Using English at Work：26 Taking a Break and Eating Lunch(3)（在线收听）

"To join someone" means to do something that other people are doing.

For example, you may say to your friend, "I hear that you're going to see a movie tonight.

Can I join you?" You're asking if you can do the same thing that your friend is doing.

Diana is inviting me to have lunch with her and some other people by asking me to join them.

I say, "Yes!" and the three of us walk across the street to a restaurant.

I'm happy that we went to the restaurant early, because we beat the rush.

"To beat the rush" means to do something or get somewhere early before it gets very crowded. In this case, we get to the restaurant early, before most people go there to eat lunch.

At lunchtime, the busiest hour for a restaurant in the U.S. is normally between noon (or 12:00 p.m.) and 1:00 p.m.

You might beat the rush for a concert by buying your tickets very early, rather than waiting until the day of the concert. Both of these are cases of "beating the rush."

When we get to the restaurant, the hostess seats us at our table.

The "hostess" is a female restaurant employee who welcomes customers to the restaurant, takes them to their table, and often asks what they would like to drink.

If this employee is a man, he's called a "host."

Our hostess takes our "drink orders."

A "drink order" is what you ask for to drink at a restaurant or a bar just like a "food order" is what you ask for to eat.

Your drink order might be soda, juice, beer, or some type of alcohol.

Next, our server comes over with our drinks.

A "server' is the same thing as a "waiter" or a "waitress."

A "waiter" is a man, a "waitress" is a woman; a "server" can be either a man or a woman.

This is a restaurant employee who "serves," or brings food to the customers.

When the server comes with our drinks, we place our food orders.

I choose the lunch special and so does Diana.

A "lunch special" is a combination of foods that are offered for a lower price during lunchtime hours, usually Monday through Friday.