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  Dehydration is a worldwide problem. Even in the U.S., it h…

  Dehydration is a worldwide problem. Even in the U.S., it has been suggested that nearly ¾ of the population live in a chronically dehydrated condition while being totally unaware of the problem. The effects of dehydration include a slowing down of the metabolism, increased fatigue, joint and back pain, loss of memory, as well as loss of mental focus. Imbibing 8 to 10 glasses of water daily, on the other hand, can mitigate joint pain, improve memory, and relieve some headaches. Drinking a glass of water when hunger pangs occur can even aid in dieting by silencing hunger pangs and speeding up metabolism. Researchers have discovered that taking in 5 or more glasses of water daily cuts the risk of colon cancer by almost 50% and the risk of breast cancer by about 80%.             Coke, on the other hand, is the preferred drink of millions of Americans. They are largely ignorant of the characteristics of this common beverage. Few, for instance, know that steak placed in a container of Coke will be dissolved in two days or less. Coke has been used to clean corrosion off the terminals of car batteries, to remove rust from chrome auto parts, and to remove grease from dirty clothing. Additionally, the citric acid in Coke makes it an ideal toilet bowl cleaner. Phosphoric acid in Coke is able to dissolve nails. In fact, those who consume the most Coke are at significantly greater chance of developing osteoporosis, a bone-wasting disease that makes bones brittle and easy to break. According to the passage,

  Dehydration is a worldwide problem. Even in the U.S., it h…

  Dehydration is a worldwide problem. Even in the U.S., it has been suggested that nearly ¾ of the population live in a chronically dehydrated condition while being totally unaware of the problem. The effects of dehydration include a slowing down of the metabolism, increased fatigue, joint and back pain, loss of memory, as well as loss of mental focus. Imbibing 8 to 10 glasses of water daily, on the other hand, can mitigate joint pain, improve memory, and relieve some headaches. Drinking a glass of water when hunger pangs occur can even aid in dieting by silencing hunger pangs and speeding up metabolism. Researchers have discovered that taking in 5 or more glasses of water daily cuts the risk of colon cancer by almost 50% and the risk of breast cancer by about 80%.             Coke, on the other hand, is the preferred drink of millions of Americans. They are largely ignorant of the characteristics of this common beverage. Few, for instance, know that steak placed in a container of Coke will be dissolved in two days or less. Coke has been used to clean corrosion off the terminals of car batteries, to remove rust from chrome auto parts, and to remove grease from dirty clothing. Additionally, the citric acid in Coke makes it an ideal toilet bowl cleaner. Phosphoric acid in Coke is able to dissolve nails. In fact, those who consume the most Coke are at significantly greater chance of developing osteoporosis, a bone-wasting disease that makes bones brittle and easy to break. The author’s overall tone in this passage is

     Thousands of persons across the U.S. live in the street…

     Thousands of persons across the U.S. live in the streets. The problem of homelessness has not eased through programs that subsidize housing, provide food stamps, and other forms of aid provided by charitable organizations and government agencies. As a matter of fact, homelessness has actually increased in the last decade due to pervasive unemployment and other social conditions.       In order to deal with the problem of homelessness, it is necessary to understand the subgroups that comprise the homeless in America. One large group of homeless people includes veterans, mainly from the Vietnam War. Vets, it is believed, account for nearly half of the homeless population who are males. The mentally ill are another large group. Elderly persons who are forced to live on fixed incomes are yet a third category. Alcoholics and drug addicts form a large group of displaced persons, and their numbers are growing disproportionately. Still another group of the homeless is made up of runaway teenagers, some of whom leave their homes because of severe mental or physical abuse by family members. Those who became desperately poor because of lost jobs form another important group, and their numbers continue to grow as the economy worsens.       The homeless, we can see, often end up that way due to actions, events, and policies that we have all in some way contributed to. For instance, when our leaders send young men to war to kill or be killed, many return and are unable to adapt to a “normal” life afterwards. Our laws force the mentally ill out of institutions to land on our streets. Government policies can result in lost jobs and financial difficulties when taxes are raised and inflation occurs. Can the problem of homelessness in America be solved? Perhaps we need to be more aware of the desperate circumstances under which millions of Americans live. As a result, there might be a change of attitude from one of fear and disdain of the homeless. Job training and more jobs may be part of the answer. Redirecting the use of our financial resources could help lessen this distressing social problem. “Alcoholics and drug addicts form a large group of the homeless. Still another group of the homeless is made up of runaway teenagers, some of whom left their homes because of severe abuse by family members.” What is the relationship between the two sentences above?

     Suppose you were interviewed for a teaching position so…

     Suppose you were interviewed for a teaching position soon after graduating from college and receiving your teacher’s certificate. A school district hires you and gives you a contract, a legal document that outlines the conditions under which you will work. Usually teaching contracts are renewed annually. Then, after three years of successful teaching, considered a probationary period, the school district which hired you will probably offer you tenure.       Tenure is commonly referred to as continuing contract status. Each state has its own laws which indicate the requirements for tenure eligibility. The term “tenure” is derived from a Latin root “ten,” which means “to hold.” So a tenured teacher, in effect, has been given permission to hold a teaching position within a school district. Therefore, a tenured teacher will be entitled to have his/her teaching contract renewed each year. Of course, tenure does not assure a teacher will have the same teaching assignment each year. The teacher might be moved from a third to a fifth grade classroom, for example.         A school district can dismiss untenured teachers after any academic year. A hearing as well as due process are rights that the untenured teacher normally has if dismissal occurs during a school year. Tenured teachers, on the other hand, are treated as ones who have earned the right to continue teaching for a school district. In order to fire a tenured teacher, then, it is necessary for the school district to justify the termination of employment by proving that some legal provision has been violated. States differ regarding what would constitute good and reasonable justification for dismissal. Some causes for termination include gross negligence, incompetence, sexual molestation of a student, and other crimes. If incompetence is charged, there is normally a requirement that the tenured teacher be given warning and afforded an opportunity to correct any perceived deficiencies before dismissal occurs. As used in the last sentence of the passage, the word afforded more nearly means