Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, November 1, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Active VoiceThe active voice is a type of grammatical voice in which the subject is also the agent of the verb—i.e., it performs the action expressed by the verb. In active-voice sentences, where is the agent always positioned? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The SistrumThe sistrum is a percussion instrument that functions much like a tambourine. Often made of metal, it consists of a handle and a U-shaped frame run through with thin, loosely set crossbars. The crossbars can have little metal rings or loops on them, and when the sistrum is shaken, the crossbars and loops jangle. The sistrum was used in ancient Sumer, Rome, and Egypt, and some Egyptian goddesses were depicted holding the instrument. What churches still use the sistrum in religious services? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ivy Mike: First Successful Test of a Hydrogen Bomb (1952)Years before the atomic bomb was developed, Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, and other American nuclear physicists set their sights on developing a weapon with even greater destructive potential—the hydrogen bomb. Their designs would not be realized, however, until after the development of the A-bomb, which is needed to generate the temperatures required to initiate H-bombs' fusion reactions. How did Teller, thousands of miles away during the "Ivy Mike" test, know almost immediately of its success? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Antonio Canova (1757)Canova was an Italian sculptor who was extremely influential in the development of neoclassicism. He produced his first important sculpture, Daedalus and Icarus, in 1779 and was accused of making plaster casts from live models because his figures were so realistic. Among his most important commissions were the tombs of Popes Clement XIII and Clement XIV. In 1802, he became court sculptor to Napoleon I in Paris. How did his love of sculpting ultimately contribute to his death in 1822? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 By indignities men come to dignities.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(as) nice as ninepence— Very tidy, neat, and well-organized; in good order. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival Day (2021)The Ottoman Empire suppressed any expression of unity or national pride by the Bulgarian people. That situation underwent a dramatic reversal during the period known as the Bulgarian National Revival. On November 1, Bulgaria celebrates a national holiday to honor and remember those visionaries who did so much to establish a sense of national pride. Parades honoring students and teachers are held throughout the country. In the capital city of Sofia, the parade progresses beneath huge portraits of those leaders who nourished Bulgaria's cultural rebirth. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: punishexecute - Derives from Latin exsequi, "carry out, follow up; punish." More... gruelling - Comes from the verb gruel, "to exhaust, punish." More... punish - Derives from Latin punire, "punish," which came from poena, "penalty, punishment." More... penal, punitive - Penal means "relating to punishment," while punitive means "serving to punish." More... | |