Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, November 12, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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borderland
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Imperative SentencesWe use imperative sentences to give orders, commands, and general instructions. Such sentences are said to be in what mood? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Running the GauntletThe phrase "running the gauntlet" is used figuratively today to mean enduring a series of punishments or tests. It derives from the Roman form of military execution known as fustuarium, in which a soldier found guilty of laxity was cudgeled to death by his comrades. In some later traditions, the condemned was forced to pass between two rows of armed soldiers and pardoned if he managed to exit the other side. "The gauntlet" is also a type of athletic drill used in training for what sports? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ramzi Yousef Found Guilty of Masterminding 1993 World Trade Center Bombing (1997)In 1993, terrorists detonated a car-bomb in an underground garage of the World Trade Center complex in New York City, killing six, injuring more than a thousand, and causing more than $300 million in damage. In all, ten militant Islamist conspirators were convicted of involvement in the bombing, including Yousef, who also bombed an important Shia shrine in Iran in 1994 and later planned a large-scale terrorist scheme that included killing the pope. What alleged 9-11 mastermind is Yousef's uncle? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Grace Kelly (1929)Kelly was an American actress who gained critical and popular praise for her performances in High Noon and The Country Girl, for which she won an Academy Award. She also starred in three Alfred Hitchcock films but cut short her promising acting career in 1956 when she married Prince Rainier III, becoming Princess Grace of Monaco and retiring from acting. In 1982, she died in an accident after suffering a stroke while driving on a mountain road. How did she and Prince Rainier meet? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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fork over the dough— To pay, generally unwillingly, a certain amount of money. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Birthday of Sun Yat-sen (2019)Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) was the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang). He served as the first provisional president of the Republic of China (1911-12) and later as its de facto ruler (1923-25). Because he possessed an exceptionally broad knowledge of the West and developed a grand plan for China's industrialization, he is known as "the father of modern China." Sun Yat-sen's birthday is a holiday in Taiwan. The anniversary of his death, March 12, is observed as Arbor Day in Taiwan. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: silkfloss - A word for untwisted filaments of silk used in making embroidery or satin. More... lame - A material consisting of silk or other yarns interwoven with metallic threads. More... scroop - The rustle of silk. More... tabby - The common tabby cat derives its name from silk with a wavy pattern, from Arabic utabi, the name of the quarter in Baghdad where the silk was made. More... | |