0007 At My Desk, on Break, and at Lunch

[Start of story]

On the way to the office, I was thinking about what I have on my agenda today. When I get to my desk, there is a stack of new memos and papers in my inbox. When I turn on my computer, I see at least two-dozen emails I need to go through. Just as I start in on the email, my phone rings. It’s my project manager, Julie, asking me to come in for a conference call with our head office. I don’t get back to my desk for nearly two hours. By that time, I was ready for a break.

At 10:30, I head down to the break room and get some hot water at the water cooler to make some tea. There were a couple of other people on break, having snacks out of the vending machine and reading the new notices on the bulletin board. I run into Sam, one of my friends at work, and we chat a little before going back to work.

Before long, it’s time for lunch. I usually bring my lunch with me to work and eat it at my desk. If I don’t have time to pack a lunch, I sometimes go across the street for some take-out. The only trouble is, it’s always so busy during the lunch hour and I always have to stand in line. That’s usually a pain. On Fridays, I usually go out to lunch with a few friends from work. On casual Fridays, we can kick back a little and take it easy.

[End of Story]

Part six is called “At my Desk, on Break, and at Lunch.” Notice the use of those prepositions. Prepositions are very difficult to translate and many people get confused when you start learning another language trying to figure out those little words - which word should you use. There's a difference between “at my desk” and “on my desk” and “in my desk.” Those all mean different things.

“On your desk” means something is on top of your desk, like your computer. “In your desk” means something is inside one of the drawers of your desks. “At your desk” means that you are sitting next to your desk - you are, we hope, working, like you're supposed to be working right now, instead of listening to this episode.

“On break” is the expression we use when you are stopping work for a short time, usually ten, 15, maybe 20 minutes. “At lunch” means you are going to lunch - you are eating. We don't say, “in lunch” or “on lunch,” we say, “at lunch.” The best way to learn those little prepositions is just to read and to listen more and more, and eventually, you will know them without even having to study them.

Our story begins by me saying that, “On the way to the office, I was thinking about what I have on my agenda today.” Your agenda, “agenda,” means your plan for today - what are the things that you have to do today. This could include meetings; it could include phone calls; you could have many different things on your agenda.

There's another expression, “to have an agenda.” To have an agenda means that you have a plan, sometimes a secret plan that you don't tell anyone about that makes you want to do a certain thing. It's like having an opinion and trying to get other people to do what you want them to do; that's to have an agenda. But here, agenda just means a list of things that you're going to do.

“When I get to my desk, there is a stack of new memos and papers in my inbox.” Stack, you'll remember, is when you have thin things on top of each other. You can have a stack of pancakes; here we have a stack of papers and memos. A “memo” (memo) is short for memorandum, and it is usually like a letter that you send to someone in your company - in your office. Your “inbox” (inbox) can be a little box on your desk where people put things for you to do, your boss, for example. And, when you are done with them, you can put them in your out box. Those terms, inbox and out box, are also used for email programs now.

When I turn on my computer, I have at least two-dozen emails I need to go through. The expression, “to go through,” here means I have to read them and maybe respond to them. Someone may say, “I have to go through my email,” they mean I have to read my email, and I have to respond, sometimes, to my email. I have to do that everyday, just like you do, but most of my emails come from you.

“Just as I start in on the email, my phone rings.” The expression “to start in on something” means to begin to do something. So, I start in on my phone calls, that means that I have many phone calls and I start making them - I begin making them.

There's a different expression, to start in on someone - on a person, and if you start in on a person - on your brother, on your wife - that means that you are criticizing them - you're saying something bad - something negative about them. When I was younger, if I didn't do my homework, which was often, my mother would start in on me, meaning she would criticize me. “Jeffrey, do your homework!” The only person who calls me “Jeffrey” is my mother.

