MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
Miss South Carolina (uhm... what did she just say?)
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1:40
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/miss-south-carolina-uhm-what-did-she-just-say-61
Description

Miss South Carolina is asked a question to see how intelligent she is... and we find out. Oh, you don't understand her answer? Relax, no one on earth can.

Transcript

- This is the round of competition that ultimately determines their fate. The make-it or break-it moment. The ladies will have to demonstrate their abilities to answer a thought-provoking final question. Sounds simple? Easier said than done, especially when the whole country is watching. Here’s how it works:

Our panel of judges have prepared their own questions so now, we will ask each finalist to pick the name of the judge who will then ask the final question. Ladies, we have thirty seconds before you hear the sound of this bell. [ding]. Good luck! We begin with South Carolina.
    [round of claps].

Hello, South Carolina, please, pick out the name of the judge.

Thank you.

Judge number 5, Amy Teagarden.

- Ok. Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?

- I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and I, I believe that our education, like, such as in South Africa, and Iraq, everywhere like, such as, and...I believe that they should...our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S or should help South Africa, and should help Iraq and Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our children.

Thank you very much, South Carolina.

Explanations

ROUND OF COMPETITION= The round of a competition is one of its stages or phases.

ULTIMATELY= Definitely, at last, in the end, eventually.

FATE= Destiny

THE MAKE-IT OR BREAK-IT MOMENT= The moment when you can succeed (you can make it) or you can fail (you can break it); the moment of truth; the moment when everything is decided. As you can see, English can make up an adjective from almost anything; in this case from a verb + an pronoun, joined together with a hyphen to show it’s only one word (break-it).

DEMONSTRATE= To show clearly, to manifest, to present evidence.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING= Another adjective made up by joining together two words with a hyphen, in this case a noun + a present participle (-ing form). A thought-provoking question or matter is something that makes you think.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE= This is a common expression that we say when something looks easy to do but actually it is difficult.

THE WHOLE COUNTRY= All the country.

PANEL OF JUDGES= The group of people who are going to judge something. TO JUDGE= To evaluate, to assess.

FINALIST= In a competition, the finalists are the people who could go through all the different phases of the competition and were not eliminated, so now they all compete together to see who is the winner.

A ROUND OF CLAPS= A moment when people clap their hands (applaud) for some time (usually to show they like something). If we say that there were two rounds of claps, we mean that people started clapping, then stopped, then clapped again and then stopped. To CLAP is to strike your palms to make an explosive sound, or to do so repeatedly.

PICK OUT= Choose (especially by taking something).

POLLS= A survey of the public or of a sample of public opinion to acquire information. A poll is when you ask many people the same question to see how people in general think about it (governments and newspapers often make polls to check people’s opinion about things)

LOCATE= If you locate something, you know where it is.

UNABLE= If you are unable to do something, you can’t do it.

TO DO SO= The auxiliary verb DO is often used to substitute for a verb (in this case LOCATE) and the word SO may be used as a pronoun referring to a noun or phrase (DO= locate, SO= the US on a map). So in this case, "to do so" means "to locate the US on a map". The same thing happens in the common phrase "I don’t think so", where SO refers to the object, e.g:
- Is your father at home?
- I don’t think so
(= I don’t think my father is at home)

SUCH AS= For example.
Posh* people use this phrase very often, even when it doesn’t mean anything. This lady sounds very posh, and uses this expressions a second time with no meaning at all.

*POSH= People who look or think they look very elegant and upper-class, and they behave as if they are very important, fashionable and rich. This word is used pejoratively.