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: instinct: behavior passed on by genes, not learned after birth. Some animals use instinct to hunt and are not "taught," for example.
- Language Study: elegy: poem expressing sadness at losing something or someone. Similar but not the same as "eulogy," a speech spoken at a funeral.
- Business: debt: money someone owes to another; also, the situation of owing money. "The company had a large debt (or was in deeply in debt)."
- Literature: "Kubla Khan": an unfinished poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It tells of a dreamlike place called "Xanadu," a sort of Shangri-La.
- New Words: fashion-forward: design that's ahead of its time. "I'm not sure if I could live in that house; the décor is a little fashion-forward."
- Slang: How's that?: may mean "say it again" or "explain it to me." A: "I can't help you tomorrow." B: "How's that?" A: "I have to work."
- Modern History: Napoleon Bonaparte: (1769-1821) French general and emperor. Conquered much of Europe; failed in Russia and at Battle of Waterloo.
NOTES:
- 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.
- 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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