Oxford Street is one of London's busiest shopping areas

Jean: The busiest?

Andrea: And the most crowded shopping street in the whole of the UK?

Jean: 那当然要数伦敦的牛津街了

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You can get anything at Oxford Street. Anything you might want you can get there.

Andrea: Hello, I’m Andrea Rose.

Jean: 大家好，我是董征。在我们今天的BBC Learning English节目当中，我们回来给大家好好介绍一下伦敦最著名的 Oxford Street牛津街。

Andrea: We met up with Eve Kutner who used to live in the UK but who now lives in Paris, in France. When she comes home for her holiday, Oxford Street is one of the first places she heads for.

Jean: To head for something – 就是直奔某个地方

Andrea: Here’s Eve describing what Oxford Street is like.

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It’s a very long straight road with lots of red double-decker buses going up and down all the time. Lots of noise, people milling about. It’s just very intense. You have to be brave and just walk through otherwise you’ll get crushed.

Jean: Eve她说这条Oxford Street是一条又长又直的街道。而且街上总有很多的英国双层大巴。

Andrea: On Oxford Street there are always many people milling or wandering about. But you’d better be careful otherwise you might get crushed or squashed.

Jean: Eve说在牛津街购物感觉非常激烈和热烈– intense. 因为在这里购物的人都是购物热情相当之高的。

Andrea: But Oxford Street wasn’t always a shopping street. From the 12th to the 18th centuries the street was well-known as the route prisoners were taken on their way to being executed or killed.

Jean: How awful. 奇怪的是以前的绞刑架就搭在牛津街一头的Marble Arch大理石拱门，而这里却正是Eve最喜欢的购物区！

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One of my favourite stops when I come to London is Marks and Spencers. I love the big ‘Marks’ up at Marble Arch.

Andrea: Marks is short for Marks and Spencer and it’s one of Eve’s favourite shops on Oxford Street.

Jean: 这里是Eve购物的必到一站A stop

Andrea: In fact Marks and Spencer is exactly where the old Pantheon used to be in the 18th century.

Jean: 这条街道曾经以那里的杂耍娱乐演出而闻名，比如斗老虎 tiger-baiting

Andrea: Fetes or fairs

Jean: 还有masquerades, 就是假面化妆舞会。

Andrea: For Eve, one of her earliest memories of coming to Oxford Street was when she was a child and visited the street with her parents.

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I remember as a child coming up to London was a big treat, coming on the tube up to town with my parents. And Oxford Street was always one of the highlights. I do remember it being a big deal when I was little.

Jean: Eve还记得以前她小时候到牛津街来是件特别重要特别特殊的事情。

Andrea: She says that Oxford Street was a highlight. It was somewhere special. Did you catch the other phrase Eve used to describe how exciting Oxford Street was, Jean?

Jean: She said it was a big deal – 他说那可是件特别重要的事情。

Andrea: Nowadays, it’s still a very popular shopping district. It’s also one of the best places to go when the are sales on.

Jean: 不过要想参加这些大的减价拍卖，大家可要有些胆量才行！

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To be honest I would never go to Oxford Street on the first day of the sales because I think you would get killed. Everybody tries to rush for the first item on sale. I never go on the first day but then there’s nothing left unfortunately. So you have to get there early to get the good stuff.

Andrea: Eve says that she wouldn’t want to go to Oxford Street on the first day of the sales. She uses the expression – to be honest

Jean: To be honest, I think I agree with Eve. It sounds dangerous!

Andrea: Well Eve says that people almost kill each other trying to get a bargain, so it’s better to leave it and go another time.

Jean: Eve 说如果大家想买到价廉物美的便宜货，首先必须当天要起个大早。You’ve got to get there early to get the good stuff.

Andrea: Sadly in recent times sales have been suffering. People have stopped going to Oxford Street as much as they did. The bombs in London last year affected shopping.

Jean: Evelyn是Oxford Street上一家服装商店的经理。

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This time of the year we have a lot of tourists but now we don’t see that many. It’s not really like last year. Last year was really busy and the figure was up but now it’s down.

Andrea: She says that the figures or the money made on Oxford Street used to be much higher.

Jean: 很多的游客都喜欢到这里来。

Andrea: But at the moment, the numbers of people are down. That’s not stopping Eve. She’s about to go there right now!

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I’m actually going to Oxford Street this afternoon. I’d like to go there and see if I can pick up some bargains on CDs and DVDs.

Jean: 那我们就接着让Eve继续她的疯狂购物吧。 So until the next time it’s goodbye from both of us at BBC Learning English.

Andrea: Bye.

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