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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 Thursday, May 31, 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: laser: a machine that makes a fine point of light, which may be used to cut something, or to "read" information as on a DVD.
  • Language Study: syntax: order of words in a sentence. Important in English: "A dog bit a boy" is very different from "A boy bit a dog."
  • Business: flexible: able to change when the situation changes. "In this market, we must be flexible, and change to meet the customers' needs."
  • Literature: pluralism: having many different types of groups (religions, races, political groups), all living side-by-side in one society.
  • New Words: channel-hop: move quickly between TV channels with a remote control. Also "channel surf." "Stop channel hopping! Let's watch the news."
  • Slang: Why the long face?: "Why are you so sad?" When one is sad, the face looks longer. A: "Why the long face?" B: "My grandma is sick."
  • Modern History: secession: 11 southern states left the US in 1860 and 1861. They started the Confederacy, which led to the American Civil War.

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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