Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, November 7, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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foregather
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Verbs that Indicate AbilityBecause modal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, it is sometimes unclear when it's more appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, "can" and "could" can both be used to indicate physical, mental, or functional ability in doing something. What is the difference between "can" and "could"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Lowell Mill GirlsSituated on the Merrimack River, the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, was home to dozens of textile mills in the mid-19th century. Attracted by the promise of high wages, thousands of young women came to the mills for work. Living and working together in close quarters, they developed a distinct community. When profits declined, hours were increased, wages were lowered, and the women organized strikes and started a labor reform organization. In 1853, their workday was shortened to how many hours? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Tippecanoe (1811)The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought between US forces and the forces of Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader who sought to stem US expansion by establishing a confederacy of Native American tribes. Led by Tecumseh's brother, the Shawnee attacked US forces camped near their village. Both sides suffered similar losses, but the battle dealt a serious blow to the Native American military movement and was ultimately considered a victory for the US. What was done to the bodies of the fallen after the battle? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Albert Camus (1913)Camus was an Algerian-French novelist, essayist, and playwright. He spent the war years in Paris, and the French Resistance brought him into the circle of Jean-Paul Sartre and existentialism. In 1942, he became a leading literary figure with his enigmatic first novel, The Stranger, a study of 20th-century alienation, and the philosophical essay "The Myth of Sisyphus," an analysis of contemporary nihilism and the concept of the absurd. What else did Camus write? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke.Herman Melville (1819-1891) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hit (someone) when (he or she) is down— To criticize, exploit, insult, or otherwise treat badly someone who has already suffered a setback or is in a vulnerable position. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Revolution Day (2024)Revolution Day commemorates the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government by seizing power in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg, later named Leningrad, and renamed St. Petersburg in 1991, after the collapse of the Communist Party). The coup took place on November 7 (October 25 on the Julian calendar) and through the years was celebrated as a national holiday marking the start of the Soviet regime. All this ended in 1991 with the Soviet Union's disintegration. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: secondsblipvert - A TV advertisement of a few seconds' length. More... centiday - A period of 14 minutes 24 seconds, a hundredth of a day, used especially in the study of plant growth. More... fireflies, lightning bug - Fireflies glow for a while but die down; lightning bugs flash their taillights for only a few seconds and never in the same place twice. More... | |