Total English Upper Intermediate DVD Transcripts

Unit 1 – Good relations

Mr. Nickleby: I know something of that hand. My brother’s dead. The

widow of both children were in London. Confound them!
Man servant: Anything else you want?
Mr. Nickleby: Not now. I must go out.
Man servant: That’ll cost you a pretty penny.
Mr. Nickleby: I can’t keep them. They must find something. If they won’t
do it for themselves, I shall!
Mrs Nickleby at home girl?
Maid: What name?
Mr. Nickleby: Nickleby.
Maid: Mrs Nickleby, here’s Mr Nickleby.
Nicholas: Uncle Ralph? Good morning, Sir.
Mr. Nickleby: Nicholas, I suppose?
Nicholas: Yes, Sir
Mr. Nickleby: How do you do ma’am. You must bear up against sorrow
ma’am. I always do.
Mrs. Nickleby: Mine was no common loss.
Mr. Nickleby: It was no uncommon loss ma’am. Husbands die everyday.
Wives also.
Nicholas: And brothers too, Sir.
Mr. Nickleby: Yes Sir, and puppies and pug dogs likewise. When my wife
died ma’am, many years ago, I learned …er… to survive the
calamity. Doubtless you will do the same. Well ma’am, you
were saying in your letter there is nothing left, humm, and
you spent what little you had coming all the way to London
to see what I can do for you.
Mrs. Nickleby: I’d hoped you might do something for your brother’s
children. It was his last wish.
Mr. Nickleby: I don’t know how it is; but, whenever a man dies without
property he seems to think it gives him the right to dispose
of other people’s.
And this is Kate. What sort of work is your daughter fitted
for?
Mrs. Nickleby: She was the cleverest girl in a school of twenty-five or was
it fifty-five? Well anyway………
Mr. Nickleby: We must try and get you apprenticed. And you, have you

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 ever done anything?
Nicholas: No, sir.
Mr. Nickleby: I suppose you are willing to work?
Nicholas: Course I am
Mr. Nickleby: Then listen. This caught my eye this morning. You may
thank your lucky stars. An able assistant wanted. Annual
salary - fifteen pounds. There, let him get that and his
fortune’s made.
Kate: But it’s so far away mama!
Mrs. Nickleby: Sssh Kate. Nicholas, I wish you would say something.
Nicholas: If I am fortunate enough to be appointed Sir, what’ll
become of my mother, my sister?
Mr. Nickleby: In that case, but not otherwise, they’ll be provided for by
me.
Nicholas: Then I’ll do anything you wish.
Mr. Nickleby: I’m very pleased to hear it.

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Unit 2 – Dream career

I’m Lindsay Pressdee. I run Child Clothing which is a clothing company. We

produce a range of urban sportswear. I started it in June 96 when I was
twenty-four and um the highlight so far has been when we were in Top Shop
on Oxford Circus.

I’m gonna be showing at a trade show, er… later this year, which means that
I’ll be dealing directly with large department stores, stores all over the world.
I always wanted to be a fashion designer since I was a little girl making
clothes for my Sindy dolls. It’s a hard business to break into, but I think if
you’re prepared to work hard, and you’re really young, you’ve got energy,
and you’ve got fresh ideas, that there is potential to make it with the big
boys.

There’s lots of pros and cons to running your own business. ‘Cos I set up on
my own, I end up spending four days a week on my own in my studio, so it
actually can get quite lonely and requires loads of self-motivation just to get
out of bed in the morning some days. So that’s not the greatest point, and
everyone thinks it’s wonderful to run your own business, but it’s actually
really hard work.

When I left school, I ended up doing a degree in fashion and came to London
to do that, and then I got as much experience as possible. I had lots of
Saturday jobs in clothes shops and then I worked in the industry so I could
get a good view of what it was I was getting into. Being young in this
business is actually a real advantage because you have better ideas and
you’re creative. I have a notebook that I carry round with me all the time
because you never know when you’re gonna come up with a new idea and
you just need to remember it and put it down.

I feel very privileged that I get to do what I wanted to do with my life.

There’s not many people that get to do that. Not many of my friends do. And
even though they earn more money than me now, I know that I’ve got loads
of potential for the future, and so that’s what I’m looking forward to.

