Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 14, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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walkaway
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Appositive PhrasesIt is very common to use noun phrases (which consist of a noun accompanied by any determiners and modifiers) as appositives to provide more descriptive identifying information about a noun; these appositive phrases can modify both common and proper nouns. What part of speech do they usually begin with? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The TabernacleAccording to the Torah, the Tabernacle was the portable sanctuary of the Hebrews, constructed to specifications revealed to Moses by God and used during the Hebrews' desert wanderings after the exodus from Egypt. In 957 BCE, during the reign of King Solomon, it was replaced by the Temple of Jerusalem as a sign that God had given his people rest from their wandering. Elaborately described in the Bible, it was divided into an outer room and an inner room, the Holy of Holies, which housed what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Israeli Knesset Convenes for the First Time (1949)In May 1948, following a failed attempt by the UN to divide Palestine, which had been under British mandate, the new nation of Israel proclaimed its independence. The first legislative assembly, or Knesset, convened in February 1949. It succeeded the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the Mandate era. Although the 120 legislators of the Knesset are elected every four years, the average lifespan of a Knesset is about two years. Why? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Renée Fleming (1959)Fleming is an American soprano who specializes in opera and lieder, a type of German art song intended for soloists. The daughter of two music teachers, Fleming graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 1981 with a degree in music education and went on to study at Eastman School of Music and Juilliard. Her professional debut was in Austria in 1986. She has won numerous awards for her roles in opera and for the classical music she has recorded. What did Fleming do to pay for her studies at Juilliard? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Novels so often provide an anodyne and not an antidote, glide one into torpid slumbers instead of rousing one with a burning brand.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make as though— To behave as if; to pretend or make it appear that. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vinegrower's Day (2025)This pre-harvest vineyard festival in Bulgaria involves pruning the vines and sprinkling them with wine. Ritual songs and dances are performed in hopes of a plentiful grape harvest. In some areas, a "Vine King" is crowned with a wreath of twigs from the vineyards. Everyone treats him with great respect, for it is believed that fertility depends on the King's happiness. Visits to well-known Bulgarian vineyards are organized, the vines are pruned, and guests are given an opportunity to sample the local wine and foods. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: trousersfob - A small pocket close to the waistband of trousers. More... galluses - Another name for suspenders for trousers. More... plus fours - Got their name (c. 1920) from the fact that such trousers were made four inches longer than standard knickerbockers or shorts, which came to just above the knee. More... trousers, trouse - The singular of trousers is trouse. More... | |