Mini-Lessons from Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012

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!

• Science: seismology: science that studies earthquakes and other motion inside the earth; seismic waves can be used to "see" inside the earth.
• Language Study: transitive verb or "v.t. ": a verb that needs a direct object. "Like" is such a verb; we must like SOMETHING, and not say, "I like."
• Business: depreciation: lowering of something's value over time, like a house. "My car is almost worthless; it has depreciated a lot."
• Literature: I think; therefore I am: French philosopher Descartes doubted all, even that he existed; then saw that as a thinker, he must be real.
• New Words: babycino: steamed milk drink; like a cappuccino, but without coffee and so without caffeine. Suitable to serve to children.
• Slang: It's just...: used when making an excuse. A: "Why are you late?" B: "It's just, I lost my bus card." Sometimes "It's just that…"
• Modern History: czar: once the title for emperors of Russia; also spelled "tsar." Now used to describe any powerful leader, like a "crime czar."

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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.

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This lesson is ©2012 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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