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Unit 3 – Film hereos

TRAILER ONE:

Narrator: Journey to a magical time when demons and heroes battled for
the golden treasures and human spoils of forgotten kingdoms.
Villain: Kill! Kill him…
Narrator: Thrilled with the story of a legendary super hero who fights all
the torments of hell to save the woman he loves from the world’s
most powerful sorcerer.
She was once a beautiful princess and now Sinbad must do the
impossible to save her. This is Sinbad’s greatest adventure. The
seventh voyage of Sinbad.
See the dance of the cobra woman and feel her deadly slithering
embrace. See the spectacular battle between Cyclopes and the
fire breathing dragon. The incredible magic of Dynarama.
Recreate the enchanting breathtaking adventure that could never
be told before - The seventh voyage of Sinbad.

TRAILER TWO:

Narrator: Judah Ben Hur! The prince who became a slave and dared the
evil might of a conqueror.
Ben Hur: I tell you, the day Rome falls, there will be a shout of freedom
such as the world has never heard before.
Narrator: Quintas Arias was a stern enemy.
Quintas: Why did you save me?
Narrator: Yet when Ben Hur saved his life, he became a staunch and
grateful friend. There was the beautiful Esther for whose love
Ben Hur defied an empire. There was Massala, the power man.
Once Ben Hur’s boyhood friend. Now his deadliest enemy.
Massala: You, me and your mother and sister will die today!
Narrator: And there was the lusty Sheik Ilderim, ruler of a wild exotic land!
All that you have read about Ben Hur! All that you have heard
about Ben Hur is surpassed by the actuality.

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Unit 4 – Ellen MacArthur

Narrator: In 2005, Ellen MacArthur completed her solo round the world
voyage in under seventy-two days breaking the previous record
by thirty-three hours. Her boat was a multi-million pound sailing
machine full of space age technology. She proved that it was the
fastest racing yacht ever built but what does it take to be the
fastest solo sailor in the world?

Ellen: I think we should have a chance of breaking the record but it’s
gonna be very, very close, and it all depends on how long this
breeze we’ve got with us at the moment stays.

Narrator: The Bombay Globe Round the World race in 2001 prepared her
well. She had to be the navigator, captain and crew. She had to
be strong both physically and mentally and she had to be able to
fix everything from ropes to computers. In the Southern Ocean,
she had to repair a broken mast during a storm.

Ellen: I’m away from home and I ache all over. I’m just exhausted.

Narrator: But the Southern Ocean remains special to her.

Ellen: It’s the most beautiful place in the world and most of the time
there’s no land there, there’s nothing. Somehow it’s not like
you’re a tiny dot in the middle of a massive ocean because
you’re so close to it, you’re so with it. It’s as if it’s looking after
you and it’s quite strange, even in the storms, the sea was just
being the sea. It wasn’t as if it was attacking me or y’know, you
imagine a big storm as if it’s you against the ocean, and it never
ever felt like that, not once.

Narrator: For solo sailing, absolute fitness is essential. Physical strength

can make the difference between life and death. To give her
enough energy, Ellen needs 6,000 calories and twenty vitamin
pills a day. To keep the weight on the boat to a minimum, she
only eats freeze dried food.

Ellen: For sure I’ve not slept for more than fifteen-twenty minutes at a
time. The first night I think I must have got fifteen minutes

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 sleep, and I think, today this morning I must have slept for half
an hour as well outside in the cuddy, so I’m going to try and
sleep as much as I possibly can today.

Narrator: Sleep is a luxury. Ellen has learnt to sleep in ten minute bursts
and to get by on only two hours sleep a day. A solo sailor needs
skill, determination, courage and strength. Ellen MacArthur has
proved she has them all.

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Unit 5 – Home Road Movie

Son: It wasn’t the sort of thing to boast about, but our Dad was an
expert on bus timetables. Family holiday rovers, weekend
seaside specials, he knew everything. We even had a bus stop
outside our house. Other families had cars. Luckily for us, Dad
had a problem. You see holiday rover tickets are about average
sized families, but there were too many of us to be average.

News spread quickly about our top performance sports car. It

was brilliant.

Dad: Emergency items, red triangle, fire extinguisher…

Son: We held our breaths while Dad, RAF trained prepared for our
first flight.

Dad: Oh, blanket and coffee flask….

Son: Anticipation mounted as the car manual was read from cover to
cover.

Dad: Power on, first check, second check, back left indicator, back
right indicator. Mmm, onboard entertainment. Aah, wipers… Oh
well, here we go…

Children: 5,4,3,2,1!

Dad: Oh James Last or Tia on the razz?

Children: Yeah!

Son: No longer restricted to zone 3 of the local buses, our Dad took
us on motoring holidays of a lifetime.

Dad: Ah, stunning Arc de Triomphe, built in 1836 to celebrate the

victory of …
… the world’s tallest building… built in 1931…
…at eighty-nine hundred feet you can see for forty-five miles…

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Son: With Europe as our playground we immersed ourselves in it
cultural capitals.

