Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, July 11, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Alternative QuestionsAlternative questions are questions that provide a choice among two or more answers. These choices might be explicitly stated in the question (identified by the coordinating conjunction "or"), or they might be implied by the context. What are alternative questions also known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Yuan ChonghuanA famed military commander of the Ming Dynasty in the final years before it was toppled by the Manchurians, Yuan Chonghuan excelled in the use of artillery and brilliantly incorporated Western tactics into his battles. Despite being vastly outnumbered in the 1626 Battle of Ningyuan, his forces defeated those of Manchurian general Nurhaci. Still, rumors that he had collaborated with the enemy spread after he repelled an attack on Beijing in 1629, and he was executed. Who was behind the rumors? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Oka Crisis (1990)This 1990 confrontation between the Mohawk nation and the town of Oka, Quebec, was the first of several violent conflicts between the First Nations and the Canadian government. It began when developers tried to turn a plot of land into a golf course. Because that land contained a burial ground and sacred pine grove, members of the Mohawk community blockaded the area. Canadian troops were sent in, and a 78-day standoff ensued, ending with the Mohawks' surrender. What happened to the golf course? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elwyn Brooks "E. B." White (1899)After starting his writing career as a reporter, White settled in New York and became known for his impeccable prose style as a contributing editor of New Yorker magazine. Talented in diverse genres, he collaborated with James Thurber on satire, wrote the classic children's books Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, and revised William Strunk Jr.'s grammar and composition text The Elements of Style, which became a definitive writing guide. How did White know Strunk? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Friendships begin with liking or gratitude — roots that can be pulled up.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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think (someone) hung the moon and the stars— To consider someone to be extraordinary, the best, or exceptionally wonderful. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast Day of the Flemish Community (2023)Each of the autonomous regions of Belgium observes its own feast day. The Flemish Community celebrates its heritage on the anniversary of The Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. On the feast day, all Flemish governmental offices close for the holiday. Various cities, municipalities, and private groups hold cultural events; local Flemings and those resettled throughout the world pause to give a toast to Flanders; and many gather to hear the minister-president of the Flemish Community deliver a speech marking the anniversary. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sedimentdecant - Means to pour wine, taking pains not to disturb any sediment at the bottom; decant comes from Latin de- and canthus, "angular lip of a jug." More... allogenic, allochthonous - Geological material that has been transported and then accumulates elsewhere is allochthonous, and sediment carried by a river is allogenic. More... lithification - The process of compaction of sediment into stone. More... | |