Back to our story, I said that my phone rang and it was my project manager, Julie. The manager is the person that is in charge of a certain group of people - someone who is the boss - and a project is just a set of things for you to do, usually related to each other. Well, my project manager, who's like my boss, asked me to come in for a conference call with our head office. A “conference, (conference) call” is a telephone call with three or more people. And, that's very common in American business and in international business to have a conference call so more than one person can talk on the telephone. The head office (head) is the same as the main office, and this is where the company has most of its important people who are working, it's sometimes called its headquarters. The head office is the main office. The opposite of head office would be a branch office (branch). A branch office is a smaller office.

We were having a conference call with someone in our head office, and I didn't get back to my desk - I didn't return to my desk - for almost, or nearly two hours. By that time, I was ready for a break. At 10:30, I head down to the break room. The “break room” (break room) – two words – is a place in a building - in your office, where people can go and read and relax, perhaps eat their lunch, or eat some food, It's a place for you to stop work and to relax a little or to talk to other people. I use the verb “to head down,” that simply means to go to somewhere. We sometimes use that expression when we are talking about going to a different place. “I'm going to head down to the boss's office” - I'm going to go over to the boss' office.

Well, “I head down to the break room” - I go to the break room - “and get some hot water from the water cooler.” The “water cooler” (cooler) is a little machine that has water and you can get hot water or you can get cold water. That expression, the water cooler, is very common. When people say, “I heard it at the water cooler,” or “around the water cooler,” that usually refers to people who are gossiping - who are talking about things they probably shouldn't.

Well, I went to the water cooler and I made myself some tea, because I love drinking tea. There are “a couple of other people on break,” notice that we use that expression “on break” - people who have stopped working - “having snacks out of the vending machine.” A “snack” (snack) is a piece of food that you eat between breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner, or between dinner and going to bed. A “vending machine” (vending) is a big machine where you can buy, usually, food. The verb “to vend” (vend) means to sell. So, it's a place where you can sell food and you put your money in and you can press a button and you get things like cookies and potato chips, all the things that are not good for you in the vending machine.

Some people are also reading the new notices on the bulletin board. The “bulletin board” (bulletin board) – two words – is a big piece of usually wood or plastic where people put important messages for other people to read. You can have a bulletin board at your work; you can have a bulletin board in a school, and usually, it's a place where different people can come and read the news or new things or new announcements.

“I run into Sam, one of my friends at work.” The verb “to run into” means I meet him although I was not expecting to meet him. So, “I run into Sam, and we chat a little before going back to work.” “To chat” (chat) means to talk, usually about something not very important.

“Before long, it’s time for lunch,” meaning after a short time, it's time for lunch. Before long, means a short time or after a short time. “I usually bring my lunch with me to work and eat it at my desk.” Notice that use of “at my desk,” means I'm sitting by my desk and I'm eating my lunch – sounds kind of lonely.

“If I don’t have time to pack a lunch, I sometimes go across the street for some take-out.” “To pack” (pack) a lunch means to make your lunch at home - a sandwich, for example - and put that into a bag or a box that you take with you to work; that is to pack a lunch. If I don't pack a lunch, I usually eat “take-out” (take-out.”) Take-out is when you go to a restaurant but you don't eat at the restaurant - you don't “dine in,” we would say, (dine) in, you don't dine in, you do take-out. You could also have the restaurant deliver the food - bring the food to your house, or bring the food to your office, and we would call that delivery. So, you can dine in; you can do take-out, meaning you go to the restaurant, or you can have delivery - someone brings the food to you.

“The only trouble is,” I say, “it’s always so busy during the lunch hour.” The “lunch hour,” in most American companies, is from noon to one or 1:30, or 11:30 in the morning to maybe one o'clock in the afternoon. It's usually longer than an hour, though in some companies, you only get one hour. Some companies, you only get 30 minutes to eat.

“I always have to stand in line” because it's so busy. To stand in line means to wait behind other people. In England, they would say to queue; in the US we say to stand in line. I say, “That’s usually a pain.” When we say something is a “pain” (pain) we mean that it's very inconvenient or uncomfortable - something you do not like. People will also say a pain in the neck or a pain in the “butt” (butt). Those are the same basic meanings. Something that's a pain in the neck or a pain in the butt means it's not something that you like, it's very inconvenient.

