Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 5, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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calumnious
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Past Simple in Negative SentencesNegative sentences in the past simple tense tell the reader what did not happen. To form negative sentences in the past simple tense, what must we use before the main verb of the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MaglevMagnetic levitation, or maglev, is a method of supporting and propelling objects using magnets. Using the repellent force of superconductive magnets, vehicles, such as trains, may be suspended above a track or guideway. Continuously changing the polarity in alternate magnets causes a series of magnetic attractions and repulsions, which moves the vehicle along the track quickly and quietly. What is the highest recorded speed of a maglev train? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Construction Begins on California's Golden Gate Bridge (1933)For 27 years after its completion in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest main span in the world, stretching 4,200 ft (1,280 m). Its four-year construction, supervised by chief engineer Joseph B. Strauss, faced many difficulties, including rapidly running tides, frequent storms and fogs, and the problem of blasting rock under deep water to plant earthquake-resistant foundations. Considered a modern wonder, the bridge spans the Golden Gate, a strait that links what two bodies of water? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Shah Jahan (1592)Shah Jahan succeeded to the throne of India's Mughal Empire in 1628 and ruled for 30 years. His reign was notable for its successes against the Deccan states. Though attempts to reconquer lost territory almost bankrupted the empire, his reign marked the zenith of Mughal court splendor and ushered in the golden age of Mughal art and architecture. Considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal was built in memory of his beloved wife. Who deposed and imprisoned him in 1658? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so universal as death, should ever have been designed by providence as an evil to mankind.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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look on the sunny side (of life/things)— To view one's life, situation, or circumstances with a generally optimistic and cheerful attitude; to focus on what is positive in life. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Víspera de Día de los Tres Reyes (Eve of Three Kings Day) (2025)Throughout most of Latin America and Spain, Epiphany is called el Día de los Tres Reyes (Three Kings Day). In Mexico, on the night of January 5, children stuff their shoes with hay and leave them out for the Wise Men to fill with sweets and gifts—much as children elsewhere leave their Christmas stockings out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. And just as letters to Santa are a popular custom in the United States, Mexican children often write letters to the Magi (the Three Wise Men), listing their good deeds and suggesting what gifts they would like to receive. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: removalbeheadment - The removal of an initial letter of a word to form a new word (e.g. blather becomes lather). More... curtailment - The removal of the last letter of a word to leave another word (e.g. goon becomes goo). More... detail - Comes from French de-, "removal," and tailler, "cut in pieces," and means "to relate or describe minutely." More... water softening - The removal of calcium and magnesium ions from water, or their replacement with sodium, either by chemical reaction or by ion exchange. More... | |