N20 : Twentieth lesson S00-TITLE : The North-South Divide S01 : So how do you find living down south, Brian? You must really like it. S02 : Don't be daft. If it weren't for my job, I'd be back up north like a shot. S03 : Oh come on, surely you don't mean that you'd rather move back to Yorkshire? S04 : Too right I would! Folk here are far too snooty and unfriendly. S05 : I get really brassed off with people who think that the north country is all flat caps and Coronation Street. S06 : I only wish they'd go and see what things are really like. They'd soon be laughing on the other side of their face. S07 : But surely, the north is not so affluent, people are less well-off and there's higher joblessness? S08 : That may once have been the case, but things have changed radically over the past few decades. S09 : We've had urban regeneration; companies are relocating to northern towns and cities; S10 : the standard of living has improved; and the way of life is much more laid back. S11 : Anyway, this isn't exactly a paradise, is it? You can't find accommodation for love nor money; S12 : the cost of living is astronomical; public transport's a joke; S13 : and the pollution is so bad you can hear the birds coughing in the morning. S14 : But you can't seriously be suggesting that you're better-off than we are? S15 : Could it be that you're looking at things through rose-coloured glasses? S16 : No way! And let me tell you another thing, you toffee-nosed southerner: S17 : up north, we're down-to-earth, straight-talking, no-nonsense people. S18 : Keep your shirt on! I was just winding you up. I know you're right. S19 : You'd better watch yourself, lad, unless you want a kick in the teeth. S20 : Where I come from, "He were a bloody southerner" is a legal defence. T00-TRANSLATE : Exercise: Translate T01 : When I asked them for a loan, they laughed in my face. T02 : Are you from London? Don't be daft, I'm from up north. T03 : He can't seriously be suggesting that DelRoy's a good artist. T04 : If he asked me to help him, I'd do it like a shot. T05 : Half the households in the US will be unable to maintain their living standards in ten years' time.