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1. lesson40
Weight-watchers Judging from the popularity of books on dieting, one would think an epidemic of obesity is sweeping the nation. Although being fat is not contagious, it is a condition not to be sneered at since it affects one-fourth of all Americans. Without magnifying the problem, professionals concerned with the nation's health, from chiropractors to medical specialists, agree that being overweight is a major obstacle to good health. They point out that people will readily see the need to ventilate their homes for fresh air to get rid of vermin that may cause disease, but they jeopardize their health by eating the wrong foods or the wrong amount of foods. Coincidentally, a recent survey of employment agencies showed that obesity has a negative effect on a person's chances of landing a job. While the job-seeker is asking about salary and pensions, the employer is thinking about the worker's healthand weight is a vital consideration when it comes to injuries, disease, and absenteeism. Some municipal jobs, in fact, do require an applicant to be within normal weight range, and one New York bank insists on an oral understanding that applicants will take off excess weight. As the Wall Street journal put it, "Fat people often find slim pickings in the job market."
A New Way to Treat Prisoners The warden of a prison today will readily acknowledge the new trend in prison reform. In an attempt to provide a different brand of justice for society's delinquents, officials now reject the idea that prison should completely deprive the convict of freedom. Thus, in some prisons inmates are allowed to leave the prison grounds to visit their spouses or to pursue their vocation. Even the more unstable convict who may have committed homicide is not penalized as harshly as before. The hope is that if persons emerge from prison less defiant than they do now, society will be the beneficiary.
Don't look over My Shoulder! The kibitzer is a person who volunteers useless information, especially in card games, causing the players to be prejudiced against him. The name comes from a Yiddish word which originally referred to a certain bird whose shrill cry scared the animals away upon the approach of the hunters. Though the kibitzer may think he is being jolly or witty, his advice often hinders more than it helps. We may scowl at him or lecture him for his abuse of our friendship, but he still continues to mumble his unwelcome remarks. The serious player may even wish he could make the kibitzer mute by sticking a wad of cotton in his mouth. The kibitzer, however, may not realize that he is causing torment or distress to his colleagues. Thus we may have to resign ourselves to his annoying habit if we wish to retain him as a friend.
A Home Where the Buffalo Roam Even today in South Dakota a cowboy emerges from behind a jagged rock where he has lingered in ambush waiting for the crafty buffalo to appear. Although not wild-they are raised on vast* ranches-the gallant,* defiant bison need to be hunted with the same vigor cowboys showed a century* ago. For a while, Americans thought the buffalo would perish from the earth; fortunately* the buffalo is far from being such a fragile animal. Now more or less captive, the buffalo, an estimated* 10,000, are raised for profit by ranchers who prosper from the sale of buffalo meat. When did you devour your last morsel* of tasty buffalo burger?
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