PE 4/7 Jeff Bezos Speech – Part 1

We’d hitch up the Airstream trailer to my grandfather’s car, and off we’d go, in a line with 300 other Airstream adventurers. I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips.

* off one goes: an announcement or request that one’s journey begins

ex> Off we went to see if we could find everything on our shopping list.

At any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother. I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on.

* at any rate: regardless; anyway

ex> The shirt doesn't fit me at any rate, so the color doesn't matter.

* do the math: perform a calculation

ex> If you do the math, you’ll realize that it makes more sense to buy a used car.

Note> This also means to come to a conclusion based on the relevant facts and figures, typically with the implication that the result is or should be obvious.

When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable umber, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, “At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your life!”

* come up with something: to invent, create, or think of something

ex> The class came up with a clever idea for sharing their maintenance responsibilities.

* take (number) years off one’s life: to reduce one’s lifespan by the specified duration

ex> Living in a city with poor air quality can take ten years off your life.

Note> Without a number, the expression “take years off someone,” means to “make someone seem or look younger.”

ex> Studies show that regular exercise can take years off you.