Today's Highlights
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perpetrate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Interrogative SentencesWhen we make sentences into questions, we almost always use auxiliary verbs that are inverted with the subject. This is known as subject-verb inversion. We can also use "question words" to ask more nuanced questions, but we still use auxiliary verbs and subject-verb inversion. What are some examples of question words? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Flying TrapezeThe aerial performance art known as the flying trapeze was invented in France in 1859 by Jules Léotard, whose name became synonymous with the skintight costume in which he performed. During a performance, a "flyer" typically jumps from a high platform, using gravity to swing on the trapeze, or "fly bar." He or she may perform tricks in mid-air before being caught by a partner. Today, the popular circus act is performed above safety nets, but Léotard originally practiced above what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 H. L. Hunley Becomes First Submarine to Sink an Enemy Warship (1864)The US Civil War-era submarine Hunley required an eight-man crew—seven to power the propeller with a hand-crank and one to steer. Within months of its launch, the Confederate sub had sunk and been salvaged twice, taking the lives of five crewmen the first time and the entire crew the second. Manned with a new crew, Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, yet the achievement was marred when the sub itself sank, killing all aboard yet again. When was it recovered? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Isabelle Eberhardt (1877)As a Swiss explorer traveling in North Africa, Eberhardt often dressed as a man to move more freely through Arab society. Intensely independent, she took the side of Algerians fighting against colonial French rule. She converted to Islam, was initiated into a Sufi brotherhood, and married an Algerian soldier. She wrote about her travels in books and newspapers. She survived a murder attempt—in which her arm was badly injured by a saber—only to die at the age of 27 in what unlikely fashion? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Calamities are of two kinds: misfortunes to ourselves, and good fortune to others.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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last chance (for/at/to do something)— The last or final opportunity to get, have, do, or achieve something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Quirinalia (2021)Quirinus was an ancient Roman deity who closely resembled Mars, the god of war. His name is associated with that of the Quirinal, one of the seven hills on which Rome was built. Eventually, Quirinus was identified with Romulus, one of the legendary founders of Rome, and his festival on February 17 coincided with the date on which Romulus was believed to have been deified. This festival was also associated with the advent of spring warfare, when the shields and weapons of the army, which had been purified and retired for the winter, were brought out. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sendinggranulated sugar - So called because the last step in processing white table sugar is sending it through a granulator, where it is dried and formed into tiny grains. More... mission - First denoted sending the Holy Spirit into the world, from Latin mittere, "send." More... perennial - First meant "remaining leafy throughout the year"; plants living three or more years—dying aboveground and sending up fresh growth every year—are perennials. More... radio - An abbreviation of radiotelegraphy, the sending of messages by electromagnetic rays. More... | |
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| Mismatch | |
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