Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, November 2, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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depute
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Past Perfect Continuous for Past Durations of TimeWe can use the past perfect continuous tense to describe the duration of continuous past action. The meaning is very similar to the present perfect continuous tense in this way. However, whereas the present perfect continuous describes an action that was happening up until the present moment, the past perfect continuous highlights what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Cataract SurgeryA cataract is an opacity of the lens of the eye, which can cause impaired vision or blindness. Because cataracts are a common result of normal aging, most people over age 60 have cataracts to some degree. In fact, cataract surgery is the most common surgical procedure in the US. One early remedy, developed thousands of years ago, involved using a needle to pierce the eye and push the lens out of the field of vision. In what regions is this dangerous, often blinding, technique still employed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Major Internet-Distributed Computer Worm Launched (1988)In 1988, Cornell University student Robert Morris launched a program supposedly aimed at measuring the size of the Internet. He had designed the ostensibly harmless program to count the computers connected to the small but growing Web by copying itself to each unit. Due to a design flaw, however, the program spread wildly, repeatedly copying itself to some computers and rendering them useless. A large part of the Internet was affected by the so-called Morris worm. What was Morris's punishment? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Knox Polk (1795)A native southerner and friend of Andrew Jackson, Polk was elected president of the US in 1845. During his administration, the US made large territorial gains. Polk peacefully negotiated the Oregon border dispute with Britain, while the US victory in the Mexican War secured much of the West. Though an efficient and competent president, Polk was exhausted by the time he left office, and he died three months later. Despite his happy marriage, he had no children. What likely rendered him sterile? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I is the first letter of the alphabet, the first word of the language, the first thought of the mind, the first object of affection.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a fit— To become very or unreasonably angry or upset; to have an outburst of rage, frustration, or ill temper. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Balfour Declaration Day (2024)On November 2, 1917, Arthur J. Balfour, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, sent a letter to Lord Rothschild indicating that the British government was in favor of establishing a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Although this may not seem to be as significant an event as Israel Independence Day, the Jewish people felt that the British government's commitment to their cause was very important. The day on which it was made has been kept as a semi-holiday ever since. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: rowwindbreak - A row of trees acting as a fence. More... acrostic - From Greek akron, "end," and stikhos, "row, line of verse." More... queue - Has the forms queued and queuing or queueing; queueing has five vowels in a row. More... row - The verb comes from Germanic ro-, "steer," and row, "orderly line," which is from Germanic raigwa. More... | |