ESL Podcast 480 - Riding in a Carpool
off-site - at a different location; not at the office
The company's old files are off-site, in a storage facility about a mile from the main office building.
to walk (someone) to (somewhere) - to accompany someone while walking somewhere; to walk alongside someone
Please walk your little sister to school on her first day.
to carpool - to share a car when two or more people are going to the same place, often to work
Do you want to carpool to the concert?
to run late - to be behind schedule; to not be on time; to be doing something later than one should
Darham was running late this morning, so he didn't eat breakfast before leaving for work.
to hold (someone) up - to delay someone; to do something so that another person cannot get something done on time or as soon as he or she would like; to prevent someone from doing something quickly or on time; to slow someone down
I'd like to go running with you, but I'm a much slower runner than you are and I don't want to hold you up.
to commute - to travel between one's home and office every day
Chantrelle dislikes commuting, so she's considering moving closer to where she works.
to do (one's) part - to contribute to something; to help something happen
They're doing their part to keep the park clean by picking up garbage once a month.
high-occupancy - with many people in a car, building, or a certain amount of space
Giants Stadium in New Jersey is a high-occupancy stadium with seating for almost 80,000 people.
carpool lane - one straight, long part on a freeway or highway, separated by painted yellow or white lines, where cars can be driven only if two or more people are inside
If you come with me, I can use the carpool lane and I'll be able to get to the mall much more quickly.
traffic congestion - many slow-moving automobiles; many cars and trucks that cannot move quickly because there are too many automobiles on the road
There's a lot of traffic congestion on Highway 58 between 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. on weekdays because that's when everyone is driving home after work.
to cut down on (something) - to reduce something; to have or use less of something
Kai's trying to cut down on coffee, drinking no more than two cups of coffee each day.
preferential treatment - the practice of treating people differently; the practice of being nicer or offering special benefits to one group of people
That store gives preferential treatment to older people, giving them a 15% discount each Tuesday.
to take turns - to do something one after another; to do something so that it is first Person A, then Person B, then A, B, A, B, etc.
Mindy and her husband take turns picking out which movie to watch on Friday nights.
to swing by - to go to a place for a short period of time, especially someone's home or office; to visit a person for a short period of time
Can I swing by your house tonight to pick up the books I accidentally left there last night?
en route - on the way; on the path between one's starting and ending points
They had planned to drive to the mountains without stopping, but they stopped en route to eat at a restaurant.
to ask around - to get a piece of information by asking many people until one finds the answer
The company doesn't have an official training program, so new employees spend a lot of time asking around to find things like the photocopy machines and fax machines.