Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, March 3, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicate PronounsWe can use a predicate pronoun after a linking verb to re-identify the subject. In what kinds of sentences does this most commonly happen? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Secret SpeechAfter Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, Nikita Krushchev emerged from a bitter power struggle as the Communist party's first secretary. At the party's Twentieth Congress in 1956, he delivered a "secret speech," "On the Personality Cult and its Consequences," harshly denouncing Stalin and his policies. The program of de-Stalinization, which had already begun, was thus supported and continued by Khrushchev. When was the full text of this "secret speech" finally officially released to the public? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Alexander II of Russia Signs the Edict of Emancipation (1861)Signed by Czar Alexander II, the 1861 Edict of Emancipation granted liberty to more than 23 million serfs, about a third of the Russian population. The edict extended to the serfs the full rights of citizens, in particular, the right to own property—which they were to receive from the landlords and pay off over time. However, the process by which they were to acquire the land was slow, complex, and expensive. What was the village commune that controlled the peasants' landholdings called? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jamsetji Tata (1839)Tata was an Indian entrepreneur and pioneer industrialist known as "the father of Indian industry." He began his career at his father's trading firm but formed his own company in 1868 and had early success in the textile industry, buying, selling, and setting up cotton mills. He went on to establish the Tata Group of companies, which now has interests in steel, automobiles, information technology, energy, tea, and hotels. Tata died in 1904 while on a trip where? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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help (oneself) (to something)— To serve oneself (something); to take, consume, or indulge in (something) freely or without permission or restraint. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hina Matsuri (2024)Hina Matsuri is a festival for girls, celebrated in homes throughout Japan since the Edo Period (1600-1867). A set of 10 to 15 dolls (or hina), usually family heirlooms from various generations, is displayed on a stand covered with red cloth. Dressed in elaborate silk costumes, the dolls represent the emperor and empress, court ministers, and servants. In parts of Tottori Prefecture, girls make boats of straw, place a pair of paper dolls in them and set them afloat on the Mochigase River. The custom dates back to ancient times when dolls were used as talismans to exorcize evil. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shipsnauscopy - The ability to sight land or ships at a distance. More... spring a leak - First referred to ships, describing the way the timbers sprang out of position and let in water. More... square meal - May derive from the square platters used for serving meals on ships. More... longshoremen - When sailors passed goods from the ships to men along the shore, those men came to be called longshoremen. More... | |