The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang

The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang By Mark Nichol Several weeks ago, President Obama, in announcing during a television interview that he didn’t want to inflame Islamic extremists by releasing photos taken of Osama bin Laden’s body following the al-Qaeda leader’s assassination by a U.S. military unit, said, â€Å"There’s no need to spike the football.† Huh? In American football, players have been known to triumphantly punctuate a touchdown by spiking the ball, or throwing it point first against the surface of the playing field so that it emphatically bounces away. By summoning that imagery, Obama expressed his reluctance to have the United States be perceived as gloating about bin Laden’s death. So, do you think that analogy has legs? (The stem of that expression, in turn, is from theatrical slang for a stage production with the potential for long-running success.) The truth is, the entertainment industry, whether in the form of a professional sports or any one of various theatrical endeavors, has enriched our language with a wealth of idiomatic expressions: The sports world has given us â€Å"A-game† (an excellent effort), â€Å"Hail Mary pass† (a desperate gambit), and â€Å"slam-dunk† (a definitive accomplishment), among a stadium full of other vivid phrases. Meanwhile, the performing arts have contributed â€Å"It ain’t over till the fat lady sings† (meaning â€Å"Don’t give up† interestingly, often voiced late in seemingly one-sided athletic contests), â€Å"Break a leg† (meaning â€Å"Good luck†), and â€Å"It’s a wrap† (meaning â€Å"We’re done†). Other expressions derive from a wide variety of other fields and pursuits, and though some of these figures of speech may induce groans because of the excess of their success through viral propagation, many are quite effective in conveying a message at least for now. Any such phrasing, however, is subject to the cultural forces at play at any time. Ronald Reagan would not have said, â€Å"There’s no need to spike the football† in response to the fall of the Berlin Wall more than twenty years ago, because the gridiron tradition in question postdates that event. Two decades from now, it may die out, and the expression may fade into obsolescent oblivion. And that’s the moral of this story: If you’re writing for an ephemeral medium like newspapers, magazines, or the Internet, you need not concern yourself with the staying power of current slang or expressions derived from pop culture. But if you’re writing a book, or are otherwise more concerned about the legacy of your efforts, take care in the use of idiom so that your prose does not come under fire (as the military-based expression goes) for being tired or passe. You are allowed a pass (but not a Hail Mary pass) if, say, you’re writing a coming-of-age story in which you want to re-create the zeitgeist by resurrecting the lingo of the time, but be careful not to have your characters indulge in incessant ’70s-speak, for example. Ask any survivor of that era, and they’ll tell you that â€Å"Far out,† â€Å"Right on,† and â€Å"Keep on truckin’† were far from ubiquitous. Admittedly, some idiom has survived years, decades, centuries, and even millennia: The entrance to a house in Pompeii, inundated by volcanic ash in 79 AD, has an inscription on the floor that reads â€Å"Cave canem† â€Å"Beware of the dog.† But cave this: Whoever coins or borrows an expression isn’t entitled to determine its staying power or whether it survives only in ironic or derisive usage. Bummer, huh? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational Writing16 Misquoted QuotationsWhat Is the Meaning of "Hack?"

