執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月18日 | Trivia
Nowadays, most people have never ridden a horse, but for most of history many people relied on horses. Even today, we have many words for different kinds of horses. Here are just a few. A female horse is a mare, and a male horse is a stallion. A baby horse is a foal,...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月11日 | Trivia
Although it’s green and not very sweet, avocado is actually a fruit. Avocados grow on trees and contain one large seed. Another name for avocado is “alligator pear”. We think avocados first came from Mexico. One popular avocado dish is guacamole, a dip for corn chips....
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月04日 | Trivia
In Greek mythology, Achilles’ mother dipped him in a magic river to make him invincible. However, she held him by the heel, so the water did not touch his heel. He was a powerful warrior, but he died when a poison arrow hit him in the heel. Now we use the phrase...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年08月28日 | Trivia
A dozen means twelve. So if I have a dozen cats, that means I have twelve cats. But if you go to a bakery and buy a dozen muffins, will you get twelve? Well, maybe, but a “baker’s dozen” is actually thirteen. One extra is added in case one of the items is burnt,...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年08月21日 | Trivia
An inner tube is a big rubber ring used for floating in the water. It’s great for floating down a river and relaxing and looking at the scenery. Or if you have goggles and the river is clear, you can see the underwater scenery. Why is it called an inner tube? It’s...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年08月07日 | Trivia
The month of August is named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Its name was changed in the year 8 BC from “Sextilis”, a name it received because it was originally the sixth in a ten-month calendar....
