Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 16, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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contravene
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Aspects of the Present TenseThe present tense is combined with four traditional aspects to form the structures that are known as the present simple, the present continuous (or present progressive), the present perfect, and the present perfect continuous. Although these structures are generally taught as individual "tenses" of verbs, what are they are actually? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Emirate of SicilyAfter the fall of Rome, the island of Sicily passed from the Vandals to the Goths in 493 CE and then to the Byzantines in 535 CE. After two centuries of raiding, the Arabs conquered the island when Euphemius, the commander of the Byzantine fleet, defected. The Emirate of Sicily remained under Islamic rule from 965 to 1060 CE, during which time agriculture, commerce, and arts and sciences were promoted. Who led the Norman conquest of Sicily that ultimately displaced the Arabs? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ennis Cosby Murdered during Robbery (1997)In 1997, Ennis Cosby—son of actor Bill Cosby—was driving to visit a friend in Los Angeles, California, when his car got a flat tire on the highway. As Ennis changed the tire, a man with a gun approached him, demanded money, and shot him in the head. The case remained unsolved until the National Enquirer received a tip linking Mikhail Markhasev—an 18-year-old gang member with a history of racist attacks—to the crime. What shocking thing did Markhasev do while serving his life sentence? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Brentano (1838)Nine years after being ordained, Brentano renounced the priesthood due to religious doubts and immersed himself more deeply in the study and teaching of philosophy. With his 1874 text Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint, he sought to establish psychology as an independent science. He founded act psychology, or intentionalism, which concerns itself with the mind's "acts"—such as perception, loving, and hating—rather than its contents. Which philosophical luminaries did he influence? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not that the Englishman can't feel—it is that he is afraid to feel. He has been taught at his public school that feeling is bad form. He must not express great joy or sorrow, or even open his mouth too wide when he talks—his pipe might fall out if he did.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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through the grapevine— Through or via an informal means of communication or information, especially gossip. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Pongal (2022)A colorful four-day harvest celebration in southern India, Pongal honors the sun, the earth, and the cow. The first day is for cleaning everything in the house. On the second day, freshly harvested rice and jaggery (palm sugar) are put to boil in new pots, and people cry out, "Pongal!" ("It boils.") On the third day, village cows and oxen are bathed, decorated with garlands of bells, beads, and leaves, and worshipped. On the fourth day, bundles containing money are tied to the sharpened horns of bulls. Young men who are brave enough try to snatch the money from the bulls' horns. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: waistdrop waist - One that has the seam at the hips, rather than the waist. More... blouse - First a garment, usually belted at the waist, worn by peasants or workmen. More... midriff - Based on the Old English hrif, "belly," it is the front of the body between the chest and the waist. More... calypso - The style in which a shirt's tails are tied in a knot at the waist. More... | |