Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Subjunctive MoodThe subjunctive mood refers to verbs that are used to describe hypothetical or non-real actions, events, or situations. Verbs do not have different forms to express the subjunctive mood in English. What is done to them to convey the meaning we wish to achieve? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Naked-Eye PlanetsThe naked-eye planets are the five planets in our solar system that can be observed without any optical aid: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The five planets closest to Earth, they were the only ones known to the ancients before the development of the telescope. Grouped together with the Sun and the Moon, they form what some cultures call the seven heavenly objects. Ancient cultures' knowledge of the heavens can be seen in the word "planet," which comes from a Greek term meaning what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Indian Ocean Tsunami Strikes (2004)A tsunami is a series of massive waves generated when a body of water is rapidly displaced. The deadliest tsunami in recorded history, the Indian Ocean tsunami killed some 230,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries as far away as Somalia on the Horn of Africa. It was triggered by an undersea earthquake near Sumatra with a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3 and inundated coastal communities with waves up to 100 ft (30 m) high. How far away were the effects felt? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Dewey (1837)Dewey was an American admiral and a hero of the Battle of Manila. He graduated from the US Naval Academy and served with Union naval forces in the American Civil War. In the Spanish-American War (1898), his Asiatic Squadron sailed to the Philippines and defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay, destroying eight Spanish ships in six hours and suffering only one American fatality. His victory led to the US acquisition of the Philippines. What rank did Congress create for him in 1899? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, and the third is useless.Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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long pig— obsolete Human flesh when eaten as food by cannibals. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kwanzaa (2020)Kwanzaa is an African-American celebration of family and black culture. Each day is dedicated to one of seven principles: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith). Families gather in the evenings to discuss the principle of the day, and then light a black, red, or green candle and place it in a candleholder called a kinara. On the evening of Dec. 31, families join for a feast called the karamu. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: spendscabbage pounder - An inept golfer who spends a lot of time in the rough. More... carpet knight - A knight who spends his time in luxury and idleness—knighted on the carpet at court rather than on the field of battle. More... mouse potato - A person who spends too much time on the computer, patterned on couch potato. More... spendthrift - One who spends the "thrift" or earnings/wealth of another. More... | |