To most people, May 4th is just another day – but to Star Wars fans, it’s known as Star Wars Day, an informal celebration of all things Star Wars.
Inspired by the iconic line, “May the Force be with you,” the clever pun “May the 4th be with you” pays homage to the beloved film franchise that began in 1977. What started as a single movie, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, has grown over nearly five decades to include twelve movie sequels and prequels, countless books, cartoons, comic books, TV shows, and video games
So this May 4th, remember: MAY THE 4th BE WITH YOU!
A – Air conditioner ❄️ 🆒 🏠 A machine that cools the air inside a room or building.
B – Barbecue 🍔 🔥 🥩 A meal cooked outside on a grill, usually with meat or vegetables.
C – Camping 🏕️ 🔥 🌲 Sleeping outside in a tent and spending time in nature.
D – Drinks 🧃 🍹 🍋 Cold liquids like lemonade or iced tea that help you stay cool in summer.
E – Evening / Excursion 🌇 🧭 🚗 Evening: The time after the sun goes down, often warm and calm in summer. Excursion: A short trip for fun, like a day at the beach or park.
F – Flip-flops 🩴 ☀️ 🏖️ Light, open sandals worn on your feet in hot weather.
G – Grill 🍗 🍽️ 🔥 A cooking device used outside to make food like burgers or hot dogs.
H – Heat & Humidity ☀️ 🥵 💦 Heat: Very high temperatures.Humidity: When the air feels wet or sticky because of moisture.
I – Ice cream 🍦 🍨 😋 A cold, sweet dessert made from milk or cream
J – July 🇺🇸 🎆 📅 The seventh month of the year, in the middle of summer in many countries.
K – Kayak 🛶 🌊 🌄 A small boat you move with a paddle, often used on lakes or rivers.
L – Lifeguard 🛟 🏊 🚨 A person who watches people at the pool or beach to keep them safe.
M – Mosquito 🦟 😣 🧴 Annoying summer bugs – use spray!
N – Nature 🌳 🦋 🦉 🌻 Trees, plants, animals, and the outdoors.
O – Ocean 🌊 🐚 🏖️ A large body of salt water, great for swimming or relaxing.
P – Picnic 🧺 🍓 🍞 🌳 A meal you eat outside, usually on a blanket in a park or at the beach.
Q – Quiet morning 🌅 😌 ☕ A peaceful time with little noise, like a calm summer morning.
R – Relax 🧘 🛏️ 📖 To rest and feel calm, like lying in a hammock or sitting by the pool.
S – Sunshine ☀️ 😎 🌻 Bright light and warmth that comes from the sun.
T – Towel 🏖️ 🩱 A piece of cloth used to dry your body after swimming or washing.
U – Umbrella ⛱️ 🌤️ 🏖️ A tool that gives shade from the sun, especially at the beach.
V – Vacation ✈️ 🧳 🌴 Time off to travel and unwind
W – Watermelon 🍉 🍽️ 😋 A large, sweet fruit with green skin and red, juicy inside.
X – Xtreme sports 🏄♂️ 🚴♀️ 🪂 Exciting sports like surfing, ziplining, or mountain biking.
Y – Yacht 🛥️ 🌅 🥂 A large, fancy boat often used for fun or travel.
Z – Zipline 🌄 🪢 😲 A cable you slide down while hanging in a harness, usually outdoors for fun.
circadian rhythm – n., our internal clock that keeps time by tracking light and darkness
biological – adj., relating to life or living things
rhythm – n., a regular pattern of movement or sound
protein – n., the building blocks of body tissue
hormones – n., chemical substances that act like messengers in the body
regulate – v., to control something
cluster – n., a group of things that are close together
hypothalamus – n., part of the brain that controls many bodily functions
genes – n., the basic units of heredity that carry your traits
organism – n., a living thing
sensitive – adj., showing a strong response to chemicals or other things in the environment.
blue light – n., the light that comes from sunlight and digital devices
miraculous – adj., something that is very surprising or lucky, like a miracle
Biological Clock Day is celebrated on April 28th. It’s a day to recognize the body’s natural ability to keep track of time, also known as the biological clock or circadian rhythm.
The biological clock is related to more than just aging.
For a start, both men and women have a biological clock, and all of this is celebrated by Biological Clock Day!
The biological clock acts as a sort of inner schedule by which a person lives that can often affect their behavior as well as their mood. Also known more formally as the ‘circadian rhythm’, this internal clock controls a sleep-wake pattern that fits in with the light and dark of a day according to the rhythms of the planet.
Proteins and hormones regulate the biological clock. Scientists are just now discovering exactly what makes us sleepy or wide-awake.
This internal clock is located in a tiny cluster of cells known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is in a part of your brain called the hypothalamus. Throughout the day, internal clock genes in the SCN send signals to control the activity throughout your body. The SCN is sensitive to light.
A biological clock is the body’s internal system that regulates sleep-wake cycles and other rhythms.
It’s made up of proteins that are turned on and off by thousands of genes.
A master clock coordinates all the biological clocks in the body.
The biological clock keeps working even when an organism is not exposed to natural light.
How can you support your biological clock?
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
Avoid naps that make it hard to fall asleep at night.
Stop eating and exercising a few hours before bed.
Avoid caffeine and nicotine before bed.
Wear glasses that block blue light.
Biological Clock Day was established to celebrate the natural rhythms of the body and show appreciation for the miraculous way the human body is formed. The day is meant to raise awareness for the need that people have to pay more attention to what their bodies and brains are telling them.
A – April(noun) 🌦️ The fourth month of the year, often associated with springtime weather.
B – Bloom(verb) 🌸 🌹 To produce flowers.
