Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 27, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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appellation
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Past Perfect Continuous for Interrupted ActionsThe most common use of the past perfect continuous tense is to describe an action that was in progress in the past before another past action or event occurred. Can you identify the past perfect continuous in the following sentence? "I had been teaching English in Tokyo when the earthquake hit." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 OndineIn folklore, an ondine is a female water nymph who can acquire a soul by marrying a human man and bearing a child. The legend is the subject of many works of fiction, including German novelist Baron de La Motte-Fouqué's fairy tale Undine and French dramatist Jean Giraudoux's play Ondine. In some versions of the myth, Ondine curses an unfaithful partner to stop breathing if he ever falls asleep. This tale gives its name to Ondine's curse, a real medical condition involving what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Song Dynasty General Yue Fei Is Executed (1142)One of China's greatest generals and patriotic heroes, Yue helped establish a southern foothold for the Song dynasty while preventing the advance of the Juchen, who had taken the former Song capital in the north. However, his attempt to recapture the lost territory was opposed by one of the emperor's counselors, who earned a reputation as a traitor for relinquishing the north to the Juchen and having Yue executed. According to legend, what phrase did Yue's mother tattoo across his back? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Donna Reed (1921)Reed was an American film and television actress. In 1946, she starred in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, playing Mary Bailey—the wife of James Stewart's character, George Bailey. She went on to win the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in From Here to Eternity and later received a Golden Globe for Best Female TV Star for her performance as Donna Stone in The Donna Reed Show. Why did Reed once sue the producers of the TV show Dallas? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All architecture is great architecture after sunset; perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lower the bar— To lower the standards of quality that are expected of or required for something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Birthday of Mozart (2025)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on this day in 1756. His achievements in composing operas, chamber music, symphonies, and piano concerti have earned him a reputation as one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. Mozart's birthday is observed by musical societies all over the world, who often give concerts of his music on this day. The city of his birth also honors him at the end of January with Mozart Week. 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... | |