FREE DAILY ENGLISH LESSONS!
In time, these lessons and "stubs" will be migrated to the Buzzwords site.
Until then, consider them historical.


Mini-Lessons from Monday, Dec. 26, 2011

These Mini-Lessons are posted on Twitter, and in China on Weibo, throughout the day. You can follow them there!

To get the most from them, you should try to use them in sentences, or discuss them with friends. Writing something on Twitter or Weibo is a great way to practice!
  • Link: Worksheets and quizzes on verbs, idioms, more. http://www.usingenglish.com/
  • Hist [History]: I came, I saw, I conquered: Tradition says Julius Caesar described one of his victories this way. In Latin, "veni, vidi, vici."
  • Verb [Irregular Verbs]: I pay $20 a month for water. I paid the bill yesterday. I have paid it since I moved here. Make more sentences like these!
  • Idiom: bite the bullet: accept something unpleasant. "When our family has little money, every one has to bite the bullet and help us save."
  • Pop [Pop Culture]: "White Christmas": A 1942 pop Christmas song written by Irving Berlin. Many have sung it, but Bing Crosby's version is the most famous.
  • Slang: to work out: to have a "happy ending." "Sorry to hear about your troubles at work; I hope everything works out."
  • Gov't [Government]: Greenpeace: environmental organization founded in 1971. Often actively protests abuse of the environment.

NOTES:
  1. The Idiom, the History and Government words, and some of the Pop Culture words, are from lists in the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. I wrote the definitions and examples myself.
  2. The Link was found online; the Slang words, the Irregular Verbs, and some of the Pop Culture words are from my own lists, and I wrote the definitions and examples myself.

This lesson is ©2011 by James Baquet. You may share this work freely. Teachers may use it in the classroom, as long as students are told the source (URL). You may not publish this material or sell it. Please write to me if you have any questions about "fair use"

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave me a message; I can't wait to hear from you!