Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, September 15, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Interrogative AdjectivesEnglish has three interrogative adjectives: "what," "which," and "whose." They are called "interrogative" because they are usually used to ask questions. How can they be differentiated from interrogative pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Lost Land of LemuriaPuzzled by the presence of lemur fossils in Madagascar and India—but not in Africa or the Middle East—19th-century geologist Philip Sclater theorized that the two land masses containing the fossils had once been part of a larger, now mostly submerged continent, which he named "Lemuria." Following the scientific community's acceptance of the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift, however, Sclater's theory was widely dismissed. What is one example of an actual sunken continent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Tragedy at Opening of Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1830)In 1830, festivities were held to mark the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first inter-city passenger railway. Unfortunately, the celebration turned tragic when William Huskisson, the Member of Parliament for Liverpool, got off the train to speak with the Duke of Wellington during a temporary stop and was fatally injured by an oncoming train. He thus became the world's first railway passenger to be killed by a train. How fast did these trains initially travel? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Porfirio Díaz (1830)Díaz supported Benito Juárez in Mexico's war against the French, but when he lost to Juárez in the 1871 presidential election, Díaz charged fraud and led a revolt. After losing again in 1876, he led another revolt and became president. Though his rule was ruthless, it saw financial stability and the expansion of railroads and telegraph lines. The Mexican Revolution was launched in 1910 to end his dictatorship, and he fled to Europe and died in exile. As a teen, what had Díaz trained to become? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (a) skeleton(s) in (one's)/the closet— To have (an) embarrassing, unpleasant, damaging, or incriminating secret(s) from one's past. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Costa Rica Independence Day (2023)On this day in 1821, Costa Rica achieved independence after having been ruled by Spain since the early 1500s. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua also declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. On the evening of September 14, the president traditionally lights a torch representing liberty in the old capital city of Cartago and, on Independence Day, gives a speech to schoolchildren. There are more speeches and dancing in San José, the modern capital. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: replyriposte - A counterstroke, such as a snappy retort, from Italian riposta, "reply, response." More... antapology - The reply to an apology, such as "That's all right." More... irrespondence - People not answering your e-mails? That's irrespondence! (Failure to reply.) More... | |