C – Cherry blossoms(noun) 🌺 The pink or white flowers of cherry trees, commonly seen in early spring.
D – Daffodils(noun) 🌼 Bright yellow or white trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in early spring.
E – Easter(noun) 🐣 🐰 A spring holiday celebrating renewal and, in Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus.
F – Flowers(noun) 💐 🪻 The colorful, often fragrant reproductive parts of plants that bloom in spring.
G – Garden(noun) 🌻 🌱 🥬 A space for growing plants, flowers, or vegetables.
H – Honeybee(noun) 🐝 A flying insect that collects nectar and helps pollinate plants.
I – Insect(noun) 🪲 🐜 🪰 A small animal with six legs, a body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and typically one or two pairs of wings.
J – Jump(verb) 🤸 To push oneself off the ground into the air using the legs.
K – Kite(noun) 🪁 A lightweight object flown in the air on a string, often for fun on windy days.
L – Lamb(noun) 🐑 A young sheep, often born in spring.
M – Migration(noun) 🕊️ 🦆 The seasonal movement of animals, especially birds, from one region to another.
N – Nest(noun) 🪺 🐣 🪹 A structure built by birds to lay eggs and raise young.
O – Outdoors(noun) 🌳 🌲 🌞 The open air or natural environment.
P – Picnic(noun) 🧺 🍷 🥪 A meal eaten outside, especially in a park or natural setting.
Q – Quack(noun/verb) 🦆 (Noun) The sound a duck makes. (Verb) To make the sound of a duck.
R – Rainbow(noun) 🌈 Bands of colors in the sky caused by sunlight and rain.
S – Sunshine(noun) ☀️ Light and warmth from the sun.
T – Tulip(noun) 🌷 A brightly colored, cup-shaped flower that blooms in early to mid-spring.
U – Umbrella(noun) ☔ A tool used to protect yourself from rain or strong sun.
V – Vibrant(adjective) ✨ 🌸 🌈 Full of energy and life; bright and striking in appearance.
W – Warmth(noun) 🔆 A comfortable temperature, often associated with spring’s rising temperatures.
X – Xylem (noun) 🌱 Plant tissue that carries water from the roots to the rest of the plant.
Y – Yellow(adjective/noun) 💛 (Adjective) A bright color often seen in spring flowers. (Noun) The color itself.
Z – Zinnia(noun) 🌼 A bright, hardy flower that blooms in late spring and summer.
Americans talk about food, think about food, and eat food – a lot. It’s not surprising that so many expressions in American English are centered on food. Here are a few you will hear frequently:
Let’s start with our title – “It’s a piece of cake” means that something is easy to do. You might also hear the similar, “it’s easy as pie.”
Desserts are always good – eating them is a piece of cake!
“Spill the beans.”
Shhhh – don’t tell anyone you’re learning these idioms! “Spill the beans” is another way to say you’re telling a secret or giving away a surprise.
We didn’t want Luis to spill the beans about the surprise party for Dmitri.
“Cool as a cucumber.”
This means that someone is very relaxed and confident in a situation.
Maria went into the interview as cool as a cucumber.
“Bring home the bacon.”
This means you’re going to work and earning money, or you’re competing and win a prize.
Xiting worked hard all week to bring home the bacon for her family.
“Go bananas”
We use this idiom when we want to describe someone getting very excited about something – even acting a little crazy.
The crowd went bananas when Beyonce stepped onto the stage.
And let’s finish with another ‘sweet’ expression: “the icing on the cake.”
We say, “that’s the icing on the cake” when something good becomes even better when added to.
Ekaterina was happy to ice skate at the Olympics; winning the gold medal was the icing on the cake!
If you can use all these idioms, you’ll be the Big Cheese in your English class!
(“Big Cheese” means the most important person in a group.)
In celebration of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day on Thursday, March 26th, here are some key vocabulary & facts to know ahead of the 2026 season.
Baseball, sometimes called “America’s pastime”, is a team sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score more runs than the opposing team by hitting a ball and running around four bases to complete a run. A baseball game lasts for a minimum of nine innings – if the game is tied at the end of the ninth inning, the game continues until one team scores a run.
Basic Rules of Baseball
Teams take turns batting and fielding.
The batting team tries to score runs by hitting the ball and running around the bases.
The fielding team tries to get three outs to end the batting team’s turn.
A batter gets up to 3 strikes. Three strikes = out.
Four balls = walk (the batter goes to first base).
A run is scored when a player touches all four bases and returns to home plate.
After 3 outs, the teams switch sides (batting and fielding).
The game is played over 9 innings.
The team with the most runs at the end wins.
The Field
Diamond – The shape of the baseball field (infield), with four bases in a square shape.
Base – There are 4 bases: first base, second base, third base, and home plate.
Pitcher’s mound – The raised area in the center where the pitcher throws the ball.
Positions
Pitcher – The player who throws the ball to the batter.
Catcher – Crouches behind home plate to catch pitches.
Batter – The player trying to hit the ball.
Infielders – First baseman, second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman.
Outfielders – Left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder.
Key Vocabulary
catch, hit, pitch, run, swing
More vocabulary
Special Hits:
Single – The batter reaches first base.
Double – The batter reaches second base.
Triple – The batter reaches third base.
Home run – The ball is hit out of the field, and the batter (and any runners) score automatically.
A grand slam is a home run with the bases loaded (4 runs scored).
Ways to Get Out:
Strikeout – Three strikes.
Fly out – The ball is caught in the air.
Ground out – The ball is hit on the ground and thrown to first base before the batter gets there.
Tag out – A runner is touched with the ball while not on a base.
Force out – A runner has to move to the next base and is thrown out.
League & Teams
There are 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. They are divided into two leagues: the American League and the National League, with 15 teams in each.