Dad: Now that is impressive. A fully integrated transport system. If

only we could have that at home.

Children: Go on Dad, you can overtake him! Yeah!

Son: For each new holiday, Dad would answer our every need, always
with a brilliant Ronco car accessory. The electric cooker and
fridge provided exotic cuisine. We were totally self-contained. A
family with everything. Even our arrival in a new campsite would
raise eyebrows. Fellow campers were impressed with what
British Camping Technology could offer.

Despite the occasional setback we still knew that our Dad and his
fantastic car were the best. Together we travelled ever upwards
towards the Utopia of modern family motoring.

Dad: Little bit more to the left….Smile!

Son: We had reached the top

Children: We’re going to the top of the mountain!

Brilliant! Look!

Son: He didn’t know it couldn’t last.

Children: Dad do we have to have Radio Two? Please, why can’t we have
Radio One? It’s the top forty! Dad, why can’t we have Radio
One?

Son: We’d grown up and it finally dawned on us Dad hadn’t bought a

high performance car. In fact we’d spent every holiday driving at
a safety conscious, law abiding thirty m.p.h. And it wasn’t just
that our car was getting old. We were beginning to realise that
the captain perhaps wasn’t the best driver on the road. So, to
help him out, we all made high pitched engine noises when he
forgot to change gears. Thinking back, I guess my Dad found it
quite stressful driving.

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Dad: Just a little rest……just a little peace and quiet.

Son: Dad was retired now and spending most of his time bringing the
car back to its former glory. Ready for our next family summer
holiday.

As years passed his answer to family life was becoming ever

harder to maintain. And when my mother died it must have
seemed an impossible task. Each year there was one less brother
or sister as college and travel took them away, but still he was
out there struggling to get the family car back onto the road.

Dad, Dad, where are you? The taxi’s here. My train’s at 12:30.
I’ll give you a call next week.

Even though Dad continued to work on the car, he no longer had

the courage to lift up the bonnet. If he had, he would have
realised that the engine was now a solid lump of rust.

Dad! I’m off!

My Dad’s last journey wasn’t in his car, but alone on a

bus…….and it was only after his death that we discovered that
even though the car hadn’t moved for ten years it had always
been taxed and insured. Our Dad was always ready for the next
great summer holiday.

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Unit 6 – Bhutan

Michael
Palin: Bhutan is a tiny pebble squeezed between the great rocks of
China and India. Mostly mountain and forest, it has few roads, so
I’m walking up to Jomolhari which borders on Tibet. My guide,
Doji wears national costume as men are expected to in this
country. I favour the international dishevelled look. There’s room
to move here. Bhutan is the size of Switzerland with a population
of little more than a million. It has one of the strictest
environmental policies in the world. More than a quarter of the
country’s national park not even fallen wood can be gathered
without permission. It’s a country jealous of its independence
ruled by a much loved King whose declared policy is gross
national happiness before gross national product. The influence
of Buddhism is everywhere like this dramatic cliff top hermitage.
Of all the holy spots that crop up all over the town, what’s so
special about this one?
Legend claims it was founded by a saint, Guru Rinpoche, who
rode here on a tigress twelve hundred years ago and turned
himself into something so nasty that the evil spirits fled and left
the valley to Buddhism.
Bhutan has taken deliberate steps to keep tourist numbers
manageable. Visitors have to pay a minimum of 200 dollars a
day even if you’re staying in a tent.
There’s a main road through the centre of the town.

Doje: Yes, there’s a main link through the centre of the town linking
east to west.
Michael
Palin: Yeah…
Bhutan is conditioned mentally and physically by the Himalaya.
Mountain ranges split the country into a series of steep valleys
each with their own character and often their own climate. On
the other side of this 10,000 foot pass, we leave the snow
behind.

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Unit 7 - Vikings

Narrator: Swords clash as men and women obsessed with reliving the past
meet on the battle field. They are living as Vikings and Saxons
used to at Old Sarum, an ancient fort in England. These people
aren’t just satisfied with reading history books - when they put
on their armour they become like real warriors. So what makes
them go to such extremes?

Viking 1: I decided to be a Viking because I’ve had a long interest in

history and war-gaming and warfare really. Um, and, I met
someone a few years ago who pointed me in the right direction.
Somebody handed me one of the weapons and I grinned. Um,
and then I haven’t looked back.

Viking 2: I got into this because of my love of history and um… it’s just a
good way of dressing up at the weekends.

