Tag Archives: philosophy/religion

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Janus, the “Roman god of doors and gateways and hence of beginnings,” as the four-sentence reading on this document explains. There are three comprehension questions accompanying the reading. I remember puzzling over Janus, the two-faced god, mostly because of the multiplicity and complexity of his myth and interpretation. As you probably know, Janus is represented with two faces, one young and one old, looking in opposite directions.

But did you know that the month of January is named for him? Or that to be Janus-faced is to be duplicitous, or two-faced? While I understand the image of Janus (if nothing else from watching films from the production company bearing his name), I have struggled for some reason with some of the abstractions that appear with his name on them.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Moving right along this morning, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Zeno’s paradox. This is a half-page document with a three-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. The first sentence of the reading does a nice job of defining paradox; however, beware the third sentence, which in forty-nine words (!) explains Zeno’s paradox of the arrow.

If I were a betting man, I would wager that emergent readers and learners of English of a new language will experience some challenges with either the turgid length of this sentence, or the relatively complicated ideas within it. In other words, caveat emptor, and get your editing pencil ready to prepare a shorter and more comprehensible version of this final sentence. I think you will probably end up with at least two, and possibly three sentences.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.