“On Fridays, I usually go out to lunch” - I go to eat somewhere else - “with a few friends from work. On casual Fridays, we can kick back a little and take it easy.” “Casual” (casual) is the same as informal. In many companies in the United States, they have casual Friday, and that's a day where you do not have to wear as nice of clothing. Maybe you'll wear a t-shirt and not a suit jacket, or you don't have to wear a tie, and it's also a day where people feel a little more relaxed. Usually, it has to do with what you can wear to work.

Well, in the story I say that “On casual Fridays, we can kick back a little and take it easy.” “To kick back” (kick back) – two words – means to relax. It's an informal expression that means that you are relaxing and take it easy also means relax. Kick back is a little more informal; it's something that you might do, for example, with your friends. And, if you drink alcohol, you might have some alcohol and relax; that's to kick back.

Glossary
agenda – schedule; calendar used to write down important dates or events

• Let me check my agenda to see if I have an afternoon free next week.

memo – a short document used in business to give information, usually within a company or organization

• She needs to write a memo to all the employees about the new vacation policy.

inbox – a container on one’s desk or a place in an email program filled with messages or documents that needs to be read and responded to

• Don’t you ever read the papers in your inbox? I put all the information you requested there last week.

to start in – to begin work on something; to begin to sort through something

• If you’ll start in on making the salad, I’ll get the chicken ready for baking.

project manager – a person responsible for a project

• Daniel isn’t a good project manager because he doesn’t understand how to follow a budget.

conference call – a phone call with more than two people

• In a conference call, it is sometimes difficult to know who is speaking. That’s why people should always say there names before making comments.

head office – the main office building in a company that has offices in more than one location

• Jacob is happy about his promotion to the head office but his family doesn’t want to move to Los Angeles.

to head down – to walk downstairs; to walk along a hallway

• Let’s head down to the basement and find out why the water heater isn’t working.

break room – a room where workers can relax, eat, and talk during their breaks from work

• In her company, the break room has free coffee and cookies all day.

water cooler – a machine that stores drinking water and has two openings: one for cold water and one for hot water

• The water cooler is empty but the water containers are too heavy for me to lift. Can anyone help me?

on break – taking a short, relaxing pause (usually 5-15 minutes) during the workday

• I often take a short walk when I’m on break. The fresh air helps me think more clearly once I’m back in the office.

vending machine – a machine that accepts coins and dollar bills and gives out food, such as candy, cookies, chips, sandwiches, sodas, juices, and coffee

• This vending machine is full of cookies and chips. I wish there were some healthier foods in it.

bulletin board – a place on a wall where people can hang notices and announcements

• When she lost her dog, she put announcements on all the local bulletin boards asking people to call her if they found her dog.

to pack a lunch – to bring food from home to eat at the office or at school during the lunch break

• Ruth always packs the same lunch for herself: a turkey sandwich, an apple, and orange juice.

take-out – food that is bought at a restaurant but eaten at another place

• This restaurant has the best food in town, but it’s too noisy to eat here. Let’s order take-out.

lunch hour – an hour during the day when an employee eats lunch, often 12:00-1:00 p.m.

• I would like to eat during my lunch hour, but I often use the time to run errands like going to the bank and getting my hair cut.

casual Fridays – days when office workers are allowed to wear less formal clothing

• On casual Fridays, the bank lets its employees wear jeans and t-shirts, but shorts are never allowed.

to kick back – to relax

• After a busy week, all I feel like this doing is kicking back with a good movie.

Culture Note
Eating on a Busy Schedule

Families today “lead” (have; live) busy lives “balancing” (making enough time for) work, school, and play. Our busy schedules often mean that we don’t have time to make “meals” (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) for ourselves and find ourselves “grabbing” (getting quickly) food “on the go” (while going from one activity or place to another). Sometimes this food isn’t the healthiest for us.

