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


Mini-Lessons from Saturday, Dec. 31, 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!
  • Tip: Quiz yourself when you read. Ask yourself questions, and answer them, out loud, in English. Better, talk with a friend!
  • Proverb: Like a fish out of water. When one leaves one's usual environment, one can have serious troubles.
  • AcVoc [Academic Vocabulary]: procedure (n): the way to do something. "What is the procedure for getting a driver's license?" means "How do you do it?"
  • Lit [Literature]: Let there be light: In the Bible (Book of Genesis), the first words God spoke when he created the world.
  • Art: The Birth of Venus: painting by Botticelli of the goddess Venus coming out of the sea as a grown woman.
  • Slang: It's not the end of the world: it's not terrible. "You know, Ron's not that great a guy; if he leaves you, it's not the end of the world."
  • Geog [Geography]: The Pyrenees: 491 km (305 mi) mountain chain between France and Spain. Separates Iberia (Spain and Portugal) from the rest of Europe.

NOTES:
  1. Academic Vocabulary is the Academic Word List from Oxford University Press. This is "a list of words that you are likely to meet if you study at an English-speaking university."
  2. The Proverb, and the Literature, Art, and Geography words are from lists in the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. I wrote the definitions and examples myself.
  3. The Tip and Slang 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"

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