Mini-Lessons from Wednesday, May 9, 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: How to Learn English!: http://www.englishclub.com/learn-english/learn-english-how.htm
  
• Ancient History: Roman Empire: Area ruled by ancient Rome. Often includes the Republic that came before the Empire. Rulers were called "Caesar."
  
• Irregular Verbs: Does money mean happiness? It never meant it for me. But it has meant it for some, I guess.
  
• Idiom: hoi polloi: the common people. "The wealthy did not support his policies, but the politician was popular with the hoi polloi."
  
• Pop Culture: amnesia: a condition where people lose part or all of their memory. Popular in books and movies, but not really so common.
  
• Slang: Are you gonna talk, or …?: tells someone to get back to a task. A: "So then she said--" B: "Hey! Are you gonna talk, or play cards?"
  
• Government: on the Hill: "the Hill" is Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, where the US Congress meets. "There was a debate on the Hill today..."
  

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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.

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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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