Mini-Lessons from Monday, Apr. 9, 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!

• Link: Brush up your grammar: http://www.1-language.com/articles/category/english-grammar
  
• Ancient History: Mesopotamia: means "between the rivers," the Tigris and Euphrates in modern-day Iraq and area. Home of the earliest civilizations.
  
• Irregular Verbs: I teach in a college. I taught 80 students today. I have taught for over 30 years.
  
• Idiom: sacred cow: something that one is not allowed to doubt or question. "This project is a sacred cow; the boss will never let it go."
  
• Pop Culture: Francis Scott Key: (1779-1843) poet who wrote the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner," America's national anthem.
  
• Slang: why don't you: a way to suggest something. A: "I can't sleep at night." B: "Why don't you count sheep?"
  
• Government: birth control: use of condoms, pills, and other means to prevent pregnancy. Can be disagreed over, based on people's beliefs.
  

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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.

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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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