The university of life

Hello welcome to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. I’m Rob.

Oh hello–I’m Feifei.

What’s wrong Feifei?

I’m stressed - I’ve got an exam tomorrow - I hate exams.

Me too. What you need to do is plan your revision a bit more, take lots of breaks, and maybe go for a run.

You seem to know a lot about preparing for exams. Where did you study?

Oh nowhere you would have heard of. It’s called the university of life.

The university of life. Is that in London?

It’s doesn’t actually exist - when someone says they’ve been to the university of life it means they are wise but not necessarily educated - they’ve learnt everything just from experiencing life.

I see. Hmm, so no exams.

That’s right. I’ve just got a qualification in life! Let’s hear some more examples of this phrase–

Example s I set up the business without any qualifications - everything I learnt was from the university of life.

The university of life taught me to be polite to everyone you meet; you never know when you might see them again.

The university of life - it’s where you learn from life not books. So I should learn a lesson from you Rob?

Yes, chill out - don’t stress about exams - they’re a waste of time.

Really!!! Hold on a minute. If I remember correctly, you failed your exams and you were kicked out of university.

Well, maybe. But that was a life experience– and I learned that studying wasn’t for me.

Hmmm, it sounds like you’ve been to The school of hard knocks.

The school of hard knocks?

Yes, it’s an unpleasant experience that you learn from. Anyway, I’m off to revise for my exams - I’d rather stay at my university rather than go to yours!

Fair enough.

Bye.