll have a hot chocolate.

Waiter: Hi there. Can I take your order, please?

Ashlie: Yes please, I’ll have a soup and a hot chocolate and he’ll have a cheese sandwich and a coffee, please.

Waiter: Can I get you anything else?

Stephen: Yes, I was just wondering – it must be fun working here on the mountain. But how do you get to work everyday – you don’t cycle, do you?

Waiter: No, we don’t. There’s an early train, a special train for all the staff who need to come up every morning.

Stephen: And what happens when the weather gets really bad? Do you ever get stuck up here? 

Waiter: We do, we do get stuck sometimes. If the weather turns really bad, there’s accommodation for the staff to stay overnight.

Stephen: Sounds cosy!

Waiter: Very cosy indeed. I’ll just get your order for you now.

Ashlie: Great, thank you very much. See, you should have got the train.

.....

Stephen: Right. Time to make a move. It should be easier going downhill.

Ashlie: It’s easy for me. I’m going to catch the last train home. In fact, I wonder what time the last train is…

Stephen: Ashlie, is it a small red and green train? Like that one?

Ashlie: Oh, no! Wait! Ah, Stephen I’ve missed the last train!

Stephen: Come on Ash, jump on. I'll give you a lift! You on?

Ashlie: Not too fast!

 

Task 1

Comprehension Task

Do you know anywhere where you can travel on steam trains in your country?

Answer these questions.

Exercise

Task 2

Comprehension Task

Can you fill in the gaps in the sentences with the correct numbers?

Exercise

Download

Language level

Average: 5 (1 vote)

Submitted by parisaach on Sun, 19/04/2020 - 05:14

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Hello . I love these videos of Ashlie and Stephen . Can anybody help me about the meaning of this sentence: "it' s a shame about the view"

Hello parisaach

I'm glad to hear it. Ashley thinks it's a beautiful place, but is disappointed that the clouds are making it difficult to appreciate the view. The 'view' is what you can see from a place; we often speak about the view from the top of buildings or mountains such as this one.

Does that make sense?

Nice to see you here again.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Martin_Laborde on Sat, 23/06/2018 - 23:11

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Hello! When the ticket seller responses to Ashlie he said "yes for sure". Am I right?. Because in the transcrip he said "of course you can" Thank you
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Submitted by Peter M. on Mon, 25/06/2018 - 07:09

In reply to by Martin_Laborde

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Hello Martin_Laborde,

I think the ticket seller says 'Yes, of course you can', as in the transcript. It's a little difficult to hear because the introductory music is still playing, but that is what I hear.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by btriton on Sun, 27/05/2018 - 18:35

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nice videos, I like them , it's encourage me to follow all of your resources. I need improve mainly my Listening skills, it becomes very hard for me.

Submitted by Nguyen thi Hai Huyen on Mon, 19/03/2018 - 14:59

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can help me: A very cosy indeed. Indeed"

Hi Nguyen,

In this case, 'indeed' is used for emphasis. The waiter agrees with Stephen when Stephen says that it sounds cosy. If you follow the link, you can see a few other examples of 'indeed' used this way.

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by martusiad065 on Wed, 14/03/2018 - 20:00

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