Viking 1: Er… this is a controlled environment, and it’s um, so we can play
fight. It’s a bit of a game, it’s nice to win but when it boils down
to it, we want to do it again so we try not to hurt each other.
Er… we’re very conscious of safety.

Narrator: These people are called re-enactors. They show modern visitors
how their ancestors used to live, about a 1,000 years ago.

Viking 3: We’ve set up a Viking village, firstly for our own entertainment
cos this is what we like doing, but we’re trying to bring history to
life, for members of the public and educate them and entertain
them at the same time. Cos we all feel that history is fun and
enjoyable.

Narrator: Each person takes on the role of a character from the dark ages.

Saxon: I’m actually a Saxon within the Viking Society. We have, we

have Saxons, Vikings, even Celts um….it’s a period that I’ve
always been interested in …um and it’s just a way of carrying on
that interest, sort of y’know, rather than just reading’, you can
be it, you live the life rather than just read it, or watch it on the
telly.

Narrator: The re-enactors perform ancient stories called The Norse Sagas.

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Viking 3: I got into it because it’s fun, get to travel around the country,
meet lots of interesting people. Er… Hit them with swords. You
get a lot of exercise out of it, a lot of personal satisfaction. I
don’t have any problem myself changing from character back
into modern personality. I find it easy to compartmentalise my
life, so if I change back… but there are some people I know that
do seem to take it a bit far. Er… they stay in costume all the time
or maybe just a part of the costume. There was some woman I
knew years ago who would always insist on wearing her Viking
shoes.

Narrator: The people here are determined to make their medieval camp as
authentic as possible. Even the children become historical
characters.

Viking 4: It’s just loads of fun. We get to dress up, I mean, OK, you do
have to make your own clothes but that’s fun as well, and the
kids all have a whale of a time. As you can see, all the children
are playing and everybody just has so much fun. It’s a great way
to spend a weekend to be honest.

Viking 5: As a blacksmith I’m one of the few craftsmen who makes his
own tools and pretty much everybody else’s tools as well.
Blacksmith’s tools have not changed since the Bronze Age.
They’ve always been like this. Viking tools are the same as
modern smith’s tools. I enjoy the camaraderie, the friendliness,
cos you sit round the fire in the evening eating great food, chat
and relax.

Viking 6: I like the history associated with the Dark Ages. To me, they’re
not as dark as what everyone thinks they are. Um…I’ve always
enjoyed British history but I wanted to know what the Vikings
were about and I found this group and I enjoy it.

Narrator: Things may look peaceful in the camp, but the Vikings and
Saxons are always ready to fight. They put on their helmets,
take up their weapons and march to the battle field. No longer
twenty-first century accountants, builders or shop keepers but
fierce warriors in a bloody war.

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Unit 8 – The secrets of success

The Milliner: My name’s Joseph Köln. I’m a couture milliner. I make

hats for some of the biggest names in fashion here in
London, also Paris, Milan, New York. I’m twenty-six. I’m
already financially successful but I’ve never been in it
for the money. I love what I, work, what I do, I’m very
passionate about my work. Nobody else is gonna make
you a millionaire. Concentrate on your concept, your
idea, your vision and make it work. Stay passionate and
you will be successful.

The Web
Consultant: My name’s Shara Vickers. I own a website design
consultancy, Cortella Ltd and we’ve been going for two
and a half years now. Our estimated turnover is
£200,000 and my advice to anybody who is starting up
a business and has some really good ideas is go and see
a professional body who deal with start up businesses
and they’ll help you put your ideas into action!

The Quantity
Surveyor: My name is Roger Elliott. I’m twenty-five years old and
a quantity surveyor. Since leaving school eight years
ago, I worked for somebody else. Last year I decided to
set up my own business. It’s important to remember
whatever career you choose you don’t have to work for
somebody else.

The Card Maker: My name is Joanna McKinley and I run the Giant Card
Company. I’ve had the business now for three years,
and I’ve an annual turnover of £70,000. My advice to
you is a good business is a good idea.

The Street
Performers: Hello, my name’s Kate and I’m Naomi. We run a
company called Creative Feature. We specialise in street
theatre, in masks and stilts. And we’ve been going since
June ‘94. We’ve been very lucky and very successful.

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 We’ve performed all over the UK and Europe, at the
Dome and Buckingham Palace, and our top tip is choose
your business partner very carefully!

The Indian
Takeaway Owner: My name is Majou Islam. I’m twenty-six years old. I
own the Bombay Spice in Brixton. I used to be a
Graphic Designer, but I never wanted to earn a salary
for the rest of my life. So today I’ve opened my own
business which happens to be an Indian takeaway. I’ve
got the right market for myself and it was the right
thing for myself. I had a little bit of experience. I went
out and done my market research on it. Today I can
clearly say my takeaway is doing excellent. My advice
to you is know your customer.

