Unit 22 :
The commute Home and running errands

Intermediate

Summary

To be able to learn how to manage time wisely.

  • Brain Storm : Share your ideas with your teacher. Try to make sentences.

How do you manage your time at work and at home?

Vocabulary

Repeat the following words and phrases with your teacher and use them in a sentence.

  • quitting time(phr)
  • signal(v)
  • merge(v)
  • stop-and-go(adj)
  • stalled(adj)
  • fridge(n)
  • checkout stands(phr)
  • bagger(n)
  • load(v)

Story

Read the story aloud with your teacher.

It’s five o’clock and it’s quitting time. I put a few files into my bag, grab my mug, and say goodnight to the rest of the people in my area. I go to the parking garage and get into my car. I signal my turn onto the street and drive toward the freeway on ramp. I merge as best as I can onto the freeway, which is always a bit of a hassle at this hour.

Traffic is stop-and-go all the way from downtown. I hear on the radio that there’s a stalled car in fast lane near La Brea, backing up traffic all the way to Hoover. I decided to get off the freeway and to take surface streets for the rest of the trip.

I need to make a stop on the way home. I know that the fridge is empty, so I decide to stop by the market. I get there and I pick up some French bread, a bag of apples, a few bananas, some pasta, tomato sauce, and a cooked chicken. Luckily, they have a lot of checkout stands open, and I get through the line pretty quickly.

I thank the cashier and the bagger and push my cart to my car. I open the trunk and load everything up. Just then my wife calls me on my cell phone. She was going to be a little late getting home and asks me to make something for dinner. Tonight, I will be the cook.

Let’s practice

Arrange the jumbled letters to come up with a word. Definition of the word is given as your clue.

 1. nalgis
to make a movement, sound, etc. that gives information or tells people what to do

2. germe
to combine or join  together,

3. dellast
to delay taking an action

4. edgrif
a piece of kitchen equipment that uses electricity to preserve food at a cold temperature

5. adol
to put a lot of things into a vehicle or machine

6. aggrbe
a person whose job is to put your shopping into bags for you in a shop

Discussion：

Share your  ideas with your teacher. 

  1. What are the advantages of owning a car?
  2. What are the disadvantages of owning a car?
  3. Who usually do errands at your home?