Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, May 15, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Emphasizing Duration with the Present Perfect ContinuousThe present perfect continuous is especially useful for putting emphasis on the length of time that has passed while something is happening. What is the present perfect continuous verb in the following sentence? "They have been studying for three weeks for this exam." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TimurTamerlane, or "Timur the Lame," was a 14th-century Turco-Mongol conqueror who claimed descent from Genghis Khan and considered himself the restorer of the Mongol Empire. After subduing his rivals in central Asia, he turned his attention to Persia and, later, to India, Syria, and Iraq. His conquests ultimately reached from India and Russia to the Mediterranean. A cruel conqueror, Tamlerlane is said to have massacred how many millions of people? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US Department of Agriculture Is Created (1862)US President Abraham Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture, which he referred to as the "people's department," at a time when most Americans were farmers. It played a key role in the survival of many during the Depression, and today it continues to ensure that those in need receive food. It also aids farmers, inspects meat and dairy products, oversees food stamp and school lunch programs, and administers national forests. Before Lincoln, the Agricultural Division was part of what office? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Richard Avedon (1923)A major figure in fashion photography, Avedon studied photography in the US Merchant Marine. He became a regular contributor to Harper's Bazaar in the 1940s and was later was associated with Vogue. Known for his stark, black-and-white portraits of people in unusual poses, Avedon redefined fashion photography as an art form. However, many consider his magnum opus to be what 1985 book documenting something very different from fashion? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.Sun Tzu (544 BC-496 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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on in years— Advanced in age; old or becoming old. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Fiesta de San Isidro (Metepec, Mexico) (2019)Although indigenous fertility rites were outlawed when Mexico was conquered by the Spaniards and converted to Catholicism, a few pre-Hispanic festivities have survived—often overlaid with Christian meaning. One of these is the Festival of St. Isidore in Metepec, where farmers honor their patron saint around the time of his feast day, May 15. The men dress up as women and accompany their plows and oxen, which have been decorated with flowers, in a procession to the fields. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: monkascetic - Pronounced uh-SET-ik, it is derived from Greek asketes, "monk, hermit." More... dean - Comes from Latin decanum, "chief of a group of ten," and Greek dekanos, "a monk or dignitary in charge of ten others." More... nun - Derived from Latin nonna, the feminine of nonnus, "monk," originally a title given to an elderly person. More... monk, friar - A monk stays in a monastery; a friar does not. More... | |