Mini-Lessons from Wednesday, May 2, 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!

• Tip: "3Cs" 1: Be correct. Use proper grammar and vocabulary when speaking; proper spelling and punctuation when writing. Be respected!
  
• Proverb: If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen: If a job is too difficult, leave, and let someone else to do it better.
  
• Academic Vocabulary: indicate: show. "A hot forehead indicates fever." "Lowering air pressure is an indication of a coming storm."
  
• Literature: Jehovah: English spelling of the name of God in Hebrew scriptures. Spelled YHVH, but too holy to be said. "Jehovah" is close to this.
  
• Art: Stradivarius: violin (or other instrument) made by Antonio Stradivari (1644?–1737), Italian violinmaker. Highest paid was $2,032,000US.
  
• Slang: Adios, someone: someone will be fired. "If Bob is late to work one more time, it's 'Adios, Bob!'"
  
• Geography: Fifth Avenue: street in Manhattan (New York) with fashion shops, sometimes called the "most expensive street in the world."
  

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NOTES:

1. Academic Vocabulary is the Academic Word List from Oxford University Press. This is "a list of words that you are likely to meet if you study at an English-speaking university."
2. The Proverb, and the Literature, Art, and Geography words are from lists in the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. I wrote the definitions and examples myself.
3. The Tip and Slang 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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