Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 20, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cupidity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - WouldThe modal auxiliary verb "would" has a variety of functions and uses, including replacing "will" for things that happened or began in the past, or describing hypothetical situations. What type of mood is used to express hypotheticals and desires? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Language: What Is It?Humans are the only creatures to use a form of communication that scholars consider "language"—a system of spoken sounds or conventional symbols that communicates thought. Although some animals display similar social behavior, linguists are reluctant to term it language, instead describing it as "animal communication." Still, some animals have been taught certain features of human language. Why are most animal languages considered "closed"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Is Launched (1967)By the time Cunard's RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, ocean liner was built, airplanes had already largely supplanted ships for transatlantic travel. Thus, the vessel needed to be more efficient and versatile than her predecessors in the fleet. During her 39 years in service, she completed 806 transatlantic crossings, ferrying 2.5 million passengers across nearly six million miles of ocean. During what war was she pressed into service as a troop carrier? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elizabeth Kenny (1880)After breaking her wrist as a young girl, Kenny developed an interest in medicine and eventually became a nurse. While treating polio victims in her native Australia, she devised a treatment using hot compresses and passive exercise that differed drastically from the usual approach of immobilization. Kenny later brought her controversial treatment to the US, where it was initially met with skepticism but was ultimately accepted. What actor attributes his recovery from polio to these treatments? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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ride the rail(s)— To travel on a vehicle mounted on rails (especially a train or streetcar). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Paris Autumn Festival (Festival d'Automne) (2018)The Autumn Festival marks the start of the city's cultural season, encompassing film, photography and other contemporary arts on an international scale. Most of the theater presentations are experimental, and they have included productions from the United States, West Berlin, Denmark, Poland, and the former U.S.S.R. Composers whose works have been performed there include Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, John Cage and Iannis Zenakis, and it has featured the New York Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta and the Orchestre de Paris. Events are held in locations throughout Paris. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: messengerapostle - Comes from Greek apostolos, "messenger." More... bode - Boda is messenger in Germanic, hence "bode"; at first, a bode was a command—then an omen or premonition. More... enunciate - Derives from Latin nuntius, "messenger." More... angel - The word angel was one of the earliest Germanic adoptions from Latin; originally from Greek aggelos, "messenger," it first meant "hireling" or "messenger." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Scientists Discover Amazing Tool-Wielding Ability of Nearly Extinct Hawaiian CrowsHawaiian crows, a species extinct in the wild, have demonstrated a remarkable skill that's exceptionally rare in the animal kingdom: the ability to use tools. The discovery, described in Nature, means there are now two species of crow that are known to ... More... | |