VIDEO.British Council Word on the street History Scene 2 (LearnEnglish)

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/word-street/history-scene-2


Ashlie and Jay Marie have afternoon tea and Stephen and Tristan take a tour of Elizabeth Tower and listen to a famous bell.

Ashlie: OK. So, what time is it?

Stephen: I don’t know. I don’t have a watch.

Tristan: Ah. It’s almost one o’clock.

Stephen: OK, here’s the plan. Ashlie and Jay Marie, you two are going to go and have afternoon tea. And Tristan, why don’t you and I go up Big Ben?

Tristan: Err, Stephen I don’t think you just ‘go up’ Big Ben.

Stephen: You can if you’ve booked.

Tristan: Brilliant! I’ve always wanted to go up there!

Stephen: OK. And we’ll meet back here later.

Ashlie: Have a good time!

Jay Marie: See you guys! Bye!

Stephen: Bye!

Wow! I can’t wait for this… Wow! Come on, I’ll race you. 31, 32, 33, 34. 35, 36...

98, 99, 100. This is harder than I thought. You all right, Tristan?

Tristan: Stephen! I’m up here! Hurry up, slow coach!

Jay Marie: Oh, this is lovely, Ashlie! I’ve always wanted a traditional English afternoon tea.

Ashlie: Yes, it’s nice, isn’t it? Though we don’t do it every day.

Jay Marie: Really? I thought afternoon tea was a meal for you. Breakfast, lunch, tea?

Ashlie: Well, actually, it’s a bit confusing. Some people call ‘lunch’ ‘dinner’ and ‘dinner’ ‘tea’ but not like afternoon tea like this. And then of course, there’s the tea that you drink.

Jay Marie: Hmm. You’ll have to explain it to me later. This looks delicious.

Stephen: Wow! Look, you can see all the clock faces.

Guide: So here we are now in the clock room. This is called the chime train. It governs the four chime bells, which play the Westminster chimes. We all know the tune: ding dong ding dong. You’re all familiar with that. Well, that’s what’s going to play now.

So here we are. The bells themselves. And that bell there is Big Ben himself.

Tristan: I thought the tower was called Big Ben?

Guide: No, it’s just the name of the bell.

Stephen: Yes, in fact the tower is called the Elizabeth Tower.

Guide: That’s right. And watch out, guys, the bells are going to ring any second now.

Ashlie: Hey, wow! It’s already three o’clock. I bet it’s loud where Stephen is. Let me call him.

Stephen: Hello, Ashlie. I can’t hear you. It’s really loud up here. Oh, that was cool. Can you hear the bells from where you are?

Ashlie: Err, no. Are you having fun?

Stephen: Yeah, the stairs were really hard work but it’s really interesting from up here. Oh, the tour’s moving on. See you later.

Ashlie: OK, Bye… Bye.

Jay Marie: More sandwiches?

Ashlie: Oh, go on then.

Tristan: Stephen, we’re running out of time. We need to head off and meet the girls.

Stephen: OK. Wait a second. There’s just one thing I’ve always wanted to do.

Jay Marie: You guys are so lucky to be living in London. So many beautiful buildings to see.

Ashlie: Yeah, we love it here. I just wish we had more time to enjoy the city, instead of working all the time.

Ashlie: I wonder how Stephen and Tristan are getting on? They should be down by now.

Jay Marie: Hey, Ashlie! What’s that?

Ashlie: Hmm – I'm not sure. Stephen?!

Stephen: Ashlie!!!