The food we make at home “tends to be” (usually is) cheaper and healthier for us. Did you know that in 1960, 26% of the money spent on food in the United States was on food eaten away from home, and by 2011, that number had “jumped” (increased a lot) to 49%? That’s nearly half of the meals Americans eat.

Americans now buy and “consume” (eat) food away from home an average of four times a week, which can mean an extra eight pounds a year. The more we eat away from home, the more weight people tend to gain.

Our busy schedules don’t mean we have to eat unhealthy foods. We can “plan ahead” (prepare) and make a meal or a “snack” (small amount of food eaten in between meals) to take with us on days we know we’ll be “rushed” (hurried; without enough time). On the days when we don’t have time to plan ahead, we can order healthier meal or smaller sizes.

[Start of story]

在去办公室的路上，我在想我今天的议程是什么。当我到达我的办公桌时，我的收件箱里有一叠新的备忘录和文件。当我打开电脑时，我看到至少有两打邮件需要我去处理。就在我开始处理电子邮件时，我的电话响了。是我的项目经理朱莉，让我来参加与总部的电话会议。我在近两个小时内都没有回到我的办公桌前。到那时，我已经准备好休息了。

10:30，我去休息厅，在饮水机旁取了些热水，准备泡茶。还有几个人在休息，从自动售货机里拿着零食，看公告栏上的新通知。我碰到了萨姆，我工作中的一个朋友，我们在回去工作前聊了一会儿。

没过多久，就到了吃午饭的时间。我通常带着我的午餐去上班，在我的办公桌上吃。如果我没有时间打包午餐，我有时会去街对面吃外卖。唯一的麻烦是，午餐时间总是那么忙，我总是要排队。这通常是一种痛苦。周五，我通常和几个同事朋友一起出去吃午饭。在休闲的星期五，我们可以稍微休息一下，轻松一下。

[End of Story]

第六部分被称为 "在我的办公桌上，在休息时，在午餐时"。注意这些介词的使用。介词是非常难翻译的，当你开始学习另一种语言时，许多人都会感到困惑，试图弄清这些小词--你应该使用哪个词。在 "在我的桌子上 "和 "在我的桌子上 "以及 "在我的桌子上 "之间是有区别的。这些都意味着不同的事情。

"在你的桌子上 "意味着东西在你的桌子上面，比如你的电脑。"在你的办公桌上 "意味着东西在你办公桌的一个抽屉里。"在你的桌子上 "意味着你正坐在你的桌子旁边--我们希望你正在工作，就像你现在应该在工作，而不是在听这一集。

"在休息 "是我们使用的表达方式，当你停止工作一小段时间，通常是10分钟，15分钟，也许20分钟。"在午餐 "意味着你要去吃午餐--你在吃饭。我们不说 "在午餐 "或 "在午餐"，我们说 "在午餐"。学习这些小介词的最好方法就是多读、多听，最终，你甚至不用学习就会知道它们。

我们的故事开始时，我说："在去办公室的路上，我在想我今天的议程是什么。" 你的议程，"议程 "是指你今天的计划--你今天有哪些事情要做。这可能包括会议；可能包括电话；你的议程上可能有许多不同的事情。

还有一个说法，"有一个议程"。有一个议程意味着你有一个计划，有时是一个你不告诉任何人的秘密计划，使你想做某件事。这就像有一个意见，并试图让其他人做你想让他们做的事；这就是有一个议程。但在这里，议程只是指你要做的事情的清单。

"当我到了我的办公桌前，我的收件箱里有一叠新的备忘录和文件"。堆栈，你会记得，是指你有薄薄的东西在上面。你可以有一叠煎饼；这里我们有一叠文件和备忘录。备忘录"（memo）是备忘录的简称，它通常像一封信，你把它寄给你公司里的人--在你的办公室。你的 "收件箱"（inbox）可以是你桌子上的一个小盒子，人们把事情放在那里让你去做，比如说你的老板。而且，当你做完后，你可以把它们放在你的出箱中。这些术语，收件箱和出件箱，现在也被用于电子邮件程序。

