2011年ESL之商务英语 14 Starting a New Workweek

14 Starting a New Workweek

GLOSSARY 1

rough – difficult; challenging; not easy or smooth

* Last year, Adolfo lost his job and his mother passed away. It was a rough year.

weekend – Saturday and Sunday; the days of the week when most offices areclosed and most professionals do not work

* Do you want to go to the beach this weekend?

to party – to go to one or more exciting parties; to spend a lot of time with otherpeople, especially in a noisy way with lots of alcohol 2 and excitement

* How can you party every weekend and still get such good grades?

you said it – a phrase used when one fully 3 agrees with what another person hassaid; that’s exactly right

* - I’m not sure how to fill out these forms. They are so confusing!

* - You said it!

to ease 4 into – to begin to do something gradually, in a slow, gentle way

* Most new employees ease into their job, but Johannes jumped right in andstarted working as hard as he could from the very first day.

workweek – Monday through Friday; the days of the week when most offices areopen and most professionals work

* When Melissa was younger, she didn’t mind a 70-hour workweek, but now thatshe has children, she’d like to spend less time at the office.

to chill 5 – to relax and not do anything or think about anything

* This past week has been so stressful! I just want to chill in front of the TV.

to take a meeting – to attend a meeting; to agree to have a meeting withsomeone

* Do you have time to take a meeting with these journalists? They want toconduct a quick interview and learn about our new facilities.

hump day – Wednesday; the day in the middle of the workweek

* This is going to be a difficult week, but if we can just make it to hump day, we’llbe fine.

can’t come soon enough – a phrase used when one is very eager forsomething to happen and is looking forward to it

* Money is really tight, so our year-end bonuses can’t come soon enough!

You got it – a phrase used to mean that what another person has said is 100%correct; that’s exactly right

* - Does this mean that if the police see me talking on a cell phone while driving,they can give me a ticket?

* - You got it.

to slack 6 off – to relax, be lazy, and not do one’s job or meet others’ expectations

* If you keep slacking 7 off like this, you’re going to fail all your courses.

lion’s share – the larger or greater part of something; the majority of something;more than 50% of something

* As Director of Media Relations, Hazel writes the lion’s share of the company’spress releases 8.

just this once – only one time; this time but never again

* Suzanne never helps out around the house. It would be wonderful if just thisonce she would offer to wash the dishes.

to return the favor – to do something nice for someone because he or she hasdone something nice for oneself

* Kaitlynn helped us move last summer, so now we need to return the favor andhelp her move next weekend.

to sit back – to observe something from a distance, without becoming involvedor without participating; to see how something is done without affecting it

* How could people just sit back and watch those boys fight, without doinganything to try to make them stop?

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What is Aaron asking Naomi to do?

a) To go to a client 9 meeting for him.

b) To schedule a client meeting.

c) To cancel a client meeting.

2. Why doesn’t Naomi want to do the lion’s share of the work?

a) She doesn’t want to have to do most of the work.

b) She doesn’t want to work on the noisiest projects.

c) She doesn’t want to do the most difficult work.

_____________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

rough

The word “rough,” in this podcast, means difficult or challenging: “That exam wasreally rough! I didn’t know any of the answers.” The word “rough” can also beused to describe things that do not have a flat surface: “She was surprised byhow rough the frog’s skin was.” The word “rough” can also mean not gentle:

“Don’t be so rough with your baby sister!” The phrase “to be rough around theedges” means to not be polished, elegant 10, or well educated: “He’s very good athis job, but he’s rough around the edges, so his manager doesn’t let him interactwith clients 11 very much.” Finally, the phrase “rough and tumble” refers to noisyphysical behavior, especially when talking about children: “Jakey always likedrough-and-tumble play, but his sister preferred to sit quietly and read a book.”

to sit back

In this podcast, the phrase “to sit back” means to observe something from adistance, without becoming involved or without participating; to see howsomething is done without affecting it: “We’ve decided 12 to sit back for a while andsee what happens before making any decisions.” The phrase “to sit up” meansto sit with better posture 13, with one’s back and neck in a straight line: “Sitting upcan make you look younger and more confident.” The phrase “to sit in judgment”

means to form opinions about something, especially when one disapproves 15 ofsomething, but doesn’t really have the right to disapprove 14: “How can you sit injudgment over her decision to quit college if you’ve never been in that position?”