The Internet
Entrepreneur: My name is Ben Way. I’m young entrepreneur of the
year and I run a website called [Link]. I
started [Link] about six months ago when I
received multi-million pound venture capital funding.
That wasn’t my first project. When I was fourteen, I
started up my own company and the reasons for that
was because I was dyslexic everyone told me I could
never read or write or do anything with my life, so I
decided to go and prove them wrong. So my advice to
you is don’t give up. You will find your own skill one day
and you will do well, so always believe in yourself.

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Unit 9 - The Bullion Robbery

Bank manager: And um, here’s the order for tomorrow’s consignment.
Somewhat larger than I expected. £212.

Bank clerk: That won’t worry me, sir.

Bank manager: Dependable to the last. I’m going to miss you Holland.

Bank clerk: Very kind, sir. I shall always have the happiest memories
of the dear old bullion office.

Bank manager: Has Mr Abercrombie spoken to you about your holiday?

Bank clerk: Yes, sir. I’m going to Paris.

Bank manager: Paris eh? You’re stepping out Holland. Wonderful isn’t it,
what a little extra money will do?

Bank clerk: Yes, it’s going to make a big difference to me…

211, 212 … Ah, Mr Richards - your deposit will be returned
in the usual way. As soon as the gold enters the bank.
At your post sir.

[Van bell rings]

Did you see that car?

Driver 1: Yes, sir… a Police Car.

Bank clerk: What?

Driver 1: Nothing to be afraid of there, Sir. Bloke was a copper.

Bank clerk: It’s probably some trick. It’s probably some trick. I’m sure
it’s the same car that followed us the other day.

Driver 1: You want me to go and look round the corner, sir?

Bank clerk: Yes.

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Cyclist: You got a flat tyre there mate!

Bank clerk: Help, help!

Driver 2: Help, help Police!

Driver 1: What’s up?

Driver 2: The van, the van - they pinched the van!

Policeman: Hello all cars from M2 GW. This is number 4 and it

begins… maroon coloured van, LJ L6 38, containing bullion
value one million pounds stolen from the vicinity of Queen
Victoria Street.

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Unit 10 – Yes, Prime Minister

JH = Jim Hacker (new elected Prime Minister)

G = Godfey (TV producer)
GA = Government aid
MA = Make-up artist

JH: Let us be abundantly clear about this. We cannot go on paying

ourselves more than we earn. The rest of the world does not owe us a
living. We must be prepared to make sacrifices … and who wrote this
rubbish?
GA: You did, Prime Minister. It’s one of your old speeches.
JH: How was that Godfrey?
G: Um… excellent Prime Minister, um… one thing, will you be wearing
those glasses?
JH: Well, what do you think?
G: Well, it’s up to you obviously. With them on, you look authoritative and
commanding. With them off you look honest and open. Which do you
want?
JH: Well, really, I want to look authoritative and honest.
G: It’s one or the other really.
JH: What about starting with them off and then putting them on …
G: That just looks indecisive.
JH: I see…
GA: What about a monocle?
G: Let’s just leave them off for the moment shall we?
JH: Anything else?
G: Um, well, your face is a bit wooden.
JH: Wooden?
G: Only, only when you’re speaking. Um, you see in normal speech, you
move your head and eyebrows and cheek muscles and so and so. Don’t
let the tele-prompter turn you into a zombie OK?
JH: Defence expenditure, one of the areas which this Government will be

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 examining closely. It may be that we can achieve the same.
G: Prime Minister, that’s just a little bit too much. Could we just talk about
your appearance for a moment? What will you be wearing?
JH: What do you suggest?
G: Well, dark suit represents traditional values.
JH: Fine, dark suit.
G: On the other hand, a light suit looks business like.
JH: Well, what about a lightish jacket with a darkish waistcoat?
G: I think that would look as though you’d got an identity problem.
MA: Excuse me Prime Minister. Godfrey, could we have word about make-
up? Are you happy about the grey hair or shall we darken it?
G: No, no that’s fine.
MA: And the receding hairline?
JH: Receding what?!
G: High forehead. And could you try to make the …er…, do something
about the eyes? Make them look less close set.
MA: Bags underneath … cheeks … nose is still a problem.
JH: Problem?!
G: No… just a lighting problem Prime Minister. Very large, …um… shadow.
MA: Teeth of course. Could you smile Prime Minister?
G: Yes…

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