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 Sunday, May 6, 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: Survival English (vocabulary for travelers): http://edition.englishclub.com/category/survival/
  • Ancient History: knight: warrior (fighter) on horseback in Europe's Middle Ages. Had a strong code of honor, and usually served a lord or king.
  • Irregular Verbs: I never strike students. My friend struck one. I haven't struck any. (Passive may be "stricken": "He was stricken with the flu.")
  • Idiom: rule of thumb: general guideline. "As a rule of thumb, it's not a good idea to eat just before bedtime."
  • Pop Culture: Lucy: nickname of a 3,000,000-year-old skeleton found in Ethiopia in 1974. About 40% complete, a great discovery.
  • Slang: Ha ha, very funny: a sarcastic way to say "NOT funny." A (to a short person): "Wow! You're a giant!" B: "Ha ha, very funny!"
  • Government: family planning: choices to plan or limit the number of children a family has, especially for financial reasons.

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.

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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