Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, December 20, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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valuate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Describing a Future Fact with the Future Simple TenseThe future simple tense can be used in a few different ways to describe things that have not happened yet. What is the verb in future simple tense in the following sentence? "I will drive to work tomorrow, if you want a ride." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 LampworkingUnlike the technique of glassblowing, in which a blob of molten glass is made hollow by blowing into it through a tube, lampworking involves heating small rods of colored glass over a lamp or torch, then shaping the glass with handheld tools. It is used to make glass beads, paperweights, and other small items. The practice developed in Italy during the Renaissance, and in later centuries was used to produce popular trinkets in France. Fumes from vaporized gold can give the glass what color? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Louisiana Purchase (1803)Early American settlers in the western territories depended on the Mississippi River's port of New Orleans for commerce. When Spain retroceded New Orleans to France in 1800, Americans feared their access to the river would be blocked, so President Thomas Jefferson sent negotiators to broker a deal for the port city. Why did Napoleon ultimately sell the entire Louisiana territory, including New Orleans, to the US for only about 4 cents per acre, or a sum total of $15 million? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Branch Wesley Rickey (1881)Rickey was an American baseball executive. In 1919, he devised baseball's farm system of using minor-league teams to train major-league players. In 1945, after he took over the Brooklyn Dodgers, he defied convention and broke a long-standing race barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the major leagues. A deeply religious man, the "Mahatma"—as Rickey was popularly known—never played, attended, or managed games on Sundays. What protective gear did he introduce to baseball? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Even in a minute instance, it is best to look first to the main tendencies of Nature. A particular flower may not be dead in early winter, but the flowers are dying; a particular pebble may never be wetted with the tide, but the tide is coming in.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the short and the long of it— The essential or most important point being made; the plain truth of the matter. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Posadas (2024)This nine-day Christmas celebration in Mexico commemorates the journey Mary and Joseph (the parents of Jesus) took to Bethlehem. Reenacting their search for shelter (posada in Spanish) in which Jesus might be born, a group of "pilgrims" will knock on someone's door and ask the owner to let them in. The master of the house finally invites them to enter and the Posadas party begins. The children are blindfolded and given a chance to break the piñata by swinging at it with a stick. The posadas are repeated for nine evenings, the last occurring on Christmas Eve. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: strawberriesstrawberry friend - A freeloader, one who visits only when the strawberries are ready for picking. More... small fruits - Currants, raspberries, strawberries, etc. More... soft fruit - Fruit that grows on bushes, such as berries, strawberries and currants, as contrasted with top fruit. More... strawberry - Got its name because the plant "strews" its runners along the ground; its seeds are actually individual fruits and it is termed an aggregate fruit. More... | |