Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, March 8, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vertigo
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Participle Phrases in Middle PositionWhen a participle phrase occurs in the middle position, and is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, it should be set apart from the rest of the sentence by two commas. However, if a participle phrase occurs in the middle position and is essential to the meaning of the sentence, how should it be punctuated? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ZouavesThe original Zouaves of the early 1800s were members of elite French military units in North Africa. Usually Algerian recruits, they were recognized for their distinctive, colorful uniforms and precision drilling. They were well known in their day, and at the dawn of the American Civil War, a Zouave craze swept the US. Dozens of "Zouave" units sprang up on both sides of the conflict. Their uniforms, modeled after traditional Zouave attire, were not well suited to the conflict. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Rock Festival Held in the Soviet Union (1980)Dubbed the "Soviet Woodstock," the 1980 Tbilisi rock festival is widely considered the turning point in the history of Russian rock music. Held in Tbilisi—capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic—the event was the USSR's first official rock festival. However, unlike Woodstock, the high point of youth counterculture in the US, freedom of expression at Tbilisi-80 was limited, and the jury stormed out after one performer's provocative moves. Which bands performed at the event? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tapio Rautavaara (1915)Finland's multitalented Tapio Rautavaara was a successful athlete, singer, and actor. He won Olympic gold for javelin throwing and was also a top archer. He acted in numerous Finnish films and recorded more than 300 songs before his death in 1979, the result of a brain injury caused by a slip-and-fall accident. His death might have been averted had medical officials correctly identified the symptoms of a fatal cerebral hemorrhage instead of dismissing them as indicators of what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There can be no two opinions as to what a highbrow is. He is the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his mind at a gallop across country in pursuit of an idea.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be rained out— To be delayed, postponed, or cancelled due to the rain. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta of San Juan de Dios (2022)San Juan de Dios (St. John of God) was born in Portugal in 1495. A religious order, the Brothers Hospitallers, was founded in his honor, and thereafter he was known as John of God and the patron saint of hospitals. In Puno, Peru, San Juan de Dios is celebrated with a two-day fiesta. On March 7, llamas bring in wood for bonfires in a parade with flute and drum music, and in the evening bonfires blaze. The next day, his feast day, a procession takes the saint's image through the streets of Puno, and dancers and musicians create a festive atmosphere around the church. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: twistedtwist-grip - A bicycle grip that may be twisted to change the gears is a twist-grip. More... pigtail - In the 17th century, it was tobacco twisted into a thin rope, which resembled the animal's tail. More... torsibility - The tendency to untwist after being twisted; it is also the degree to which something can be twisted. More... | |