Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 14, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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kowtow
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Gerunds as Objects of PrepositionsGerunds are used as the objects of prepositions to describe an action that modifies another action, thus creating adverbial prepositional phrases. These can occur at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence. What is the adverbial prepositional phrase in the following sentence? "After sneezing, I always get the hiccups." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The SpleenLocated under the diaphragm on the left side of the abdominal cavity, the spleen is the organ that filters out old red blood cells and foreign organisms infecting the bloodstream. Ordinarily, the spleen's manufacture of red blood cells is taken over by bone marrow after birth, but if bone marrow breaks down, the spleen reverts to its fetal function. When additional blood is needed, the spleen contracts, forcing stored blood into circulation. Why does the spleen sometimes need to be removed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Felice Orsini Attempts to Assassinate French Emperor Napoleon III (1858)Orsini was an Italian revolutionary in the movement for Italian unification. In 1858, he made an attempt on the life of Napoleon III, whom he held responsible for the failure of the Italian revolutions of 1848 to 1849. Although ably defended by French statesman Jules Favre, Orsini was executed. His act, designed to arouse world interest in the Italian cause, paradoxically influenced Napoleon's own decision to intervene in favor of Italian unification. How did Orsini try to kill Napoleon? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Berthe Morisot (1841)Morisot was a French impressionist painter best known for her loose brushwork and the sensitivity she brought to her female subjects. She studied with many gifted painters, including Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, and was highly influenced by Édouard Manet, whose brother she later married. She exhibited regularly with the Impressionists, and although none of her exhibits proved commercially successful, she outsold Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. What are some of her best known paintings? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lose (one's) faith (in something or someone)— To stop believing (in someone or something); to become disillusioned, embittered, or doubtful (about something or someone). (When said simply as "lose faith," it is often in reference to losing religious faith in God.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ratification Day (2025)Though most people associate the end of the American Revolution with the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the war was not officially ended until the Treaty of Paris was ratified on January 14, 1784. The Old Senate Chamber in the Maryland State House at Annapolis has been preserved exactly as it was when the ratification took place. On Ratification Day, the ceremony that takes place inside varies from year to year, but it often revolves around a particular aspect of the original event. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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