Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 21, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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incognizant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Focusing Adverbs that Add InformationFocusing adverbs are used to draw attention to a particular part of a clause. When we want to emphasize information that is being added to previous information, what three focusing adverbs can we use? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Affair of the Tichborne ClaimantWhen a young Sir Roger Tichborne, the Tichborne family heir, was lost at sea, his mother began a desperate search for the son she believed was still alive. In 1865, about a decade after her son disappeared, Lady Tichborne received a letter regarding Arthur Orton, an Australian butcher fitting Sir Roger's description. She soon accepted Orton as her eldest son. After her death, Orton testified in an inheritance trial, but lost. He was then arrested and convicted of perjury. What was his sentence? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Marie and Pierre Curie Discover Radium (1898)Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie were working with pitchblende, a heavy mineral known to contain the radioactive element uranium, when they noticed something unusual. Somehow, the pitchblende was more radioactive than the uranium it contained. The culprit was radium, a previously unknown element present in pitchblende only in trace amounts—yet more than a million times more radioactive than uranium. What common household products contained radium until it was discovered to be dangerous? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Cicely Isabel Fairfield, AKA Dame Rebecca West (1892)One of the most highly regarded British prose writers of the 20th century, West began her career as a journalist for feminist and suffragist publications. She then served as a literary critic and political writer for American and British journals. Her admired reports on the Nuremberg Trials were collected in A Train of Powder, and her history of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, is a classic work of travel literature. Why did West have to be evacuated from her home in 1980? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The wise through excess of wisdom is made a fool.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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it ain't over till/until the fat lady sings— The final outcome cannot be assumed or determined until a given situation, event, etc., is completely finished. ("Ain't" is a colloquial contraction of "is not.") The phrase refers to the stereotypically overweight female sopranos of the opera, particularly the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, whose aria concludes Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. It is often used in reference to organized competitions, such as sporting events, political elections, or the like. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dongji (2020)In Korea, the Winter Solstice falls during the 11th lunar month. Red bean stew with glutinous rice flour balls is a favorite seasonal dish, particularly on Dongji. This food is not only eaten as a means of warding off disease, but is also offered to the family ancestors, spread around the front door or gate of the house, and, throughout the year, prepared and taken to people who are in mourning. The color red is traditionally thought to repel evil spirits and all misfortune. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lighterdinner, supper - Dinner is the main meal of the day; supper is the last meal of the day and lighter than dinner. More... short crust - Lighter and crispier than regular pastry crust. More... spring roll - Smaller than egg rolls, they traditionally have a lighter, more delicate pastry wrap. More... etiolate - Become whiter or lighter, especially by not getting enough light. More... | |