Today's Highlights
| Word of the Day | |||||||
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effulgence
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Future Perfect TenseWe use the future perfect tense to say that something will finish or be completed at a specific point in the future. How else can the future perfect tense be used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Assyrian GenocideBefore WWI, Assyrians, a largely Christian minority in the Islamic Ottoman Empire, were subject to violence and forcible conversion. Their plight worsened once war began. The Ottoman Turks, engaging in systematic ethnic cleansing, massacred Armenians and Assyrians. Contemporary reports placed the Assyrian death toll at 270,000, but the figure has since been estimated to be closer to 500,000, or even as high as 750,000. The Assyrian Genocide is also known as sayfo, which means what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Doctorate in Philosophy Awarded to a Woman for the First Time (1678)Born to a noble Venetian family, Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman to be awarded a doctorate in philosophy. A child prodigy, Piscopia went on to complete a brilliant course of study at the University of Padua. During her graduation ceremony, she spoke in classical Latin for an hour, explaining passages from Aristotle. She spent the next several years devoted to study and charity before dying of tuberculosis at age 38. How many languages did she master before receiving her doctorate? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg) Pierre Culliford, AKA Peyo (1928)Born Pierre Culliford, Belgian comics artist Peyo is known for creating Les Schtroumpfs, better known to English speakers as The Smurfs. The little, blue characters debuted in a supporting role in Peyo's series Johan and Peewit and then began appearing on their own in 1959. Smurf merchandise, particularly figurines, along with animated films and television shows, helped their popularity soar, and the Smurfs became an international phenomenon. How did Peyo get his pseudonym? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Kindred spirits alone do not change with changing years.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a load off (one's feet)— To sit down and rest one's feet; to relax. (Usually said as a suggestion.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Croatia Statehood Day (2021)Croatians mark this national holiday to commemorate the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991. This holiday is distinct from the country's Independence Day on October 8, when the implementation of the declaration went into effect. Offices, businesses, and schools are closed in Croatia on Statehood Day. Wreaths are laid and candles lit at sites of fallen soldiers, including the graves of national heroes. Past celebrations have included a ceremonial line-up of military troops in the central square of the country's capital, Zagreb, and speeches by the country's leaders. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: orchestrawind band - A band of wind instruments or a collective term for the wind instruments of an orchestra. More... first chair - The premier musician playing a particular instrument in an orchestra—seated closest to the audience, taking the lead for that instrument's movements, and playing any solos. More... first violin - Leads the orchestra and plays notes in a higher range than second violins; parts for the first violin usually have more of the main tune and are technically more difficult to play. More... orchestra - The earliest senses of orchestra were "the semicircular area for the chorus to dance in an ancient Greek theatre" and the art of dancing itself (from Greek orkheisthai, "to dance"). More... | |
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| Mismatch | |
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