Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 21, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rectitude
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Active VoiceThe active voice is a type of grammatical voice in which the subject of a sentence is also the agent of the verb—that is, it performs the action expressed by the verb. Why is the active voice typically preferable to the passive voice? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Celestial SpheresThe concept of a spherical Earth was introduced by the ancient Greeks in the 6th century BCE. Hypotheses about its place in the universe soon followed. Ancient Greek philosophers imagined our motionless planet at the center of the universe, with all the celestial bodies revolving around it in a series of nested, concentric spheres. That theory dominated astronomy until the advent of the Sun-centered Copernican system in the 16th century. According to Aristotle, what moved each planet's sphere? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Marie and Pierre Curie Discover Radium (1898)Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie were working with pitchblende, a heavy mineral known to contain the radioactive element uranium, when they noticed something unusual. Somehow, the pitchblende was more radioactive than the uranium it contained. The culprit was radium, a previously unknown element present in pitchblende only in trace amounts—yet more than a million times more radioactive than uranium. What common household products contained radium until it was discovered to be dangerous? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Cicely Isabel Fairfield, AKA Dame Rebecca West (1892)One of the most highly regarded British prose writers of the 20th century, West began her career as a journalist for feminist and suffragist publications. She then served as a literary critic and political writer for American and British journals. Her admired reports on the Nuremberg Trials were collected in A Train of Powder, and her history of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, is a classic work of travel literature. Why did West have to be evacuated from her home in 1980? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not right to glory in the slain.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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it ain't over till/until the fat lady sings— The final outcome cannot be assumed or determined until a given situation, event, etc., is completely finished. ("Ain't" is a colloquial contraction of "is not.") The phrase refers to the stereotypically overweight female sopranos of the opera, particularly the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, whose aria concludes Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. It is often used in reference to organized competitions, such as sporting events, political elections, or the like. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dongji (2020)In Korea, the Winter Solstice falls during the 11th lunar month. Red bean stew with glutinous rice flour balls is a favorite seasonal dish, particularly on Dongji. This food is not only eaten as a means of warding off disease, but is also offered to the family ancestors, spread around the front door or gate of the house, and, throughout the year, prepared and taken to people who are in mourning. The color red is traditionally thought to repel evil spirits and all misfortune. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lighterdinner, supper - Dinner is the main meal of the day; supper is the last meal of the day and lighter than dinner. More... short crust - Lighter and crispier than regular pastry crust. More... spring roll - Smaller than egg rolls, they traditionally have a lighter, more delicate pastry wrap. More... etiolate - Become whiter or lighter, especially by not getting enough light. More... | |
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