1. dark and dismal as of the river Styx in Hades
2. dark and gloomy
3. hellish
The word Stygian has appeared in eight New York Times articles in the past year, including on Feb. 14 in “How Absolute Power Can Delight Absolutely” by Alessandra Stanley:
Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.
Philosophy — the study of knowledge and truth — can change lives. Just ask Peg O’Connor, a college professor who writes about how philosophy gave her the tools and concepts to battle alcoholism.
In this Text to Text lesson, we pair her essay “In the Cave: Philosophy and Addiction” with Plato’s well-known allegory of the cave from “The Republic.” Further down, we offer additional teaching ideas for exploring Plato’s allegory in more detail.
Do you look back at your life and think that the important things that have happened to you, both good and bad, happened for some bigger reason — whether because God had a plan for you, or because what happened was somehow fate?
In “Does Everything Happen for a Reason?” Konika Banerjee and Paul Bloom explore this belief.
The article begins:
On April 15, 2013, James Costello was cheering on a friend near the finish line at the Boston Marathon when the bombs exploded, severely burning his arms and legs and sending shrapnel into his flesh. During the months of surgery and rehabilitation that followed, Mr. Costello developed a relationship with one of his nurses, Krista D’Agostino, and they soon became engaged. Mr. Costello posted a picture of the ring on Facebook. “I now realize why I was involved in the tragedy,” he wrote. “It was to meet my best friend, and the love of my life.”
Read the article and answer the news questions below.
In “Hoverboard? Still in the Future,” Conor Dougherty writes about a California start-up that may have figured out how to make a hovering skateboard.
WHAT have a generation of engineers and movie fans been waiting for for three decades, and WHERE did this thing first appear?
WHO are trying to create hoverboards?
WHY has it been extremely difficult for inventors to replicate the screenwriter Bob Gale’s original idea for how the hoverboard would float?
Below are the first five paragraphs of the Oct. 19 article “For South Korea, E-Sports Is National Pastime.”
Can you choose the best word for each blank?
When you’re finished, you’ll find a link to the full article.
: the funds of a government or institution or individual
The word exchequer has appeared in 93 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Nov. 23 in “Editor in India, Known for Investigations Into Corruption, Is Accused of Rape” by Ellen Barry:
Have you been following the news?
Take our quiz to see what you know and to learn more, and look for a new edition each week on Tuesday morning.
Humans have long felt a connection with the Red Planet. The Romans named the planet after their god of war. More recently, popular culture imagined strange Martians building canals — and even invading Earth. Lately, Mars is looking like humanity’s new frontier.
Will humans live on Mars someday?
Read the article and answer the news questions below.
In “Where Young College Graduates Are Choosing to Live,” Claire Cain Miller writes about a new demographic trend.
WHERE are young college graduates moving in growing numbers?
HOW many young, college-educated people move to other states every year?
WHAT major metropolitan area had the largest percent change in the number of college graduates aged 25 to 34 who moved there from 2000 to 2012?
WHY is attracting young college graduates so important for successful economic development in cities?
Read more…
Below are the first several paragraphs of the Oct. 14 article “Why Are Americans So Fascinated With Extreme Fitness?” (We have broken up longer paragraphs for the purposes of the quiz.)
Can you choose the best word or phrase for each blank?
When you’re finished, you’ll find a link to the full article.
