#ESL Podcast 229 – Irritating Co-Workers

##GLOSSARY

**to get on (someone’s) nerves –** to annoy someone; to irritate someone

*I love my sister, but we really get on each other’s nerves sometimes.

**cut that out! –** a rude (not polite) expression meaning *“Stop that!”* or “Stop doing

what you’re doing!”

*Can you please cut that out? I can’t talk on the phone while you’re making so

much noise!

**to drive (someone) crazy –** to annoy someone; to irritate someone

*Josephina’s mother always comes into her room without knocking and it drives

her crazy.

**to slurp –** to make a loud noise while drinking a beverage

*I really hope that the kids will remember not to slurp their soup at dinner tonight.

**you’ve got to be kidding me –** you must be joking; I can’t believe what I’m

hearing; you can’t be serious

*You were never allowed to watch TV when you were growing up? You’ve got

to be kidding me!

**to shoot the breeze –** to have a relaxed conversation about things that aren’t

important

*Aleksay doesn’t really like fishing, but he does like spending time on the boat,

just shooting the breeze with his friends.

**to not be able to stand (something) –** to not be able to tolerate something; to

be frustrated and tired of something

*I can’t stand the way my girlfriend is always trying to tell me what to do with my

free time.

**no skin off my nose –** something that does not matter to someone because it

does not affect him or her; it doesn’t matter to me

*Jacqueline can sit in the front seat if she wants to. It’s no skin off my nose.

**pent-up –** built up over time; an emotion that has been growing stronger over

time but has not been let out

*He didn’t cry when his father died, but at the funeral, he cried for hours with all

of his pent-up feelings of anger and sadness over his death.

**close quarters –** cramped or crowded space; a room with little space for the

people in it

*In college, I lived with three other guys in a small apartment. Those close

quarters made it hard to have any privacy.

**to let off steam –** to do or say something that lets someone get rid of negative

emotions that have been growing over time

*I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier. I was just letting off steam from my frustration

at work, but it really had nothing to do with you.

**to keep (something) up –** to continue to do something

*You played really well in the basketball game yesterday! If you keep it up, you’ll

be the next team captain.

**to forgive and forget –** to stop fighting, apologize, and behave as if a fight had

never happened; to reconcile and be friends again

*The brothers had a huge fight five years ago and stopped talking to each other,

but last week, they finally decided to forgive and forget.

**truce –** an agreement to stop fighting

*Jill has been fighting with her roommate all week. Her roommate wants to call

a truce, but Jill isn’t interested. She’s still too angry.

**considerate –** thoughtful of another person’s feelings; careful not to hurt

someone else’s feelings

*Manuel is the most considerate person I know. He always thinks before he

speaks, and he never says anything that would hurt someone else’s feelings.

##COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is Isabel irritated by Pete’s friend Deepak?

a) Because he interrupts her phone calls.

b) Because he leaves the window open and lets in the breeze.

c) Because he comes to the office to talk too often.

2. Pete is upset with Isabel because:

a) She is too noisy.

b) She took his pencil.

c) She uses his phone.

##WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

close quarters

The phrase *“close quarters,”* in this podcast, means a cramped or crowded

space, or a room with little space for the people in it: “The soldiers live in very

close quarters.” A *“quarter”* can also refer to one-fourth (1/4) of something: “The

recipe says that we should use a quarter of a cup of sugar and three-quarters of

a cup of flour.” A *“quarter”* is also one-fourth (1/4) of an academic year at some

colleges and universities: “Even though she received all A’s in the fall quarter,

she almost failed in the winter and spring quarters because of family problems.”

A *“quarter”* is also a 25-cent coin: *“This public telephone accepts only quarters.”*

Finally, a *“quarter”* can refer to a part of town: “The French Quarter of New

Orleans was destroyed by the flood last year.”

to keep it up

In this podcast, the phrase *“to keep it up”* means to continue to do something:

*“Michael is eating too much. If he keeps it up, he’ll weigh 300 pounds soon.”*

The phrase *“to keep it real”* is an informal expression that means to not be fake

or superficial, or to not pretend to be something that one is not: “Dominique

always keeps it real. No matter what kind of people she’s with, she never

changes how she acts.” The phrase *“to keep it down”* means to be quieter or to

stop making a noise: “Okay kids, keep it down in your room or you’ll have to stop

playing that game.” The phrase *“to keep (something) under wraps”* means to not

talk about something or to keep something a secret: “We need to keep this

project under wraps, because if our competitors hear about, they will try to copy

us.”

##CULTURE NOTE

Many companies and organizations try to improve relationships among their

employees by forming sports leagues at work. A *“league”* is a group of sports

teams that play games against each other to determine which team is the best.

Playing on a work-based sports team is a good way to make friends with your co-

workers, and is also a good way to meet people who work for other companies in

your industry or field.

Common work-based sports leagues are for: *“softball,”* a game that is similar to

baseball, but that uses a larger ball; *“volleyball,”* which uses a large white ball

that the players hit back and forth over a net; or *“bowling,”* a game where players

roll a large heavy ball to knock down *“pins”* (pieces shaped like bottles).

Most of the teams are *“co-ed,”* meaning that men and women play together, but

sometimes there are separate teams for men and women. Sometimes

companies and organizations buy *“uniforms”* (special clothing that is the same for

all players on a team) for their employees. People who play in sports leagues

often bring their athletic clothing to work and change clothes at the end of the

day. They leave the office together to go to the game. Family members often

come to watch the games and sometimes they play, too.

Work-based sports leagues are mostly interested in having a good time and don’t

care very much whether they win or lose. But other sports leagues are extremely

competitive and the teams welcome only good athletes. This is especially true

for work-based sports leagues that have prizes for the winners.

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

##COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to number 229: Irritating Co-

workers.

This is episode 229. I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in

beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Be sure to visit our website at eslpod.com, and download the Learning Guide for

this episode.

On this podcast, we are going to talk about people you work with that may

sometimes irritate or bother you. Let's get started.

[start of story]

Since our office reorganization, I’ve been sharing an office with Isabel. We’ve

been getting on each other’s nerves.

Pete: Hey, Isabel, can you cut that out?

Isabel: Cut what out? I’m not doing anything.

Pete: You’re tapping your pencil on your desk. It’s driving me crazy.

Isabel: Okay, I will if you’ll stop slurping your coffee.

Pete: I don’t slurp my coffee. And plus, how can you hear it when you’re

shouting into your phone all the time?

Isabel: You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re complaining about me talking on the

phone when your friend Deepak stops by ten times a day to shoot the breeze? I

can’t stand that guy.

Pete: It’s no skin off my nose if you don’t like Deepak. Look, we have a lot of

pent-up anger from working in these close quarters, and it’s probably okay to let

off steam once in a while. But, it’s probably not a good idea to keep it up. I’m

willing to forgive and forget if you are.

Isabel: Fine. Let’s call a truce. I’ll try t...