Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 5, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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VerbsVerbs are used to indicate the actions, processes, conditions, or states of beings of people or things. Verbs constitute the root of the predicate. What is the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SacrificeSacrifice, from the Latin word meaning "to make holy," is the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people, to the gods as an act of propitiation or worship. Biblical accounts of sacrifice begin with Cain's sacrifice of the fruit of the ground and Abel's sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock. In the New Testament, the symbol of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb is frequently employed. What religion's practice of animal sacrifice led to a US Supreme Court case? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt Forbids Hoarding of Gold (1933)Executive Order 6012 required US citizens and businesses to turn in all but a small amount of gold to the Federal Reserve in exchange for $20.67 per ounce. It came in the midst of a banking crisis, when the stability of paper currency was in doubt. Consequently, many tried to withdraw their money and redeem it for gold, which was considered safer. However, there simply was not enough gold in the US—or the world—to cover the nation's debts. How many people were prosecuted for violating the order? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (1908)American screen legend and two-time Academy Award-winning actress Bette Davis made her Hollywood debut in 1931 and, after several flops, won acclaim for her role in 1934's Of Human Bondage. Her electrifying performances and intense characterizations of strong women made her a prime box-office attraction between 1935 and 1946, but her popularity declined thereafter. Undeterred, she launched a comeback and continued acting until shortly before her death. Why did she disinherit her daughter? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility.Kate Wiggin (1856-1923) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have it easy— To have or be in a particularly comfortable or relaxed position, such that makes for an easier life. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fig Sunday (2020)The custom of eating figs on Palm Sunday gave rise to the name Fig Sunday, or Fig Pudding Day, in England, when children would buy figs and either eat them or bring them home to their mothers to make fig pudding. The name may have come from Jesus's cursing of the barren fig tree on the day after his entry into Jerusalem, as told in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Mark. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: promisedevout, devote - Devout and devote come from Latin de- and vovere, "promise." More... fiance - French for "a promise." More... gage - In "engage," it means "pledge, promise." More... promise - Latin promittere originally meant "send forth," but evolved to mean "say in advance, foretell," and then "cause to expect," hence, promise. More... | |