Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 12, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unequivocal
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Middle VoiceThe so-called middle voice is an approximate type of grammatical voice in which the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb. Middle voice and active voice use the same verb structure in a sentence, so how can we distinguish between the two? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The 1421 HypothesisAccording to the 1421 hypothesis, between 1421 and 1423, during the Ming Dynasty of China, a fleet of Chinese ships traveled to many parts of the world unknown to contemporary Europe, including Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Antarctica, Greenland, and the Northeast Passage. The hypothesis is allegedly based on evidence from shipwrecks, old maps, Chinese documents, and accounts by navigators such as Christopher Columbus. Why have professional historians largely dismissed this hypothesis? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Steve Biko Dies in Police Custody (1977)A former medical student, Biko founded the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa in 1968 to combat racism and apartheid. He was officially "banned" by the South African government in 1973 and was arrested several times in the years that followed. Arrested for the last time in 1977, he was tortured and beaten to death in police custody, prompting international protests and a UN arms embargo. Twenty years later, five former policemen admitted killing him. Why were they never prosecuted? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Maurice Chevalier (1888)Chevalier was a French actor, singer, and vaudeville entertainer known for his trademark tuxedo and straw hat. While a prisoner of war during World War I, Chevalier studied English. After the war, he began acting in the US, where he appeared in movies that helped establish the musical as a film genre. Though he put on a heavy French accent while performing in English, he actually spoke the language quite fluently with only a subtle accent. Why did his popularity dwindle during World War II? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Beth could not reason upon or explain the faith that gave her courage and patience to give up life, and cheerfully wait for death...She could not say, "I'm glad to go," for life was very sweet for her. She could only sob out, "I try to be willing."Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Box and Cox— Two people who always miss each other and thus are never together. The phrase comes from the 19th-century story of the same name, in which two men named Box and Cox rent the same room at different times of day. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of St. Nichiren's Pardon (2022)At the Botamochi Temple in Kamakura, Japan, this festival honors St. Nichiren (1222-1282), considered to be Japan's most fervent Buddhist priest. He was exiled to the island of Sado in the Sea of Japan in 1271. After four years there, he returned and spent the rest of his life on Mount Minobu. The Festival of Nichiren's Pardon is observed by members of the Nichiren sect with massive demonstrations and the loud chanting of prayers attributed to Nichiren, accompanied by the beating of drums. People make offerings of botamochi, rice balls covered with sweet bean paste, in his honor. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: spottedcheetah - Taken from Sanskrit citraka, "leopard," related to citra, "spotted, speckled, variegated." More... fleck - Of Scandinavian origin, it came from the adjective flecked, "spotted." More... piebald, skewbald - Piebald is being spotted with irregular patches of different colors, especially black and white; skewbald is spotted white and a color other than black. More... pinto - As in horse and beans, it is Spanish for "painted, mottled, spotted." More... | |