Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, April 17, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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swarthy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Nouns of AddressNouns of address (also known as vocatives, nominatives of address, or nouns of direct address) identify the person or group being directly spoken to. Like interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—that is, they don’t modify or affect any other part of it. Instead, they are used to let the listener or reader know who you are addressing, or to do what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Sword of Gou JianIn 1965, archeologists excavating ancient tombs in Hubei, China, discovered a bronze sword sheathed tightly in a wooden scabbard. The weapon had been in a wet, underground tomb for over 2,000 years, yet the blade remained untarnished and sharp. Scientists, amazed by the sword's resilience, tested it to determine its chemical composition and found it to be an alloy of six metals. What does the “text of birds and worms” inscribed on the blade tell historians about the artifact? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Last French Troops Leave Syria (1946)Though France proclaimed Syria an independent republic in 1941, its troops were not withdrawn until 1946, after over 25 years of occupation. The occupation began in 1920, when the League of Nations gave the French a mandate over the Levant States—roughly present-day Syria and Lebanon. Within years, the Syrian resistance to French colonial rule became a full-scale revolt. A 1936 treaty promised Syrian independence, but it did not come to fruition. What finally brought about the occupation's end? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Artur Schnabel (1882)Schnabel was an Austrian-American pianist best known for his interpretations of Beethoven's piano works. Based in Berlin from 1900 to 1933, he composed, taught, and gave legendary performances of the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert for centenary celebrations. In the 1930s, he became the first to record the complete Beethoven cycle. During the Nazi period, he moved to London, then to the US. Though his own compositions are less known, they are revered by serious pianists. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Buy an annuity cheap, and make your life interesting to yourself and everybody else that watches the speculation.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (got) (someone's) back— To be willing and prepared to help or defend someone; to look out for someone in case he or she needs assistance. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Verrazano Day (2016)Observed in New York state, Verrazano Day commemorates the discovery of New York Harbor by the Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazano on April 17, 1524. With the backing of King Francis I of France, Verrazano sailed his ship to the New World, reaching the Carolina coast in March 1524, and then sailing northward, exploring the eastern coast of North America. He also discovered Block Island and Narragansett Bay in what is now Rhode Island. In naming the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York gave Verrazano official recognition. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sluggishlusk - Means lazy or sluggish. More... phlegmatic - First meant "abounding in phlegm" and now more commonly means "not easily excited; lacking enthusiasm; dull, sluggish"—supposedly the type of character one has from having an overabundance of phlegm. More... sulk - A back-formation of sulky, from obsolete sulke, "sluggish." More... | |