当我打开我的电脑时，我至少有两打电子邮件需要浏览。这里的表述，"浏览 "意味着我必须阅读它们，也许还要回复它们。有人可能会说，"我必须浏览我的电子邮件，"他们的意思是我必须阅读我的电子邮件，而且我必须回应，有时，我的电子邮件。我每天都要这样做，就像你一样，但我的大部分邮件都来自你。

"就在我开始写邮件的时候，我的电话响了。" "开始做某事 "的意思是开始做某事。因此，我开始打我的电话，这意味着我有很多电话，我开始打它们--我开始打它们。

有一个不同的表达方式，开始对某人--对一个人，如果你开始对一个人--对你的兄弟，对你的妻子--那意味着你在批评他们--你在说一些坏话--关于他们的负面信息。当我年轻的时候，如果我没有做作业，这是很常见的，我的母亲会开始对我进行批评，意思是她会批评我。"杰弗里，做你的功课！" 唯一叫我 "杰弗里 "的人是我母亲。

回到我们的故事，我说我的电话响了，是我的项目经理朱莉。经理是负责某一群人的人--是老板的人--而一个项目只是一组让你做的事情，通常是相互关联的。好吧，我的项目经理，就像我的老板，让我来和我们的总部开个电话会议。一个 "会议，（会议）电话 "是一个有三个或更多人参加的电话会议。而且，这在美国商业和国际商业中非常常见，有一个电话会议，这样就可以有超过一个人在电话中交谈。总部（head）与主要办公室相同，这是公司有大部分重要人员工作的地方，有时也被称为总部。总公司就是主要的办公室。与总公司相反的是分支机构（分公司）。分支机构是一个较小的办公室。

我们正在与总部的某个人进行电话会议，我没有回到我的办公桌--我没有回到我的办公桌--几乎，或者说将近两个小时。那时候，我已经准备好休息了。10:30，我走向休息厅。休息室"（break room）--两个词--是一栋楼里的一个地方--在你的办公室里，人们可以去那里阅读和放松，也许吃他们的午餐，或者吃一些食物，这是一个让你停止工作并放松一下或与其他人交谈的地方。我使用动词 "低头"，那只是意味着去某个地方。我们有时会在谈论去一个不同的地方时使用这种表达方式。"我要去老板的办公室" - 我要去老板的办公室。

好吧，"我往下走到休息厅"--我去休息厅--"从饮水机里拿点热水"。"饮水机"（冷却器）是一个有水的小机器，你可以得到热水，也可以得到冷水。这种表达方式，即饮水机，非常普遍。当人们说，"我在饮水机上听到的，"或 "在饮水机周围"，这通常是指那些正在说闲话的人--他们正在谈论他们可能不该谈论的事情。

好吧，我去了饮水机，我给自己泡了点茶，因为我喜欢喝茶。还有 "其他几个人在休息，"注意我们用的是 "休息 "这个说法--已经停止工作的人--"在自动售货机里吃零食"。"零食"（snack）是你在早餐和午餐之间，或午餐和晚餐之间，或晚餐和睡觉之间吃的一块食物。自动售货机"（vending）是一台大机器，你可以在那里买到，通常是食物。动词 "销售"（vend）的意思是销售。因此，它是一个可以出售食物的地方，你把钱放进去，你可以按一个按钮，你会得到像饼干和土豆片这样的东西，所有对你不利的东西都在自动售货机里。

有些人也在看公告板上的新通知。布告栏"（bulletin board）--两个字--是一块通常是木头或塑料的大块，人们把重要的信息放在那里，供其他人阅读。你可以在你的工作场所有一个公告板；你可以在学校有一个公告板，通常，它是一个不同的人可以来阅读新闻或新事物或新通知的地方。

"我碰到了萨姆，我工作中的一个朋友。" 动词 "碰见 "的意思是我遇到了他，尽管我没有想到会遇到他。所以，"我碰到了萨姆，我们在回去工作前聊了一会儿"。"聊天"（chat）的意思是交谈，通常是关于一些不是很重要的事情。

