Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, June 12, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unflinching
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ModifiersModifiers are, quite simply, any word or group of words that modifies (describes or elaborates upon) another element in a sentence. Modifiers can either be adjectives or what other part of speech? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The PhotophoneThough Alexander Graham Bell is best known for his telephone, he was proudest of his photophone, a device that uses rays of light to transmit sound. He made the first wireless call with it in 1880 and was so smitten with the invention that, to his wife's dismay, he wanted to name his second daughter "Photophone." Although outdoor interference from rain and clouds made the device impractical and it never caught on, it is considered the precursor to what modern method of information transfer? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Boris Yeltsin Elected President of Russia (1991)Yeltsin served as Russia's first democratically elected president. He directed the Russian Federation's secession from the USSR and the formation of a new, decentralized confederation, the Commonwealth of Independent States, with himself as its leader. As president, Yeltsin instituted a radical reform program that consisted of the mass privatization of state-run enterprises, after which the country experienced inflation, heavy taxes, and a protracted economic depression. Who succeeded Yeltsin? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Anne Frank (1929)Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who, with her parents and sister, hid from the Nazis in a secret annex above her father's Amsterdam office building for two years. Betrayed to the Germans in 1944, the Franks were deported to concentration camps, where all but father Otto perished. The diary Anne kept during their time in the annex, a work characterized by poignancy, humor, and tart observation, was later published and is now an international bestseller. Why did Otto edit out some parts of the diary? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the butt of the joke— Someone or something at whose expense an insulting or mocking joke is made. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Philippines Independence Day (2022)Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) declared the Philippines independent on June 12, 1898. But the U.S. acquired the islands in 1899, and it wasn't until July 4, 1946, that they were granted full independence. For many years, Filipinos set aside July 4 to celebrate their independence. In 1962, the date was changed to June 12. Independence Day ceremonies in Manila include a military parade and the pealing of church bells. After the ceremonies are over, Filipinos devote the remainder of the day to recreation. There are games and athletic competitions, fireworks displays, and Independence Day balls. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: poultryfowl, poultry - Chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and turkey are fowl in the wild and poultry if domesticated. More... free range - Supposed to mean that poultry is allowed to roam without being confined and is fed naturally grown crops, consuming only a vegetarian diet. More... poultry, pullet - Poultry is derived from Latin pullus, "young animal" or "chicken"; a pullet is a young hen between the ages of a chicken and a mature fowl. More... alektorophobia - Fear of chickens. More... | |