Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 2, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lustrous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Misplaced ModifiersWhen we use participles as adjectives, it's important that the noun modified is clearly stated and that the participle appears as close to it as possible. Otherwise, we run the risk of having a "misplaced modifier," which is what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HeshenHeshen was an 18th-century Manchu official who has come to symbolize the corruption of China's Qing dynasty. A favorite of the emperor, he rose from bodyguard to grand councilor and minister of the imperial household in just two years, at which point he took to extorting and embezzling on a grand scale. His associates, whom he had given political appointments, followed his example, thus beginning a century of corruption that led to the dynasty’s downfall. Why did he enjoy the emperor’s favor? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Suicidal Monk Sets Fire to Kyoto's Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1950)Originally a statesman's villa, Kyoto's Temple of the Golden Pavilion has an exterior of gold leaf and is situated on a pond in a lush Japanese garden. The building narrowly avoided destruction many times in its long history, but in 1950, a young Buddhist monk set fire to it during a suicide attempt. He survived and was sentenced to seven years in prison. In 1955, the temple was rebuilt true to its original appearance. That same year, the arsonist was released from prison early for what reason? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hermann Hesse (1877)Hesse was German novelist and poet who wrote about the individual's search for spiritual fulfillment, often through mysticism. His major works include Siddhartha and Steppenwolf. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. At around the time of his death in 1962, his novels began to enjoy a revival of popularity due to their association with some of the themes of the 1960s counterculture movement. What fellow German writers did Hesse help to escape from the Nazis? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What they do in heaven we are ignorant of; what they do not do we are told expressly.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be on (one's) best behavior— To be very polite or exercise exceptionally good manners. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of American Folklife (2019)Since 1967, the Festival of American Folklife has been held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the richness and diversity of American and world cultures, emphasizing folk, tribal, ethnic, and regional traditions in communities throughout the U.S. and abroad. Recent festival programs have included musicians from the former Soviet Union, demonstrations of African-American coil basketry and Italian-American stone-carving, and the performance of a Japanese rice-planting ritual. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: prosperityland of milk and honey - In the Bible, a land of prosperity and plenty promised by God to the Israelites. More... pumpkin time - The end of prosperity and a return to normal. More... thrift - First meant "acquired wealth, prosperity, success." More... welfare - Originally the phrase wel fare—first meaning "happiness" or "prosperity." More... | |