to increase (one’s) chances

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast episode 570: Guessing a Number.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 570. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

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This episode is called “Guessing a Number.” It’s a dialogue between Angela and Dwight. It’s also going to be using some vocabulary not just about guessing, but – well, about numbers. Let’s get started.

Angela: Hey, look at this. This restaurant is holding a contest. If you can guess the number of marbles in this bowl, you’ll get a free meal every day for one year!

Dwight: I’ll take a stab at it.

Angela: So will I. Let’s see, I think there must be close to 1,000 or 1,200 marbles in there. What are you doing?

Dwight: I’m doing some calculations in my head. The bowl is about 75