"没过多久，就到了吃午饭的时间"，意思是过了一小段时间，就到了吃午饭的时间。Before long，指短时间内或短时间后。"我通常带着午餐去工作，在我的办公桌前吃。" 注意，使用 "在我的办公桌上"，意味着我坐在我的办公桌旁，我正在吃我的午餐--听起来有点孤独。

"如果我没有时间打包午餐，我有时会去街对面吃点外卖。" "打包"（pack）午餐是指在家里做午餐--比如说一个三明治--然后把它装进一个袋子或盒子里，带着去上班；这就是打包午餐。如果我不打包午餐，我通常会吃 "外卖"（Take-out）。"外卖 "是指你去一家餐厅，但你不在餐厅吃饭--你不 "用餐"，我们会说，（用餐），你不在餐厅用餐，你做外卖。你也可以让餐厅送餐--把食物送到你家，或把食物送到你的办公室，我们会把这称为送餐。所以，你可以在家里吃饭；你可以做外卖，意思是你去餐厅，或者你可以叫外卖--有人把食物带到你那里。

"唯一的麻烦是，"我说，"它在午餐时间总是那么忙。" 在大多数美国公司，"午餐时间 "是从中午到1点或1点半，或上午11点半到下午1点左右。它通常比一个小时长，尽管在一些公司，你只有一个小时。有些公司，你只有30分钟的吃饭时间。

"我总是要排队"，因为它太忙了。排队的意思是在其他人后面等待。在英国，他们会说排队；在美国，我们说站队。我说，"这通常是一种痛苦"。当我们说一件事是 "痛苦"（pain）时，我们的意思是它非常不方便或不舒服--你不喜欢的东西。人们也会说脖子上的疼痛或 "屁股"（屁股）上的疼痛。这些都是相同的基本含义。脖子上的痛苦或屁股上的痛苦的东西意味着它不是你喜欢的东西，它非常不方便。

"在星期五，我通常出去吃午饭"--我去别的地方吃饭--"和几个工作中的朋友一起。在休闲的星期五，我们可以稍作休息，轻松一下。" "休闲"（casual）与非正式相同。在美国的许多公司，他们有休闲星期五，那是一个你不必穿那么好的衣服的日子。也许你会穿一件T恤衫，而不是西装外套，或者你不必打领带，这也是人们感觉更放松的一天。通常情况下，这与你可以穿什么衣服去工作有关。

好吧，在故事中我说，"在休闲的星期五，我们可以踢回来一点，轻松一下。" "向后踢"（kick back）--两个词--意味着放松。这是一个非正式的表达方式，意味着你正在放松，take it easy也意味着放松。踢背是一种更非正式的说法；它是你可能做的事情，比如说，和你的朋友一起。而且，如果你喝酒，你可能会喝一些酒，然后放松；这就是踢背。

Culture Note

在繁忙的日程中进食

今天的家庭 "领导"（拥有；生活）繁忙的生活，"平衡"（为）工作、学校和娱乐腾出足够时间。我们繁忙的日程安排往往意味着我们没有时间为自己做 "饭"（早餐、午餐或晚餐），而发现自己 "在路上"（在从一个活动或地方到另一个地方时）"抓"（快速获取）食物。有时这些食物对我们来说并不是最健康的。

我们在家里做的食物 "往往"（通常是）更便宜，对我们更健康。你知道吗，在1960年，美国花在食物上的钱有26%是在外面吃的，到2011年，这个数字已经 "跃升"（增加很多）到49%？这几乎是美国人吃的饭的一半。

美国人现在平均每周购买和 "消费"（吃）离家的食物四次，这可能意味着一年多出八磅。我们离家吃得越多，人们的体重就越容易增加。

我们的繁忙日程并不意味着我们必须吃不健康的食物。我们可以 "提前计划"（准备），做一顿饭或 "点心"（在两餐之间吃的少量食物），在我们知道我们会 "匆忙"（匆忙；没有足够的时间）的日子里带着。在我们没有时间提前计划的日子里，我们可以订购更健康的餐点或更小的尺寸。