Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 22, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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recant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining ConjunctionsConjunctions are used to express relationships between things in a sentence, link different clauses together, and to combine sentences. By using different kinds of conjunctions, we are able to make more complex, sophisticated sentences that show a connection between actions and ideas. How many main types of conjunctions are there? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Korean WinesIn Korea, the tradition of brewing alcoholic beverages, known as ju, is a long and proud one. These beverages are generally made from rice, a major Korean crop. The many varieties of ju include liquors and fruit, flower, and medicinal wines. One variety, called ihwaju, or "pear blossom wine," is brewed with rice malt fermented during the pear blossom season, a process that often produces a liquid so thick that it must be consumed in what way? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 London Police Kill Commuter, Sparking Furor (2005)The day before this controversial police shooting, four suicide bombing attempts on London's transport system failed, sparking a massive manhunt for the escaped bombers. With the perpetrators still at large, commuters returned to the tube. On July 22, police at the Stockwell tube station shot and killed 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes, whom they mistook for suspected bomber Hussain Osman. What police protocol for dealing with suspected suicide bombers was criticized after the tragic mistake? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henryk Goldszmit, AKA Janusz Korczak (1878)Goldszmit was a Jewish doctor and author of children's literature who wrote under the pen name Janusz Korczak. In 1912, he established an orphanage in Warsaw. When World War II broke out, he refused to flee the Nazis and continued to care for the children even after his orphanage was forced to move into the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940. In August 1942, Nazi soldiers came with orders to take all the children and workers in the orphanage to the Treblinka concentration camp. What happened to Korczak? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be on (the) air— To be broadcasting live, as on television or radio. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tisha b'Av (2018)The Jewish Fast of Av is a period of fasting, lamentation, and prayer in memory of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. When the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple in 586 BCE, the Jews rebuilt it, but continued the fast day. Then the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, and a long period of exile began for the Jews. The nine days from the beginning of Av through Tisha b'Av mark a period of intense mourning for the various disasters and tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: remoteremote - From Latin remotus, the past participle of removere, "remove." More... remote sensing - The scanning of the earth by satellite or aircraft to obtain information about it. More... devious - Its literal meaning is "out of the way," from Latin de via—applied to a place that was remote because it was off the main road. More... remote control - The term existed by 1904, and the shortened version, remote, was used in print by 1966. More... | |
| In the News | |
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How Do Hummingbirds Navigate at Such High Speeds?Hummingbirds dart around in colorful blurs, twisting and turning their flight and stopping on a dime, all at top speeds. Anna's hummingbird, native to the West Coast of North America, can even clock in at speeds of over 60 miles an hour. Humans traveling at ... More... | |