Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 19, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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veer
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Ordering Multiple Adverbs of the Same CategoryIf we use more than one adverb to describe a verb, there is a general order in which the different categories of adverbs should appear—this is known as the "order of adverbs." When we use multiple adverbs of the same category to modify the same verb, how do we order them? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 E-DemocracyE-democracy is a phenomenon involving the use of electronic communications technologies, such as the Internet, to enhance democratic processes. Though it includes specific activities like electronic voting, e-democracy has a broad scope that aims to increase accessibility, transparency, and accountability in politics. Still in its infancy, the concept is the subject of debate among citizens and politicians. What is the digital divide, and how might it hamper the development of e-democracy? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Titanic Released in US Theaters (1997)Before Titanic was released, some film critics predicted that it would be a box office disaster. At the time, it was the costliest film ever made, and production delays had pushed the release date far past the lucrative summer season. Yet by the end of its first weekend, the three-hour-long film was selling out theaters. It won 11 Academy Awards and remained the highest-grossing film in history for 12 years. What important historical fact did the director choose to omit from the film? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mary Livermore (1820)After graduating from a female seminary in 1831 and working as a teacher, Livermore married a Universalist minister and became an activist, lecturer, and popular author. She volunteered with the US Sanitary Commission to aid soldiers of the Union Army during the American Civil War and later promoted women's rights. In 1863, she organized a "Sanitary Fair" that raised a tremendous amount of money for the Commission. What did US President Abraham Lincoln donate for the auction event? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I have outlived certain desires. I have lost friends, some by death...others through sheer inability to cross the street. I am not so gifted as at one time seemed likely.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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let's not and say (that) we did— A sarcastic expression indicating that one would really rather not do what has been proposed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Misa de Gallo (2017)Misa de Gallo is the start of the Christmas season in the Philippines, blending Christian tradition with the harvest thanksgiving of the ancient Filipinos. As the first cockcrows are heard at dawn on Dec. 16, bells of the Roman Catholic churches ring, brass bands parade through towns, and skyrockets burst—all to awaken people for the Misa de Gallo (Cock's Mass in English and Simbang Gabi in Tagalog) each morning of the festival. On Dec. 24 there is a midnight mass, after which people congregate in food stalls or go home for traditional breakfasts of rice cakes and ginger tea. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shrubsboscage - A mass of growing trees or shrubs—or a depiction of a wooded landscape. More... nature strip - An area of grass beside a roadway, possibly with a few trees or shrubs, lying between the footpath part and the roadway proper. More... balm, balsam - Greek balsamon is the source of both balm and balsam; it was an oily resin of various trees and shrubs. More... topiary - Describing shrubs and trees that are trimmed, it is derived from Latin topiarius, "ornamental gardener." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Giant penguins, as tall as people, lived in New Zealand millions of years agoScientists have discovered the fossil remains of an ancient giant penguin with a body length of about 5.8 feet that roamed the waters off New Zealand soon after the dinosaurs' demise. Kumimanu biceae, newly described in the journal Nature ... More... | |