The Daily Dose

One of the best ways to learn a language is by reading the daily newspaper. They use mostly everyday language, and there's often enough context to help translate words you don't know.

Each day I buy the mainstream Corriere Della Sera - Evening Courier. Here's a partial list of words I've learned just this week, itself a chronicle of the times:

Massacre
Challenge/Challenger (as in John Kerry)
Army
Recruit
Championship
Fan (this one is great - tifoso, originally a typhus victim, get it?)
Voter
Undecided
Swing state
Disadvantaged
Slow down
Curse (as in the curse of the Bambino)
Poll