Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, October 20, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lectern
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past Simple TenseThe past simple tense (also called the simple past tense, or simply the past simple) is used to express completed actions. The past simple is often used with what other part of speech? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Portrait of Madame XAmerican painter John Singer Sargent, at one time the world's most famous and highly paid portrait painter, is best known for his portraits of American and English social celebrities. In 1884, before he had achieved acclaim, a scandal erupted when he exhibited Portrait of Madame X in Paris. In it, socialite Madame Gautreau is shown wearing a low-cut gown that critics deemed erotic. Paris was offended, Gautreau refused the painting, and Sargent moved to London. Where is the painting today? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Anglo-American Convention (1818)The Anglo-American Convention was a treaty signed in 1818 between the US and UK resolving their standing border issues and allowing for joint rights to the Oregon Country. Though it marked the beginning of improved relations between the two countries, tensions remained over the shared territory in Oregon. The British-chartered Hudson's Bay Company had already established a trading network there and sought to exclude US fur traders. What harsh policy did they implement to ward off competition? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Arthur Rimbaud (1854)Rimbaud may have put down his pen when he was just 19 to lead an international vagabond life as a merchant and trader, but in his few years as a poet, the precocious young Frenchman managed to create a literary legacy that would have a lasting influence on the symbolists and subsequent modern poets. He put his verbal virtuosity on display in works like "The Drunken Boat," A Season in Hell, and Illuminations. Who shot and wounded Rimbaud during one of their many lovers' quarrels? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind, that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception of more general opinions.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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curse (someone or something) under (one's) breath— To say threatening, consternated, or disgruntled remarks (toward someone or something) in a very soft or indistinct voice, such that no one else can hear or understand them clearly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 The Birth of the Bab (2021)The Birth of the Bab is a holy day in the Baha'i religion to celebrate the birthday in 1819 of Mirza Ali Mohammad in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran). In 1844, Mirza Ali declared himself the Bab (meaning "gate") and foretold the coming of one greater than he. The day, on which work is suspended, is a happy social occasion for Baha'is. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sunsetoccultation - One of its meanings is "the disappearance from view of a star or planet in the sun's rays after sunset or before sunrise, when the star or planet is above the horizon." More... acronical - Means happening at sunset or twilight. More... antitwilight - The sky's pink or purple glow after sunset. More... evening - Its Old English base meant "grow towards night," as evening extends from sunset to dark. More... | |