ESL Podcast 229 – Irritating Co-Workers

#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 to be more considerate and to keep the

noise down.

Pete: Yeah, I’ll try to do the same.

[end of story]

Our podcast today is called *“Irritating Co-workers.”* To irritate, *“irritate,”* means to

get someone mad or to bother someone.

Our story begins by Pete saying that since their office had been reorganized -

since they had changed the company and who was working with whom - now he

has to share *“an office with Isabel. We’ve been getting on each other’s nerves,”*

Pete says. To get on someone's nerves, *“nerves,”* means the same as to irritate

someone. It's another way of saying that you are bothering or annoying

someone. To annoy, *“annoy,”* is similar to irritate. So, you're getting on my

nerves - or that person is getting on his nerves.

Pete says, *“Hey, Isabel, can you cut that out?”* To cut something out means to

stop it. It's an informal expression, usually something that would be considered

impolite or rude. If you say to a child, *“Cut that out,”* you're telling the child to

stop doing what they're doing. So, it's not a nice thing to say, not something you

would want to say to your co-workers - the people you work with.

Isabel says, *“Cut what out? I’m not doing anything.”* And Pete says, “You’re

tapping your pencil on the desk.” To tap, *“tap,”* means to hit lightly. Isabel is

taking her pencil and she's hitting it on the desk several times. Pete says that

this is driving him crazy. To drive someone crazy is, again, similar to to get on

someone's nerves; it means to annoy or to irritate. There was also a song, I think

in the 1980s, (Jeff sings) *“She drives me crazy - ooh - ooh.”* When a woman

drives you crazy, you mean you love her a lot - you are very excited to be with

her. It means something very different than the normal meaning, which is when

someone drives you crazy, they bother you - they annoy you. Unless it's a

beautiful woman, in that case, it would be a good thing!

Isabel says, *“Okay,”* I'll stop tapping my pencil, if you, Pete, will “stop slurping

your coffee.” To slurp, *“slurp,”* means to make a noise when you are drinking

something. It's considered somewhat rude in United States to do that. For

example, if you are sipping your tea and you go (Jeff slurps), that would be

considered impolite - not a nice thing to do.

Pete says that he doesn't slurp his coffee - he disagrees with Isabel. *“And plus,”*

he says, or in addition, “how can you hear it when you’re shouting into your

phone all the time?” Because Isabel talks into her phone loudly, Pete is saying

that she could not hear him slurping his coffee, even if he was slurping his coffee.

Isabel says, *“You’ve got to be kidding me!”* This, again, is an informal

expression, which means you must be joking - I can't believe I'm hearing what

you are telling me or you cannot be serious - this is wrong - you've got to be

kidding me. Not something you would say to your boss; maybe something you

could say to a friend. It means that you don't believe the other person.

Isabel says, “You’re complaining about me talking on the phone when your friend

Deepak stops by ten times a day to shoot the breeze?” Isabel is saying how can

you complain about me when your friend is always here talking to you. To shoot,

*“shoot,”* the breeze, *“breeze,”* means to gossip - to talk, usually not about

anything very serious, to have a relaxed conversation.

Isabel goes on to say, *“I can't stand”* Deepak - *“I can't stand that guy.”* To not be

able to stand someone or something means to not be able to put up with or to

tolerate someone or something - to be frustrated - to be tired of being bothered

by that thing or that person. If you say, *“I can't stand my mother-in-law,”* you

mean I don't like her - I don't get along with her. That's just an example, of

course!

Pete says, *“It’s no skin off my nose if you don’t like Deepak.”* The expression it's

no skin, *“skin,”* off my nose, *“nose,”* means that something isn't important or

doesn't matter to someone because it doesn't effect him or her. You might say,

*“It's snowing in Moscow, but that's no skin off my nose,”* meaning I don't care - it

doesn't bother me - it's not important to me because I'm not affected by it.

Pete says, “Look, we have a lot of pent-up anger from working in these close

quarters.” When something is pent-up, *“pent”* (hyphen) up, you mean that it is

building up over time. Usually emotions that you haven't expressed, anger for

example. It's something that bothers you for a long time; you can get pent-up

anger. The anger is inside you and it hasn't been let out, and that's what Pete is

saying. *“We have a lot of pent-up anger.”*

The reason is because they are working in close quarters, *“quarters.”* Quarters,

here, just means the space or an area. Close quarters would mean that it is a

very crowded space, where you don't have a lot of room, and that is the problem

with Pete and Isabel. They're in an office and they have to share one office.

Pete says, *“it’s probably okay to let off steam once in a while.”* The expression to

let off steam, *“steam,”* means to do something to get rid of those negative

emotions - those negative feelings. Maybe you will go play a sport or maybe you

will yell or get angry at someone to let off steam.

*“It’s probably not a good idea,”* Pete says, *“to keep it up.”* To keep something up

means to continue to do something. Someone says to you, “Keep it up, you're

doing a good job,” you mean continue doing what you are doing. It could be a

good thing; it could be a bad thing. To keep it up means to continue.

There are other meanings of the word or expression keep it up and close

quarters, and we talk about those in today's Learning Guide. Take a look at that.

Pete says, *“I’m willing to forgive and forget if you are.”* The expression to forgive

and forget means to stop fighting, apologize to the other person and behave or

act as if nothing had happened. To forgive and forget means to forgive the other

person and forget about your disagreements.

Isabel says, *“Fine”* - okay. *“Let’s call a truce.”* A truce, *“truce,”* is an agreement

to stop fighting, usually between two countries, but here she's using it to mean

between herself and Pete. *“Let’s call a truce,”* notice we use the verb to call,

means let's begin - let's start a truce - let's stop fighting. While

Isabel says, *“I’ll try to be more considerate and to keep the noise down.”* To be

considerate, *“considerate,”* means to be nice to someone - to be thoughtful - to

be careful not hurt someone else's feelings. To keep the noise down means to

be less noisy - not to be so loud.

And Pete says, *“Yeah, I’ll try to do the same.”* So now, everyone is happy.

Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.

[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 to be more considerate and to keep the

noise down.

Pete: Yeah, I’ll try to do the same.

[end of story]

The script for today's podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.

That's all we have time for. From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.

This is the last podcast of 2006, so we'll see you next year on ESL Podcast!

is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,

hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2006.