How to Find Old SAT Scores

How to Find Old SAT Scores If you took the SAT a million years ago, you may have thought that by walking away from the testing site, you were done with that phase of your life forever. On the contrary, if you try to continue your education or nab an entry-level job, your SAT scores could be a big boost in your resume if your job history isnt substantial.   What if you went right into a trade, bypassed college, and are now considering enrolling in an undergraduate program? Do you even remember which college admissions test you took? (The ACT is often confused for the SAT) Or what a good SAT score  even is? If any of this sounds like you, then you will need those SAT score reports, and heres how to go about getting them.   Settling an Old Score Finding your old SAT scores only takes a few steps. Remember which college admissions test you took: ACT or SAT.  ACT: Your ACT score will be a two digit number from 0 to 36.SAT: Your SAT score will be a three or four digit score between 600 and 2400. The current scale started in March 2016 for the Redesigned SAT, which uses a different scoring system, with a maximum of 1600. Since the SAT has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years, the score you may have received in the 80s or 90s would be scaled a bit differently now.Request a score report from the College Board.  By mail:  Download the  request form  and mail it to SAT Program / P.O. Box 7503 / London, KY 40742-7503. Youll need to know your personal information at the time of testing, like your street address, and will also need to choose recipients to whom youd like the SAT scores sent.  By phone:  For an additional fee of $10, you can call to order archived SAT score reports at  (866) 756-7346 (domestic), (212) 713-7789 (international), (888) 857-2477 (TTY in th e U.S.), or (609) 882-4118 (TTY international). Pay the fee for your old SAT score reportThe archive retrieval fee for old SAT reports is currently $31.  Each report will cost you $12, so that amount needs to be multiplied by the number of recipients youre sending the report to.Additional fees ($31) apply for rush delivery.Wait for your score reports to arrive! Within five weeks of receiving your information, the College Board will mail your score reports to you and to the score recipients youve listed on the form.   Tips to Speed Up the Process Get some information together before you get on the phone or fill out the score request sheet. Youll need details like your name and address at the time of SAT testing, your approximate test date, college, and scholarship program codes for recipients of your scores, and your credit card number.  Write legibly on all required forms, preferably in all caps. Youll delay the scores if you choose to write sloppily.  Remember that since your scores are older, the tests may have changed and the score reporting services will send a letter stating that fact to the institution in which youre interested. So, even though you may have earned top ranks for the year you tested, your score back then may not mean the same thing as the scores of today. Contact the College Board to explain if youre confused about the scoring scale and differences.Pay an additional (optional) $31 rush service fee.

Anderson V. WR Grace case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Anderson V. WR Grace - Case Study Example According to the plaintiffs, their chemicals led to sever health effects on their families and eventual death. Notably children from seven of the plaintiffs’ families contracted leukemia and died following complications from these chemicals. Additionally, a spouse of one of the plaintiffs contracted a severe myelocytic leukemia and died out of the same illness (Gerrard and Foster 657). Despite the laboratory findings in the water samples from these wells, claims of the plaintiffs that the contaminated water causes leukemia led to numerous questions: how did TCE got into the wells? Who could have been responsible? Could TCE (chemical analyzed from wells’ water) cause leukemia in children? On the other hand, were the wells supplying drinking water to the East Woburn neighborhood carried leukemia dusts? The findings revealed that dumpsites were too close to the drinking wells. Moreover, some of the chemicals used by these industries were found in the wells’ water. Thus, the chemicals caused severe health problems and eventual death to some of the plaintiffs’ families (Gerrard and Foster 654). However, the chemicals could not be blamed for the cause of leukemia. From the findings, someone was to take the responsibility of damages realized. Therefore, W.R. Grace and plaintiffs were left to settle approximately eight million US dollars despite the company denial of and wrongdoing or responsibility for the damages. Gerrard, Michael, and Sheila R. Foster.  The Law of Environmental Justice: Theories and Procedures to Address Disproportionate Risks. Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 2008.

Social networking and information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social networking and information system - Essay Example Although most of the activity done on social media is either non-work-related or entirely harmless, employers sometimes take exception to the employees’ online postings and take disciplinary action against them. Some kinds of social media usage by employees that usually acquire disciplinary action from the employers include posting photos or videos showing some sort of misbehavior related to work e.g. tweeting about avoiding work or feigning illness, and expressing views over social media whose connection to the organization is not appreciated or approved of by the employers. The technical, legal, and ethical implications of the social media in business imparts need for government and organizations to work at their respective levels to develop safety mechanisms, security systems, and codes of ethics to guide the behavior of employees at the workplace. Business use of social media saw a two-fold increase from 11 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2009 (Sarrel, 2010). Social med ia is being increasingly used by the employees at the workplace for both non-work and work related purposes including attracting clients and developing joint ventures. Organizations use social media to engage their customers and market their products and services as social media websites â€Å"provide a cyber-meeting space for people wanting to network† (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2011, p. 270). Rise in the use of new technology in general and of the Internet and the social media at the workplace in particular implies that employees can now access information related to their employment law and employment rights much more easily than they could in the past. A vast majority of organizations and unions provide information related to their employment rights in definite sections of their websites in formats that are easily understandable including links to social media websites like YouTube and Twitter. Although employees’ increased access to information can generally be perce ived as a positive development since it increases their awareness about employment laws and assists them in dealing with work related issues, yet this also poses certain challenges for organizations. For example, employees may prefer getting information about employment laws online rather than directly approaching their managers or consulting a trade union representative. As a result, employees have a tendency of misunderstanding information that has been garnered out of context online, which in effect, complicates the interaction on specific issues between employers and employees. As social networking websites have become more popular, employees have received a platform where they can display a lot of information about themselves. This information is visible to everybody in the public and potentially to the employer. The employer can access all that information including photographs showing the activities and behavior of the employees outside of work which can have an adverse impac t on the dignity and reputation of an employee at work. Principally, an employer should not judge an employee’s performance at work based on their private life activities. Every employee has a personal life that should be respected by the employers until the employee does not breach the ethical guidelines established by the organization. Baldas (2009) argues that with the awareness that the information about private life has been accessible to the

