Words I learned today

There is a rewarding and very simple way to learn without a big effort. Truly simple. As day and night. And it is.... to read!

The key to such reading is choosing the right topic. It should be something you are TRULY interested in, which would make for you a great pass-time. Something you would not grudge the time for.

Another crucial thing is choosing the right author. The one you need to look for should have:

- clear statement, which would match your English level and won't be too challenging

- great style, nice sentence flow

- concise, not wordy sentences

When reading you can put down the brightest words and expressions, as well as the most winning grammar patterns.

I like learning about the way people live in other places and there is a blog of one New Yorker which I have followed for quite a long time and have always read with pleasure. Cookies in the Afternoon is his great article about chances to succeed and the tough competition in New York city.

That's what I've learned from the blog entry:

to apportion chances - the meaning is clear, however, hardly would I have thought of such word combination to convey the meaning. So I'm putting down - to apportion chances.

I found this die sitting on a bench, crying out to be photographed. Such a lovely

sentence!! All the words here are obvious to me. In case you've found something new here, don't hesitate to put it down!

I can't resist the temptation to copy the photo from the awesome blog and show it to you.

He was steeped in workshops that promoted the idea of positive thinking...

The new for me is to be steeped in something. Multitran online dictionary gives very many meanings of the word steep and I would not dare to use the world after just picking it up from the dictionary. But now I can do this no problem for I have seen a good example! Knowing the context is THE GREATEST ADVANTAGE of learning words when reading.

very enthusiastic person, tenacious and optimistic. Here I'm interested in tenacious.

The same story - very many meanings in the dictionary. But from the context I understand that

tenacious in the line is a synonym for persistent or stout-hearted.

The road to success is paved with failure. Great saying! Put it down!

insightful conversation - showing great understanding

aversion to risk - reluctance, antipathy

poignant remark - just another good word combination!

high turnover - if you are once to speak about business and profits the expression may be very useful)

I hope you had fun learning with me.

Perhaps, the new for you and for me in the blog entry did not fully match, as well as the entry might have appeared too difficult for you or too easy. Anyway, I hope I was able to demonstrate the GREAT ADVANTAGES of such learning strategy and you will go on with it.