Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 2, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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washed-out
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Verbs that Indicate AbilityBecause modal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, it is sometimes unclear when it's more appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, "can" and "could" can both be used to indicate physical, mental, or functional ability in doing something. What is the difference between "can" and "could"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Ardashir IArdashir I was the founder of the last pre-Islamic Persian dynasty, the Sassanid dynasty, which began in 224 CE and ended with the Arab conquest in 651. At its peak, the Sassanid Empire stretched from the Arabian peninsula to India. Ardashir established Zoroastrianism as the state religion and strengthened it by collecting sacred texts and empowering the priestly caste. In the latter years of his reign, he invaded what nearby Parthian kingdom allied with Persia's great rival to the west, Rome? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 As the World Turns Premieres (1956)Soap operas began in the early 1930s as 15-minute radio episodes and continued in that format when they began appearing on TV in the early 1950s. As the World Turns premiered as the first half-hour TV soap. The show, which primarily focused on two professional families in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, ran for 54 years and aired nearly 14,000 episodes. For 20 of those years, it was most-watched daytime drama in the US. What interrupted a live broadcast of the show in 1963? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Émile François Zola (1840)Zola was the founder of French naturalism, a literary school that maintained that novel-writing should be scientific, appraising reality in terms of natural forces such as heredity or environment. Inspired by his readings in sociology and medicine, he applied his theory in a vast series of novels in which the characters are impartially observed and presented in minute, often sordid, detail. Zola also had an ardent zeal for social reform. He died in his sleep under what suspicious circumstances? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The stains of her grief became her as raindrops do the beaten rose.Edith Wharton (1862-1937) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have got to (do something)— To be obligated, obliged, or required to (do something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Pascua Florida Day (2020)Although no one knows for certain the date on which Ponce de León landed at Florida in 1513, it is widely believed that he first stepped ashore on April 2. He named the land Pascua Florida because it was Eastertime. Pascua is a Spanish word meaning "Easter," and Florida means "flowering" or "full of flowers." The Florida state legislature designated April 2 Florida State Day in 1953. The week ending on April 2 is known as Pascua Florida Week, a time when people are encouraged to attend special programs devoted to the area's discovery and history. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lampfinial - The decorative knob on the top of a lamp, holding the shade on. More... pendeloque - A pear-shaped glass (crystal) pendant on a lamp or chandelier. More... lantern - Traces back to Greek lucerna, "lamp." More... match - First meant "wick of a candle or lamp" or "spout of a lamp" before it was the item used to light candles and lamps. More... | |