Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, July 11, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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PeriodsThe period (also known as a full stop, especially in British English) is a punctuation mark ( . ) primarily used to indicate the end of a sentence. When typing, how many spaces should be used after a period? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Yuan ChonghuanA famed military commander of the Ming Dynasty in the final years before it was toppled by the Manchurians, Yuan Chonghuan excelled in the use of artillery and brilliantly incorporated Western tactics into his battles. Despite being vastly outnumbered in the 1626 Battle of Ningyuan, his forces defeated those of Manchurian general Nurhaci. Still, rumors that he had collaborated with the enemy spread after he repelled an attack on Beijing in 1629, and he was executed. Who was behind the rumors? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 UK Court Finds Gay News and Its Editor Guilty of Blasphemy (1977)The June 3, 1976, issue of the British newspaper Gay News included James Kirkup's poem "The Love that Dares to Speak Its Name," which depicts Jesus as a homosexual. Mary Whitehouse—a media watchdog known for her "Clean Up TV" campaign—described the poem as a "blasphemous libel" and sought charges against Gay News and its publisher, Denis Lemon. On July 11, 1977, a jury found Lemon guilty, and his later appeal to the House of Lords was unsuccessful. What was Lemon's sentence? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elwyn Brooks "E. B." White (1899)After starting his writing career as a reporter, White settled in New York and became known for his impeccable prose style as a contributing editor of New Yorker magazine. Talented in diverse genres, he collaborated with James Thurber on satire, wrote the classic children's books Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, and revised William Strunk Jr.'s grammar and composition text The Elements of Style, which became a definitive writing guide. How did White know Strunk? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Friendships begin with liking or gratitude — roots that can be pulled up.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be a long shot— To be very risky, uncertain, or unlikely to succeed. (Of an attempt, proposition, or guess.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Naadam (2021)This Mongolian festival, sometimes spelled Nadaam, spotlights three major sports events. Its history goes back to the 13th century; today, it is held from July 11-13 in provinces throughout the country. The fairs bring together the nomadic people, who pitch a city of yurts or gers (felt tents). Wrestling is usually the first event, the second sport is archery, and the last of the traditional sporting events is horse racing. When night falls, a bowed stringed instrument called a matouqin is played, and people sit by their yurts talking, dancing, and drinking aromatic butter tea and kumys. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: orbitapsis - The extreme point of an orbit. More... eccentric - First meant "not concentric" as it referred to an orbit in which the Earth was not precisely in the center or straying from a circular path; the area where two circles overlap is the eccentric. More... exorbitant - Originally a legal term for a case outside of the scope of a law; since it implies going "out of orbit," it also first meant "deviating from the true path." More... orbit - First meant "eye socket"; the eye is located in the eye socket or orbit. More... | |