CULTURE NOTE

Popular Phrases Used to Talk About Workweeks and WeekendsAmericans look forward to the weekend and on Fridays you’ll often hear themsay, “TGIF,” which means “Thank goodness 16 it’s Friday,” or “Thank God it’sFriday.” They’re looking forward to what they’ll do over the weekend. Many ofthese people are “working for the weekend,” meaning that their main reason forworking is to earn enough money to have fun on their “days off” (days when oneis not working).

People especially like “long weekends,” which are 3- or 4-day periods when onedoes not have to go to work. Long weekends are common around “officialholidays” (days celebrated 17 by the government) that “fall on” (are held on) aMonday or Friday. On those holidays, many offices are closed for three days “ina row” (consecutively) and people often “go away” (go out of town; go to anotherplace) for a long weekend.

Sometimes people get tired of working “week after week,” doing the same thingover and over again without a “break” (rest; pause). Many Americans have onlytwo weeks of vacation each year, so working week after week can be“exhausting” (very tiring). Of course, some weeks are worse than others, andsometimes people refer to the bad weeks as a “week from hell,” describing aweek when things were terrible and could not have been worse.

However, there are some “workaholics” (people who love working and do notwant to stop working) who enjoy work so much that they sometimes “work on theweekend” or “work over the weekend,” coming into the office to work onSaturdays or Sundays when everyone else is out having fun.

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 18

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 700: Starting aNew Workweek.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 20 700. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you, as we have for the last 699 episodes 21, from theCenter for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Download a Learning 22 Guide for this episode, andhelp support ESL Podcast by becoming a member. More information is on ourwebsite.

This episode is called “Starting a New Workweek.” It’s a dialogue betweenNaomi and Aaron. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Naomi: Wow, you look like you had a rough weekend. A little too much partying,huh?

Aaron: You said it. I’m planning to ease into the new workweek. I need time tochill and to recover. Could you take a meeting this morning with our new client?

Naomi: What will you do?

Aaron: I’ll be sitting here waiting for hump day. The weekend can’t come soonenough!

Naomi: It’s Monday and you’re already looking forward to next weekend?

Aaron: You got it.

Naomi: And you want to slack off, while I take on the lion’s share of your work.

Is that what you’re saying?

Aaron: Just this once. I’ll return the favor the next time you have a roughweekend.

Naomi: What are you planning for next weekend?

Aaron: Why do you ask?

Naomi: I want to know how long I’ll have to wait for a chance to sit back andwatch you work!

[end of dialogue]

Naomi begins by saying to Aaron, “Wow, you look like you had a roughweekend.” “Rough” (rough) here means difficult, or not easy. There are someother meanings of “rough,” which can be found in the Learning Guide for thisepisode. Naomi says Aaron had a rough weekend. The “weekend” is typicallySaturday and Sunday. Some people will talk about a “three-day weekend,” that’susually Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, when you don’t have to work for aholiday. Normally 23, the weekend is Saturday and Sunday, with some peopleincluding Friday night.

Naomi says, “A little too much partying, huh?” The “huh” – (huh) is how it isgenerally spelled – is a noise that you may make at the end of a statement tomake it into a question; it’s an informal way of making something into a question.

Naomi says, “A little too much partying.” “To party,” as a verb, means to go toexciting parties, to spend a lot of time with other people, usually drinking a lot ofalcohol and such.

Aaron says, “You said it.” The phrase “you said it” means you are exactlycorrect, or what you just said is right, or I agree completely with what you said.

You might say, “English can be so confusing,” and your friend would say, “Yousaid it,” meaning that’s right, that’s correct. It’s not confusing, of course; that’swhy you have ESL Podcast!

Aaron says, “I’m planning to ease into the new workweek.” “To ease (ease) into(something)” means to begins something slowly, gradually, not try to doeverything at full energy or using all of your energy to begin to do something.

You’re going to start slowly, easily; that’s to ease into something. A “workweek,”

which is the word “work” plus the word “week” made into a single word, is thedays of the week you have to work, typically Monday through Friday – Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. That’s for most people theirworkweek.

Aaron says, “I need time to chill and recover.” “To chill” as a verb here means torelax, not to do or think about anything serious or important. It’s an informal verb,or informal way of using this verb to mean relax. “I need time to chill.”

