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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 Sunday, Dec. 18, 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!
  • Sci [Science]: a fossil: the remains in stone of a plant or animal from an earlier period in the earth's history.
  • Eng [Language Study]: plagiarism: using a writer's words without saying where the words came from. "Avoid plagiarism; make a footnote."
  • Biz [Business]: a merger: joining of two (or more) companies, also called "a takeover." If planned, it's "friendly." If done by force, it's "hostile."
  • Lit [Literature]: Herman Melville: author of Moby Dick (1851), a great American novel about a crazy ship's captain chasing a white whale
  • New [New Words]: brain candy: entertainment that doesn't make us think too much. Like candy, it tastes good, but doesn't make our brains "healthy."
  • Slang: to be sick of something: to not be enjoying something, or to "hate" it. "I'm just sick of work."
  • Hist [History]: The Spanish Armada: 130 Spanish ships sent against the English in 1588. The English won, and kept Queen Elizabeth I on the throne.

NOTES:
  1. Except for the Slang words, all the words in these Mini-Lessons came from lists either on the Oxford University Press site or in the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. I wrote the definitions and examples myself.
  2. The Slang words are from my own list, 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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