is burned out of

[Anonymous]

Dear sirs,

I am writing to ask the meaning of sentences.
Private investigator V.I. Warshawski gets caught up in politics and the construction business when her aunt is burned out of her hotel room and disappears. What does this sentence mean?



Here is a portion of a conversation from a book. I am not sure if I understand what it mean so I am writing to aks.
John: That sounds exhausting.
Ed: Especially since I work all day and Anita’s in school full time now.
John: Carol mentioned something about that. I thought Anita worked at a bank.
Ed: She did, but she was accepted this fall at U.C.Berkeley, so she’s taking some time off to get a master’s degree. Could you please explain this sentence for me? I wonder to know if Anita is still working.
John: Good for her.
This is what I thought. According to the studying guid, it says that taking some time off is another way of saying “not working at her usual job.” But for me “taking some time off” sounds like Anita is still working but she takes some time off her busy schedule to study. However, because in the conversation it says Anita worked at a bank so I am assuming that she is not working at a bank any more. Is it possible that she work somewhere else and she takes some time of her work to study.

Thanks

Yun Ju

 

[Casiopea]

Private investigator V.I. Warshawski gets caught up in politics and the construction business when her aunt is burned out of her hotel room and disappears. What does this sentence mean?

There was a fire in her aunt's hotel room and afterwards her aunt couldn't be found. She disappeared. Ms Warshawski suspects that her aunt's disappearance is connected with the politics of the construction business; possibly the Mafia burned down the hotel room and then kidnapped her aunt.

John: Carol mentioned something about that. I thought Anita worked at a bank.
Ed: She did, but she was accepted this fall at U.C.Berkeley, so she’s taking some time off to get a master’s degree.

Note, John's words, "I thought Anita worked at a bank" and Ed's reply, "She did": She used to work at a bank, but now she does not. She had to give up her bank job so that she could study full-time on her master's degree.