Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 18, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs and Degrees of StrengthAdverbs of degree can be mild, medium, strong, or absolute in how they describe the intensity, degree, or extent of the word they modify. Adverbs that are mild, medium, or strong are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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| This Day in History | |
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 First Ascent of Lhotse (1956)Reaching 27,890 ft (8,501 m), Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth. Tibetan for "south peak," it is located in the Himalayas on the Nepal-Tibet border and is connected to Mount Everest by a 25,000-ft (7,620-m) ridge. The first ascent of the mountain was made by Swiss climbers Fritz Luchsinger and Ernest Reiss in 1956. Thirty years later, what mountaineer summited Lhotse, becoming the first climber to have ascended all 14 mountains on Earth that peak more than 8,000 m above sea level? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Frank Russell Capra (1897)One of the preeminent Hollywood directors of the 1930s and 40s, Capra produced idealistic populist movies that celebrate the virtues of the common American. At age six, the Sicilian-born future director immigrated with his family to the US. After holding various jobs in the film industry, he emerged as a major director in 1928. Within years, he had won his first Oscar. Which of his films is now considered one of the best American films ever made—despite having initially been a box office flop? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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| Idiom of the Day | |
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on the upswing— Showing or experiencing a noticeable or conspicuous increase, improvement, or expansion. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Toshogu Haru-No-Taisai (2025)This festival provides the most spectacular display of ancient samurai costumes and weaponry in Japan. The Toshogu Shrine, in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, was built in 1617 to house the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), the first of the Tokugawa shoguns. On the first day of the festival, dignitaries and members of the Tokugawa family make offerings to the deities of the shrine, and warriors on horseback shoot at targets with bows and arrows. The next morning, more than 1,000 people take part in the procession from Toshogu to Futarasan Shrine, including hundreds of samurai warriors. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: stairwayhalf-pace - A broad step or small landing between two half flights in a staircase. More... companionway - A stairway or ladder from a deck to the cabin below. More... staircase - A stairway does not necessarily have a handrail or balustrade—but a staircase does. More... newel - The main post at the bottom of a banister or stairway. More... | |