Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, April 3, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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congee
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Comparative AdjectivesComparative adjectives are adjectives that compare differences between the attributes of two nouns. We form comparative adjectives either by adding "-er" to the end of the adjective, or by adding the word "more" (or "less") before the adjective. So how do we know which to choose? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BoffinsIn British slang, a boffin is a scientist, especially one engaged in research, who possesses extensive skill or knowledge in a particular field, often to the exclusion of all non-academic interests. The word "boffin" was originally used as military slang for a technician or research scientist, but since WWII, the affectionate nickname has taken on a negative connotation. However, its etymology is otherwise obscure. What is its closest American slang equivalent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Unabomber Arrested (1996)Between the late-1970s and the mid-1990s, an elusive bomber, dubbed the "Unabomber" by the FBI, perpetrated of a series of bombings in the US that killed three people and wounded 23. In 1995, the Washington Post and The New York Times published the Unabomber's lengthy manifesto after he pledged in return to end the bombings. A year later, the FBI, acting on information from the Unabomber's brother, arrested Theodore Kaczynski at his isolated cabin in Montana. Whom did he target? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jane Goodall (1934)Soon after finishing high school, Goodall fulfilled her childhood ambition of traveling to Africa, where she assisted British anthropologist Louis Leakey, who suggested she study chimpanzees. In 1960, she established a research camp in what is now Tanzania. For decades, she kept meticulous records of chimpanzees' movements, interactions, and social organization. Her observations established that chimpanzees have complex social behaviors and disproved what long-standing beliefs? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in one blow— All at once, with a single decisive or powerful action. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Guinea Second Republic Day (2024)Guinea was ruled by a dictatorship led by Sekou Touré, who ruled the small West African nation for over 25 years (1958-1984). After Touré's death, there was a bloodless coup on April 3, 1984. This ushered in what many Guineans refer to as the Second Republic, led by Lansana Conté. The observation of Second Republic Day is largely orchestrated by the government. In honor of the coup's 24th anniversary in 2008, Conté and Guinean prime minister Lansana Kouyate were guests of honor at a wreath-laying ceremony at a martyrs' memorial located in the center of Conakry, the capital city. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: trumpetkazoo, bazooka - Dutch bazu, "trumpet," gives us the words kazoo and bazooka, the latter originally being a form of kazoo that was a long sounding-horn. More... jubilee - Comes from Hebrew yobhel, "ram's horn," which was used as a trumpet to proclaim the jubilee, a year of emancipation and restoration (every 50 years). More... taratantara - The sound of a bugle or trumpet can be called taratantara. More... | |