Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, November 8, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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effervescent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Positioning Adverbs of PlaceAdverbs of place generally appear immediately after the main verb in a sentence if it is intransitive, or else after the verb's object if it is transitive. Only two adverbs of place are very commonly used at the beginning of sentences. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Indian March of PaulThe Indian March of Paul, a secret plot to attack British territories in India, was organized by Napoleon Bonaparte and his coconspirator Emperor Paul I of Russia. The plan called for two infantry units, one Russian and one French, to march to India. In a possible attempt to mask the true objective of the campaign, engineers, painters, and scientists were included in the expeditionary force. The Russian unit began its march to India in January 1801, but turned back a few months later; why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 John F. Kennedy Defeats Richard Nixon for US Presidency (1960)In 1960, Kennedy, a US senator, earned the Democratic nomination for president. In the campaign that followed, he engaged in a series of televised debates with his Republican opponent, Richard M. Nixon. After a vigorous campaign managed by his brother Robert F. Kennedy and aided financially by his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, he defeated Nixon by a narrow popular margin. At 43, he became the youngest person ever, and the first Catholic, elected president. How did the debates affect the election? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Milton Bradley (1836)After working as a draftsman, Bradley introduced the first lithograph press to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. He printed and sold a new parlor game, "The Checkered Game of Life." It was so profitable that he formed Milton Bradley and Company in 1864 to print games and manuals. In 1878, he reorganized his business as the Milton Bradley Company, which long retained its position as a leading American manufacturer of games and toys. In 1869, his press published the first US book on what topic? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We ought to see far enough into a hypocrite to see even his sincerity.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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fire-breathing— (used as a modifier before a noun) Particularly ardent, vehement, or excoriating in speech or behavior. Likened to a dragon or other creature able to shoot streams of fire from its mouth. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Devathani Ekadashi (2019)Devathani Ekadashi is a Hindu festival, observed in rural areas, that celebrates the waking of Vishnu. Hindus believe that Vishnu's battle with the great demon Shankhasura was so exhausting that he went to sleep for a period of four months. Each year, Vishnu slumbers from the 11th day of Asadha until the 10th day of Kartika. During his long sleep, Hindu marriages and other ceremonies are not observed. Hindu women celebrate the festival by fasting, worshipping Vishnu, and singing hymns. Newly ripened crops, such as sugarcane and waternuts, may be eaten on this day for the first time. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: orchestrawind band - A band of wind instruments or a collective term for the wind instruments of an orchestra. More... first chair - The premier musician playing a particular instrument in an orchestra—seated closest to the audience, taking the lead for that instrument's movements, and playing any solos. More... first violin - Leads the orchestra and plays notes in a higher range than second violins; parts for the first violin usually have more of the main tune and are technically more difficult to play. More... orchestra - The earliest senses of orchestra were "the semicircular area for the chorus to dance in an ancient Greek theatre" and the art of dancing itself (from Greek orkheisthai, "to dance"). More... | |