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Ask for help > Help!!! What does he say?!
Help!!! What does he say?!
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*Maria*
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Help!!! What does he say?!
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Dear colleagues, I need your help! I �ve got to write a tapescript but I can �t make out a couple of words :(. What does the narrator say at 1:40? The very end of the sentence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZ4systdZc |
27 May 2015
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yanogator
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Good ear, Spinney. I couldn �t figure it out, but I think the accent was a little in the way. I heard "shor", but the "ten" was too faint. Bruce
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27 May 2015
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*Maria*
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Thank you! I thought it was �The odds shorten � but I couldn �t understand what he meant. It should be the other way round, as I see it. I �m not an expert in bears... |
27 May 2015
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spinney
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We Brits have a habit of not pronouncing the "t" sometimes. It would appear that even national treasures such as David Attenborough aren �t even immune.(That�s the narrator, by the way.) 
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28 May 2015
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cunliffe
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I haven �t listened to this, but �the odds shorten � means that the chance of something happening decreases.I hate it when people miss the �t � - do we call it �glottal stop? � London-based metropolitan politicians do it all the time, but David Attenborough??! God help us. |
28 May 2015
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*Maria*
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Thank you sooo much! Still, I do not understand why David Attenborough used "the odds shorten". When there is a lot of fish, the chance of catching it should increase, not decrease. |
28 May 2015
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almaz
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Short odds in betting-speak means you have a good chance of winning. You won�t get a great return on your original stake, but the chances of you winning something are increased, not decreased. Long odds is the opposite.
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28 May 2015
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*Maria*
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Oh, I see! Thanks a lot :)!!! |
28 May 2015
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spinney
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As Almaz said, it �s to do with betting. The odds on them catching a fish shorten. In other words, if you were betting money on the bears catching fish and there weren �t many fish and a wide river then the odds could be something like 15 to 1 meaning you would win 15 pounds for every pound bet. If their chances increased, i.e. a narrower river and more fish, then the odds would shorten to something like 3 to 1, in other words 3 pounds for every 1 pound bet. Many people seem to think that football or cricket are the national sports of the UK. I would say it �s horse racing. There is a race somewhere every single day of the year and every town has at least one betting shop. Hence this kind of vocabulary. You can also bet on everything from sports and royal babies to life on other planets. |
28 May 2015
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cunliffe
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Oh yes, of course. My mistake. |
28 May 2015
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