Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 27, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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benignant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Comparative Degree of AdjectivesAdjectives describe a quality or characteristic of a noun or pronoun. The basic form of an adjective is sometimes known as the "positive degree." But adjectives can also be inflected (changed in form) to the "comparative degree." When is the comparative degree used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The GeysersLocated in the Mayacamas Mountains north of San Francisco, California, The Geysers is a complex of geothermal power plants that draw steam from more than 350 wells. Discovered in 1847, the area became the site of the first commercial geothermal electric plant in the US in 1960. Today, it boasts the largest complex of such plants in the world. The steam is produced by a magma chamber heating water underground, but the features that gave The Geysers its name are not really geysers. What are they? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Edwin Drake Strikes Oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania (1859)In the late 1850s, Drake hired a salt well driller to start digging on a piece of land near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Though oil was known to exist nearby, there was no practical way to extract it, and its primary use was in medicine. In August 1859, Drake struck oil at a depth of 69 feet (21 m), an event that marked the birth of the oil industry. Once a quiet village, Titusville became a bustling town as prospectors flocked to the area. What disaster struck the town more than once? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles Stewart Rolls (1877)A member of the British aristocracy, Rolls developed an interest in engines and cars while studying at Cambridge. He became the first person there to have a car—a Peugeot—and, in 1902, he went into the automobile sales business. Striking a deal with manufacturer Frederick Royce in 1906, he co-founded the Rolls-Royce automobile company, which quickly earned a reputation for its engineering. In 1910, at the age of 32, Rolls became the first Briton to die in what unusual way? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I am Envy...I cannot read and therefore wish all books burned.Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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honours are even— Both sides are equally matched; the contest is equal or level; neither side has been victorious. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dai-Chochin Matsuri (Lantern Festival) (2020)Chochin are cylindrical lanterns made out of paper stretched over a split bamboo frame. One of the best-known Chochin festivals is held on August 26-27 in Isshiki, Aichi Prefecture. The primary attractions are 12 huge chochin, each about 30 feet high and 18 feet across, that are hoisted by means of pulleys up three huge pillars at the Suwa Shrine. As night nears, priests begin to illuminate the lanterns—a process that may take several hours. At the end of the festival the lanterns are lowered after religious dances and songs have been offered. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mountainsmassif - A compact group of mountains or a mountain range section; it first meant "building block" and the word massive is derived from that. More... Idaho - Shoshone for "light on mountains." More... orogenesis, orogeny - Orogenesis is the formation of mountains (Greek oros) and orogeny is the process by which mountains are formed. More... ultramontane - Means "beyond the mountains." More... | |