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


Mini-Lessons from Friday, May 4, 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: Nicolaus Copernicus: (1473–1543) Polish astronomer. Taught that earth goes around the sun, so earth is not the center of the universe.
  • Language Study: reference work: dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia, or other book used for specific information, rather than for reading.
  • Business: golden parachute: excellent benefits if an employee must leave a company. "The company offered Tom a golden parachute to retire early."
  • Literature: Miguel de Cervantes: (1547-1616) Spanish writer of the great novel "Don Quixote."
  • New Words: bloggable: interesting enough to be put in one's blog. A: "How was the party?" B: "Not bad. It was bloggable."
  • Slang: May the best man win: said to opponent before a game, a race, etc. "When I say 'go,' we race to the fence, and may the best man win."
  • Modern History: Iron Curtain: Cold War term, symbol of division between Communist countries in eastern Europe (allies of USSR) and "the West."

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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