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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 Friday, Mar. 2, 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: percent: number out of 100. 3 is 50% of 6 (as 3 out of 6 is like 50 out of 100). Also "percentage" but use "percent" after a number.
  • Language Study: infinitive: The basic form of a verb; in English seen with "to": to be, to go, etc. Changes are made to this form when verb is used.
  • Business: agribusiness: large-scale farming, where corporations buy farms and operate for higher production. From "agriculture" and "business."
  • Literature: haiku: type of Japanese poem with three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables (beats). Often refer to nature, separation.
  • New Words: fashion victim: one whose style is considered strange by others, because she or he is trying too hard to be stylish.
  • Slang: BS: nonsense (short for "bullsh*t," an impolite word). A: "Sorry I'm late; there was traffic." B: "Don't give me that B.S."
  • Modern History: League of Nations: a group of cooperating countries in the 1920s and 1930s. Broke up before World War II, United Nations came after.

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 ©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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