Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, April 26, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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levelheaded
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Past Perfect Continuous TenseThe past perfect continuous tense (also called the "past perfect progressive tense") is used to describe an action that began and was still in progress in the past before another past action started. What do we usually use the present perfect continuous tense to emphasize? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SimoomIn his Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce describes the protagonist's heart as having "withered up like a flower of the desert that feels the simoom coming from afar." A simoom is a strong, dry, dust-laden wind that blows in the deserts of Arabia and North Africa. True to Joyce's simile, a simoom is the epitome of hot and dry—its temperature may exceed 130°F (54°C), and its humidity level may fall below 10 percent. "Simoom" comes from an Arabic word meaning what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nuclear Reactor at Chernobyl Plant Explodes (1986)The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is regarded as the worst nuclear accident in history. Radioactive debris from the disaster drifted across parts of the western Soviet Union and Europe. Large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people and a disputed number of deaths. The incident set off an international outcry over the dangers posed by radioactive emissions. What caused the accident? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 I. M. Pei (1917)Ieoh Ming Pei, better known as I. M. Pei, is a Pritzker Prize-winning Chinese-American architect whose buildings can be seen the world over. In his works, structure and environment are carefully integrated with precise geometric design to create crisp, clear, sculptural edifices. He is known for his sensuous use of materials like marble, concrete, and especially glass—which he used in his pioneering all-glass curtain walls. What controversial Parisian structure did Pei design in the 1980s? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Time has laid his healing hand upon the wound when we can look back upon the pain we once fainted under and no bitterness or despair rises in our hearts.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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feed (someone) to the wolves— To sacrifice someone to ruin, destruction, or hostility from others, especially for one's own benefit or survival. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tanzania Union Day (2023)On April 26, 1964, the East African countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Union Day celebrates this merger. In the city of Dar es Salaam, speeches and a parade mark Union Day. Dignitaries from nearby countries join Tanzanian government officials in these festivities. In 2004, to mark Union Day, Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa pardoned nearly 4,500 prisoners who had been sentenced for minor crimes or who had less than three years to serve of a longer sentence. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tobaccoblend - A combination of different types or grades of fabric, spirits, tea, tobacco, etc. More... tabac - A color, from the French for tobacco. More... cud, quid - The etymological base of cud appears to be "glutinous substance"; quid—"piece of tobacco for chewing"—is a variant of cud. More... petunia - It is related to the tobacco plant, hence its name, from Portuguese petum, "tobacco." More... | |