Sometimes if you are very excited and someone wants you to calm down, theymight use this as a command: “Hey, chill!” meaning take it easy; again, very informally. Aaron says he needs time to chill and to “recover,” to get better fromthe weekend so he feels better. He says, “Could you take a meeting thismorning with our new client?” “To take a meeting” means to go to a group ofpeople who are sitting down and talking to each other about something, to go toa meeting – to take a meeting. Aaron wants Naomi to take a meeting with theirnew “client,” their new customer.

Naomi says, “What will you do?” Aaron says, “I’ll be sitting here waiting for humpday.” “Hump day” is Wednesday, the middle of the week. The idea is that duringthe first part of the week you’re going up a hill, or a hump, and the second part ofthe week you’re going down. A “hump” is something you would find on a camelfor example, the animal that survives in the desert. So, “hump day” isWednesday. Aaron is basically 24 saying he’s not going to do any work or verymuch work. Aaron says, “The weekend can’t come soon enough!” Theexpression “can’t come soon enough” means that you are very eager forsomething to happen, you are looking forward to something, you hope that ithappens soon, or that time will go by quickly so that this thing can happen.

Aaron is someone who doesn’t want to work, and is just waiting for the workweekto end so he can continue partying on the weekend.

Naomi says, “It’s Monday and you’re already looking forward to next weekend?”

Aaron says, “You got it.” “You got it” means that you are correct, you are 100percent correct. It’s similar to “you said it,” although we usually use the phrase“you said it” when we are complaining about something or talking about thenegative aspects of something. “You got it” could be used in probably moresituations than “you said it.” Here, Aaron says, “You got it,” meaning that’scorrect, that’s exactly right.

Naomi says, “And you want to slack off.” “To slack (slack) off” is a two-wordphrasal verb meaning to relax, to be lazy, not to do your job the way you shoulddo it. Someone who slacks 25 off a lot is called a “slacker.” It’s a term meaningsomeone who is lazy, who doesn’t work very much or very hard; it’s an informalexpression. Naomi says, “you want to slack off (Aaron), while I take on the lion’sshare of your work.” “To take on” means to do, to begin a new project. “Thelion’s share” means the majority of something, more than 50 percent, the greateror larger part of something. We often use it when talking about work. “He hasthe lion’s share of the work,” he’s doing most of the work for that project.

Naomi says that Aaron wants her to take on the lion’s share of his work. “Is thatwhat you’re saying?” she asks. Aaron says, “Just this once.” “Just this once”

means only one time, this will never happen again, I will never ask you to do thisagain – just this once. He says, “I’ll return the favor the next time you have a rough weekend.” “To return the favor” means to do something nice for someonewho has done something nice for you.

Naomi then says, “What are you planning for next weekend?” What are yougoing to do next weekend? Aaron says, “Why do you ask?” meaning why areyou asking me. Naomi says, “I want to know how long I’ll have to wait for achance to sit back and watch you work!” “To sit back” means to observesomething from a distance without participating, without becoming involved, tosee how something is done without affecting it. It’s sometimes used whensomeone else is working or you don’t have to work, you can relax a little. Butmore generally, it means to watch something without getting involved. So, whatNaomi is saying at the end here is that she wants to know when she can watchAaron work, and she’s suggesting it would be a very long time before she can dothat since Aaron seems to go out partying every weekend. That’s why she askswhat Aaron plans to do the following weekend.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Naomi: Wow, you look like you had a rough weekend. A little too much partying,huh?

Aaron: You said it. I’m planning to ease into the new workweek. I need time tochill and to recover. Could you take a meeting this morning with our new client?

Naomi: What will you do?

Aaron: I’ll be sitting here waiting for hump day. The weekend can’t come soonenough!

Naomi: It’s Monday and you’re already looking forward to next weekend?

Aaron: You got it.

Naomi: And you want to slack off, while I take on the lion’s share of your work.

Is that what you’re saying?

Aaron: Just this once. I’ll return the favor the next time you have a roughweekend.

Naomi: What are you planning for next weekend?

Aaron: Why do you ask?

Naomi: I want to know how long I’ll have to wait for a chance to sit back andwatch you work!

[end of dialogue]

The next wonderful script 19 by our scriptwriter can’t come soon enough. That’sbecause it’s the wonderful Dr. Lucy Tse, who never slacks off!

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 26 2011 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.