Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, May 17, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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mettlesome
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive Adverbs that Show a ResultThere are many conjunctive adverbs. To choose the right one, we must consider the relationship between the first and second clause. When the second clause is a result of something that happened in the first clause, we can use "therefore" and what other conjunctive adverbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Lake BaikalAt 12,160 sq mi (31,494 sq km), Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in Eurasia. It is also the world's deepest lake, with a maximum depth of 5,714 ft (1,742 m). Located in southern Siberia, the clear, oxygen-rich waters are home to a wide range of aquatic plants and creatures, including such unusual species as the world's only freshwater seal, and can sustain animal life more than 5,200 ft (1,600 m) below the surface. What percent of the world's surface freshwater is held in Lake Baikal? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 George Boleyn, Brother of Anne, Beheaded (1536)Henry VIII had two of his six wives beheaded, but the unpleasant consequences of his marriages did not apply only to his spouses. After Henry's first marriage was annulled, he took Anne Boleyn as his queen. Though she bore him the future Queen Elizabeth I, she produced no male heir, and he lost interest in her. In 1536, he had her imprisoned on questionable charges of adultery and incest—allegedly with her brother, George. Both were beheaded. What did George reportedly say before his execution? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Caroline of Brunswick (1768)Caroline wed her cousin, George IV, the future king of England, in 1795. The marriage was an unhappy one, and soon after Caroline bore George a daughter, they separated. The two were almost certainly involved in adulterous relationships thereafter—George had even been secretly, and illegally, married to another woman when he wed Caroline—yet it was Caroline whose infidelities sparked an investigation. George became king in 1820. What happened when Caroline tried to claim her rights as queen? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 No country is so wild and difficult but men will make it a theater of war.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have nine lives— To endure, continue, or survive despite a near encounter with death or disaster. From the common myth that cats have nine lives. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Norway Constitution Day (2018)May 17, 1814, marks both Norway's declaration of independence from Sweden and the day on which its constitution was signed. This day remains the great spring festival in Norway, and today it is celebrated primarily by young people.The children's procession in Oslo, the capital city, is the largest of many school parades throughout the country. Marching behind their school bands and banners, the children pass under the balcony of the Royal Palace in salute to the king. Everyone joins in the procession, waving Norwegian flags. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: listenear to the ground - It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses' hooves as riders approached. More... scout - From the Latin ausculture, "to listen," it became Old French escoute, "a spy." More... hearken - To pay attention or listen; it can also mean "to return to a previous topic." More... listen, hear - To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Could Ancient Space Dust Reveal Mysteries of Earth's Early Atmosphere?Specks of ancient space dust, preserved in limestone in Western Australia's Pilbara region, could upend current theories about the history of oxygen on Earth. By analyzing the chemistry of ancient micrometeorites, or microscopic flecks of meteor that are ... More... | |