Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 10, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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abstemious
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Subjunctive MoodWhen we use the subjunctive mood to express actions that we demand, suggest, or request that someone else take, or describe something that must be the case, we use the base form of the verb. What does that mean? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Scuba DivingDeep sea diving is generally performed with the aid of a breathing apparatus. Scuba (an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) is a system that delivers air to the diver at the same pressure exerted by the surrounding water. Most scuba divers limit their descent to about 130 ft (40 m), though certain record setters have reached depths of 300 ft (91 m) or more. At depths beyond 130 ft, nitrogen narcosis may set in; how does this condition impair a diver's judgment? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Empress Elizabeth of Austria Is Assassinated (1898)Renowned for her beauty, Elizabeth of Bavaria married her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, but disliked the rigid etiquette of the Viennese court. She therefore spent much of her life wandering abroad. In 1898, an Italian anarchist stabbed the 60-year-old empress in the chest with a sharpened file while she was travelling in Geneva, killing her. Her domestic life is said to been an unhappy one, marred by family tragedies like the death of her only son in what sensational incident? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hilda Doolittle, AKA H.D. (1886)Born in Pennsylvania, Doolittle traveled to Europe in 1911 and stayed there the rest of her life. In England, under the influence of Ezra Pound, she became associated with the imagists and developed into one of the most original poets of the group. She combined classical themes with modernist techniques to create clear, impersonal, sensuous verse. Doolittle, who became an icon of the gay-rights and feminist movements after her death, was once involved in a love triangle with what other writers? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (someone's) number on it— To be considered the agent or instrument of one's fate, especially leading to death. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta de Santa Fe (2020)The Fiesta de Santa Fe is a religious and secular festival said to be the oldest such event in the country. It dates to 1712 and recalls the early history of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The festivities start the Thursday night after Labor Day with the burning of Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, a 50-foot-high effigy. Thousands watch and shout "Burn him!" when the effigy groans and asks for mercy. Fireworks announce the end of Gloom. Afterwards, spectators make their way to the plaza for the start of three days of dancing, street fairs, a grand ball, a parade, and a mass of thanksgiving. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: socialcommunity - It can refer to group of animals or plants living together and was first used to refer to a "body of commons" or a social or political entity. More... party - Latin partitum, "part, side," became party, with the senses "political group" and, in the 18th century, "social gathering." More... mores, anomie - Mores is the Latin plural of mor/mos and means "acquired customs and manners"; social and moral conventions are mores, and the lack of these is anomie. More... sociable, social, society - Sociable, social, society, etc. originate in Latin socius, "companion, fellow," or "colleague." More... | |