Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 13, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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carrel
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Aspects of the Past TenseWe use different aspects with verbs in the past tense to describe exactly how an event is structured in relation to a point in time in the past. When is the past perfect continuous used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Crystal GazingAlso called crystal gazing, scrying is the magical practice of divining the past, present, or future by gazing into a usually reflective, translucent, or luminescent medium, such as crystal, mirror, water, or fire. The Cup of Jamshid, described in Persian mythology as a magical cup containing an elixir of immortality, is said to have revealed to the observer all the layers of the universe. Mirrors, meanwhile, have been said to reveal what to young women who gaze into them in a darkened room? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "The Cinderella Man" Becomes World Heavyweight Champion (1935)For budding boxer James J. Braddock, 1929 was a bad year. The promising pugilist narrowly lost a 15-round championship fight and, months later, the Great Depression struck. Braddock, struggling to support his family and losing many more bouts than he won, eventually gave up boxing to work the docks. In 1934, he returned to the ring, and a year later, he landed a title shot against Max Baer. Braddock was a 10-to-1 underdog but won in a stunning upset. Who beat Braddock for the title in 1937? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff Gordon (1863)A leading British fashion designer of the Edwardian era, Gordon made less restrictive clothing for women that she sold in her own "Lucile, Ltd." shops in London, Paris, Chicago, and New York. To promote her wares, she organized tea times when models would parade around in her designs, a precursor of the modern fashion show. Gordon was a passenger on the Titanic and survived its sinking by boarding Lifeboat 1 with her husband. What did the tabloids allege about their escape from the ship? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 She might yet be able to help him to the building of the rainbow bridge that should connect the prose in us with the passion. Without it we are meaningless fragments, half monks, half beasts, unconnected arches that have never joined into a man.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lightning quick— (hyphenated if used before a noun) Incredibly fast; too quick to keep up with. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of St. Anthony of Padua (2021)St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195, and is the patron saint of Portugal. The festivities held here in his honor begin on the evening of June 12 with an impressive display of marchas, walking groups of singers and musicians, who parade along the Avenida da Liberdade. The celebration continues the next day with more processions and traditional folk dancing. Another custom of the day is for a young man to present the girl he hopes to marry with a pot of basil concealing a verse or love letter. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: podpod - A group of whales (or seals or dolphins), or a small flock of birds. More... boll weevil - From Old English wifel, "beetle," and boll, the pod of the cotton plant, which this beetle attacks. More... chalice - From Latin calix, "cup," and Greek kalux, "pod." More... vanilla - Once thought to be an aphrodisiac because its pod resembled the vagina; its name comes from the Spanish for "little vagina." More... | |