Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 4, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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two-dimensional
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conditional Verbs and TensesConditional verbs can be in the past, present, or future tense. Which tense they take depends on whether the sentence is referring to a condition or possible result in the past, the present, or the future. Why do conditional sentences often feature a mix of tenses? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PanspermiaPanspermia is the hypothesis that life originated elsewhere in the universe and spread to Earth, and perhaps other places, on objects like asteroids. Astrobiologists, who investigate the possibility of life in space, point out that some microorganisms can, in fact, survive in space but that the long distances between planets would make surviving an interplanetary trip quite difficult, even for extremophiles. What tiny invertebrate was sent into orbit and survived exposure to the vacuum of space? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Jonathan Pollard Pleads Guilty to Espionage Charges (1986)After leaving graduate school in 1979, Pollard immediately began applying for intelligence positions, and landed one at the US Naval Investigative Service (NIS). In 1985, after he had attained a high level of clearance, coworkers noticed that he was accessing a huge number of documents for seemingly no reason. He was arrested and, the following year, pled guilty to selling secrets to Israel. He was sentenced to life in prison. What early clues nearly derailed his career before it started? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 François Quesnay (1694)While serving as consulting physician to Louis XV at Versailles, Quesnay developed an interest in economics. In his 1758 Tableau économique, he described the relationship between the different economic classes of society and the flow of payments among them, and he developed the concept of economic balance used by many later economic analysts. An advocate of laissez-faire economics, he believed that all wealth originated with the land. What school of economics is he credited with founding? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be had up (for something)— To be indicted, arrested, and/or tried (for a crime). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 International Festival-Institute at Round Top (2020)This teaching institute and music festival was founded by world-renowned pianist James Dick in 1971 to establish a center where talented student musicians could make a smooth transition to a professional career. The emphasis is still on pianists, but there is also instruction in strings, woodwinds, brass, chamber music, and orchestra. The faculty is composed of internationally known musicians who also perform as soloists at the concerts given there. Round Top is the smallest incorporated city in Texas; just north of the town square is the scenic 200-acre Festival Hill grounds. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: literarycenacle - A discussion group or literary clique—also, a small dining room where a literary or philosophic group eats and talks (from Latin cena, "dinner"), such as the room in which the Last Supper was held. More... literary - A painting or sculpture that depicts a story can be described as "literary." More... opuscule - A diminutive of opus, meaning a minor or small work, literary or musical. More... copyright - Literally, "the right to reproduce" one's own work or authorize others to do so; copyright protects original artistic, literary, dramatic, musical, and intellectual work in a tangible medium. More... | |