72 Using English at Work

Lesson 9 - Leaving Work

something because I don't look around to make sure I haven't left anything behind.

In our story, I don't see anything that I've forgotten, so I'm ready to head home. "To head home" means to leave a place and start to go home. You may head home at 5:30 and on a day when there isn't very much traffic, you may arrive home, or get home at 6:00, assuming you don't have a long commute or drive, a long bus ride, or train ride home. If you live in Los Angeles, you can expect to get home another hour and a half later. The verb "to head," here, means to go in that direction, to move in that direction. "To head east" means to go in an easterly direction. "To head to the beach" means to start driving or walking or taking a bus toward the beach.

As I'm leaving the office, I think, "Weekend, here I come!" The phrase "here I come" is used to show that you are excited to do something or to go somewhere in the near future. In this case, I'm excited to begin the weekend. You might say, "California, here I come!" when you're excited about visiting or moving to California. In fact, there was a famous song; "California, here I come" was one of the lines or sentences in the song.

Now that we've talked about the new vocabulary, let's listen to the story again, this time at a normal speed.

[start of script]

I look at the clock and it's already 5:30. It's quitting time! I still need to put the finishing touches on my report, but I can do that on Monday morning before I submit it to my boss. Some weeks I have to take work home and burn the midnight oil, but not this week. I have everything under control and I don't need to work over the weekend.

I pack up my briefcase and shut down my computer. I put some important papers back in their folder and leave it in my desk drawer for safekeeping. I take the papers and files from my outbox and put them in my coworker's inbox. But when I get back to my desk, another coworker has put some new memos and papers in my inbox! I like to clear my desk as much as possible at the end of the week to avoid clutter, and I guess everyone else does, too!

I look at my desk one last time to make sure I haven't left anything behind, and I'm ready to head home. Weekend, here I come!

[end of script]

73 Using English at Work

Lesson 9 - Leaving Work

That brings us to the end of our ninth lesson. In our tenth and final lesson, I'm going to talk about socializing with coworkers.

This course has been a production of the Center for Educational Development, in beautiful Los Angeles, California. Visit our website at eslpod.com.

This course was produced by Dr. Jeff McQuillan and Dr. Lucy Tse. Copyright

2008.

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