Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 24, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Present Simple TenseThe present simple tense is used when we speak about habits, general facts, and timetables. Does something have to be occurring in the present moment in time for it to be in the present simple tense? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Mummers PlaysMummers plays, developed in England in the 17th century, are a form of traditional dramatic entertainment based on the legend of St. George and the dragon. The central theme of these plays, which are still performed in parts of Britain around Christmastime, is the death of a hero who is restored to life by a doctor. The word "mummer" has been linked to words such as mumble and mute and non-English words meaning what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Ascent of the Eiger's North Face (1938)Switzerland's Eiger mountain was first summited in 1858, but the sheer north face of the 13,025-foot (3,970-m) Alpine peak was not successfully climbed until 1938, when two independent pairs of climbers met on the face, joined forces, and reached the summit as a team. It has been climbed many times since, sadly with many fatalities, which, due to the cliff's high visibility, occur in full view of nearby villages. Since 1935, how many people have died climbing the Eiger's so-called Murder Wall? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alexandre Dumas (1802)Dumas was a largely self-educated French novelist and dramatist whose highly romantic novels immortalizing the adventures of the Three Musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo have delighted many generations of readers. These historical novels, written with the aid of collaborators, are often scorned by critics, who find them lacking in style and characterization, but they have had enormous popularity. In 2005, Dumas's recently discovered last novel was published. Who wrote its final chapters? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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pay (one's) last respects— To show or express one's respect for someone who has died, especially by attending their funeral, wake, memorial service, etc. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 World Santa Claus Congress (2019)The World Santa Claus Congress is held every July at the Bakken amusement park in Klampenborg, Denmark. The three-day event typically brings together more than 100 Santa Clauses from more than a dozen countries, including Japan and Venezuela, discussing such subjects as how to walk like, laugh like, and exude the generous spirit of Santa Claus. They dance around a Christmas tree and enjoy a traditional Danish Christmas feast of roast pork, cabbage and rice pudding. By tradition, the Santas also travel by antique fire engines and buses to a nearby beach for an annual dip in the sea. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: quietcoy, quiet - Coy and quiet derive from Latin quietus, "at rest, in repose," with coy coming from the Old French form coi (earlier quei), and quiet coming straight from Latin; the original sense of coy was "quiet, still." More... conticent - If something is hushed or quiet, it is conticent. More... q.t. - An abbreviation for "quiet," as in, on the q.t. (or QT). More... wildtrack, room tone - The wildtrack or room tone consists of the barely audible noises that make up a background sense of quiet. More... | |