Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 9, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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stopgap
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Creating the Subjunctive MoodOne of the most straightforward ways of using the subjunctive mood is when we want to describe a wish for something to be different than it is or was. When we express wishes, we create the subjunctive mood by moving the main verb of the sentence one tense back in the past. To convey a wish about a situation in the present, what tense would we use? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Shark Fin SoupThe ingredient that gives shark fin soup its name actually lends little flavor to the dish. Instead, it is added to improve the soup’s texture—and the perceived status of the consumer. Considered a delicacy in Asia, where it is often served at weddings as a symbol of prosperity, the soup has led to an increased demand for fins, and shark populations have been decimated as a result. After their fins are removed, the still-living sharks are often returned to the water, where what happens to them? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 9-Month-Old Mary Stuart Is Crowned "Queen of Scots" (1543)When King James V of Scotland died in 1542, his two sons had already died in infancy and his only surviving child—a daughter—was just a week old. The infant Mary Queen of Scots was crowned nine months later in an elaborate coronation at Stirling Castle, where she would spend her early years. Laden with regal robes, the tiny sovereign cried throughout the entire ceremony. Soon thereafter, King Henry VIII of England attacked Scotland in an attempt to force what to happen to Mary? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Otis Redding (1941)Redding, an American soul singer known for his emotive style, began his career with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers and recorded his first hit, "These Arms of Mine," during time left over at the end of a Johnny Jenkins session. His biggest hit, "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," was recorded just days before he died in a plane crash at age 26. It became the first posthumous number-one single. What are some different explanations for why Redding whistles at the end of the song? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The knight's bones are dust,And his good sword rust; His soul is with the saints, I trust. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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scare (someone) silly— To shock or frighten someone very suddenly and/or severely. Hyperbolically alludes to frightening someone so severely as to cause them to lose their mind. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.svg.png) Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Father Laval (2025)This annual pilgrimage is made by thousands of people of all faiths to the shrine of Roman Catholic priest Père Jacques Désiré Laval in Port Louis, Mauritius. Father Laval came to Mauritius in 1841 and devoted himself to the spiritual improvement of the emancipated slaves until his death in 1864. The pilgrimage is held on the day of his death. It originated on the day Laval was buried, when more than 30,000 weeping people followed his bier as he was taken for burial opposite the Ste. Croix Church. A monument to him is there today, and many masses are celebrated at the shrine on the memorial day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: objectivelimited war - A war whose objective is of smaller scope than total defeat of the enemy. More... institution - First a noun of action or process that became a general and abstract noun describing something objective and systematic. More... purposely, purposefully - Purposely means "intentionally, on purpose," while purposefully means "with a specific purpose or objective in mind." More... safe, secure - Safe and secure, now nearly synonymous, used to be more different; secure was subjective—man's own sense of the absence of danger—while safe was objective, the fact of such absence of danger. More... | |