Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 21, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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epicurean
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbial Complements and Sentence PlacementAdverbial complements always appear after the verb they complement. If the verb is intransitive, the complement will appear directly after the verb. If the verb is transitive, where will the complement appear? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BaalbekLocated in modern-day Lebanon, Baalbek is an ancient city noted for its extensive ruins. The city was identified with the worship of the Phoenician sun god Baal and called Heliopolis—city of the sun—by the Greeks. It became a Roman colony under Augustus, and work began there on some of the largest temples in the Roman Empire. It was later sacked by invaders and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1759. In the 6th century, eight columns were disassembled and sent to Constantinople for what purpose? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Lowest Temperature in History Recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica (1983)Located near the magnetic South Pole, Russia's Vostok Research Station in Antarctica experiences three straight months of polar night every year from April to August, a period during which the Sun does not rise. In 1983, in the dead of southern winter and polar night, Vostok experienced the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, a chilling -128.56 degrees F (-89.2 degrees C). December 1989 was the warmest month ever recorded at Vostok. On average, how warm was it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Isaac Stern (1920)Born in Ukraine, Stern came to the US as an infant and began studying violin as a child. He made his New York debut at 17 and toured extensively after World War II. A cultural ambassador, he performed in the Soviet Union and China as one of the world's top violin virtuosos. In 1960, he formed a famous trio with pianist Eugene Istomin and cellist Leonard Rose. Stern helped establish the National Endowment for the Arts and is noted for having saved what landmark institution from demolition? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I dare say I am compelled, unconsciously compelled, now to write volume after volume, as in past years I was compelled to go to sea, voyage after voyage. Leaves must follow upon each other as leagues used to follow in the days gone by, on and on to the appointed end, which, being truth itself, is one—one for all men and for all occupations.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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out of (one's) shell— Less shy, reserved, or reticent and in a more sociable, outgoing, or enthusiastic state. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hemingway Days Festival (2022)This week-long celebration of Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), the American novelist and short-story writer, is held in Key West, Florida. The festival has been held since 1980 during the week of Hemingway's birthday, July 21. Hemingway made his home in Key West at one time, and his novel, To Have and Have Not (1937), is set there. Events include a street fair, a Hemingway look-alike contest, a fishing tournament, an arm-wrestling competition, and a party and concert at the Hemingway Home and Museum. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: measuringcord - An amount of wood containing 128 cubic feet (4x4x8 feet); the name comes from the old practice of measuring a stack of firewood with a cord of a certain length. To cord is to stack or put up wood in cords. More... drosometer - An instrument for measuring the amount of dew on a surface. More... isometric - From Latin isus, "equal," and -metria, "measuring." More... Mach - The scale measuring the speed of an object or fluid relative to the speed of sound is named for philosopher/physicist Ernst Mach (1838-1916), who researched thermodynamics; Mach is the ratio of the speed of something to the speed of sound in the surrounding medium. More... | |