Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 3, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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affront
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions with NounsCertain prepositions can be used in conjunction with nouns to connect, emphasize, or provide clarification for ideas expressed in sentences. In this combination, how is the preposition always positioned? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 El DoradoEl Dorado—Spanish for "the gilded man"—is the fabled city of gold and jewels believed by the 16th-century Spanish and other Europeans to exist somewhere in South America. The legend supposedly originated from the Chibcha people of Colombia, who each year anointed a chieftain and rolled him in gold, which he then ceremonially washed off in a sacred lake, casting offerings of emeralds and gold into the waters. Who were some of the explorers who searched for El Dorado, and where did they look? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Cavalese Cable Car Disaster (1998)Relations between Italy and the US were strained in 1998 when a US military plane, flying too low and too fast through a valley near the Italian town of Cavalese, clipped an aerial tramway cable. The cable car fell, killing all 20 people on board. The pilot and navigator were acquitted of homicide in a US military court, sparking outrage in Italy, but were later convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying a video of the incident. How did the US attempt to repair relations with Italy? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Norman Rockwell (1894)Rockwell was an American illustrator whose idealized scenes of family life in small-town America gained enormous popularity with the public. His illustrations appeared in major periodicals such as Collier's and Life. From 1916 to 1963, he produced 317 covers for The Saturday Evening Post, and during WWII his patriotic posters were distributed by the government. What unusually serious subject did the sentimental illustrator cover for Look magazine later in his career? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Love is...the principal means of escape from the loneliness which afflicts most men and women throughout the greater part of their lives.Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get with the times— slang To understand or be knowledgeable of modern times, especially as relates to the contemporary trends, ideas, or fashions. (Usually said as a jocular or sarcastic imperative.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Agatha Festival (2020)Sant' Agata (St. Agatha) is especially revered in Catania, Sicily, where her relics are preserved in a silver casket. On February 3, 4, and 5 each year, a silver bust of St. Agatha wearing a jewel-encrusted crown is carried in procession from the cathedral to Catania's various churches. Included in the procession are the ceri, huge wooden replicas of candlesticks which are carved with episodes from the saint's martyrdom. The streets are lined with streamers and flowers, and illuminated by strings of colored lights after dark. The festival ends with a fireworks display in the piazza. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pocketsfishing vest - A sleeveless jacket with many pockets for carrying small objects. More... English billiards - Played on a table with no pockets. More... gnurr - The substance that collects over time in the bottoms of pockets or cuffs of trousers. More... pucker - Has the underlying notion of being formed into "pockets." More... | |