Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, May 31, 2015)Word of the Day | |||||||
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panache
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Complex SentencesComplex sentences are made up of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. What introduces and links the dependent clause to the independent clause? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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![]() Hannah SzenesDuring World War II, Hannah Szenes was one of 17 Jews living in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine who were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia to help save the Jews of Hungary. She was arrested at the Hungarian border, imprisoned, tortured, and eventually executed. Szenes is regarded as a national heroine in Israel, where streets are named after her and her poetry is widely known. One of her songs was used to close versions of what film? More... |
This Day in History | |
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![]() Copyright Act of 1790 Signed into US Law (1790)After the US Constitution was ratified in 1788, one of the first issues that the fledgling government faced was the lack of a copyright law. Without it, Congress would be swamped with individual petitions for protection from piracy. Modeled on Britain's Statute of Anne, the Copyright Act of 1790 was soon signed into law by President Washington. Instituted to encourage learning by securing US authors the sole rights to their work for 14-year periods, it drew what complaint from Charles Dickens? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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![]() Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443)Beaufort was an English noblewoman, wife of Edmund Tudor, and the mother of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor Dynasty. She gave birth to Henry at 13, shortly after being widowed, and developed a close bond with her only child. Renowned for her philanthropy, she endowed professorships of divinity at Oxford and Cambridge and with the help of her confessor, John Fisher, founded Christ's College and St. John's College, Cambridge. She later acted as regent for Henry VIII. How many times did she marry? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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![]() Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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have the wind up— To be very anxious, upset, or frightened. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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![]() Festa do Divino (Festival of the Divine Holy Spirit) (2020)Portuguese colonists brought their Pentecost celebration, the Festa do Divino, to Brazil in the 17th century. This religious festival is still celebrated today in many Brazilian cities. In Alcântara, Maranhão State, and Paraty, Rio de Janeiro State, the townspeople dress up in colonial costumes of figures from Brazilian history. The climax is a visit from the "Emperor," who arrives with his servants for a procession and mass at the church square. He symbolically frees prisoners from the town jail, and strolling musicians known as Folias do Divino serenade the townspeople. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: waistdrop waist - One that has the seam at the hips, rather than the waist. More... blouse - First a garment, usually belted at the waist, worn by peasants or workmen. More... midriff - Based on the Old English hrif, "belly," it is the front of the body between the chest and the waist. More... calypso - The style in which a shirt's tails are tied in a knot at the waist. More... |