Making Connections Essay Example for Free

Making Connections Essay In â€Å"Werner†, Hoeflich is sharing very intimate and specific details about his experience. Beard Probably met Hoeflich on several occasions in order to gain his trust before he was able to collect some of the details that he included in his work. It most likely took Beard days of asking just the right questions to write â€Å"Werner. † In this piece, Werner is presented as both weak and strong. In the beginning of the story, he is completely caught off guard by the fire in his home, but then the author follows with a story of Werrner cliff diving. Beard describes Werner diving out of his apartment window with athletic elegance, and then proceeds to tell us about Werner crying in the ambulance. At the end of the story, Beard describes Werner â€Å"never being able to confuse himself with the old Werner. † I am left wondering what Werner did after his accident. We know he always felt pain since, but I wonder in what other ways it affected his life. Zinner emphasizes balancing quotes with narrations which Beard did very well. He also spoke of not changing the quotes in order to preserve the character’s voice. Beard did a very good job of depicting Werner’s personality through the quotes he chose. 2. Gladwell began the piece by describing an event very vaguely, and then slowly gave us more details. He ended the story by teaching us one of the lessons that Cesar learned through his experience. I like that Gladwell keeps us wondering at the beginning of his piece. He could be talking about any number of things. I liked the ending because the reading was able to see another side of Cesar. Bow, not only was he an expert on dog behavior; he knew quite a bit about human behavior as well. I didn’t like that he chose to describe Cesar in his introduction. I also didn’t like that in the conclusion, he told a story of Cesar failing to be able to do his job. I would have described Cesar after I finished telling the story of Sugar and Lynda. I would have told the story of Cesar failing before I talked about Cesar learning about human behavior. Gladwell did a good job of hooking the reader. After the first sentence, I was left wondering what Gladwell was talking about. He also did a good job of knowing when to end the story. If he had continued on for much longer, the reader would have lost interest. 3. Ingram’s message was that this was she experienced was a very confusing time for everyone. Not all Germans hated Jews, and not all Jews resented Americans. She wanted to provide a different perspective on the war than the ones we hear most often. When I was finished reading this piece, I felt a sense of sadness. Ingram wanted us to see that although the Hamburg people were grateful for being saved, they were still haunted by the sight of their dead neighbors and friends. In order for any good to come, sacrifices had to be made. Ingram begins her memoir with a story of her bravely saving her mother’s life and uses very frank and blunt language in order to establish power. Zinner recommends that an author write without being to egotistical and to use vivid sight and smell language. Ingram did a very good job of painting a picture in the reader’s mind without making herself the hero in every situation. 4. Rodriguez was trying to tell us that there is a big change coming in California and in America. No longer do you have to come to California to live your dream. A person can stay at home and achieve it just as easily, but don’t be surprised when it doesn’t come true. I imagine that the audience had a love/hate relationship with this piece. They thought it was beautifully written and brought up excellent points, but hated to admit that what Rodriguez was saying was true. In describing East Cobb, I would use the terms† large houses, fast food, many cultures, crowded schools, crowded streets, expensive cats, large lawns, family secrets, intelligent kids, and drug abuse. Rodriguez described the California that we all know, but he also went deeper and described to us in great detail the California that very few people see. 5. Singer posed a question. Then, he spent a paragraph or two answering the question. He did this repeatedly throughout his work and added supporting details along the way. Singer gave a very convincing argument. He appealed to the emotions of a sensitive reader with the child in the pond analogy. HE appealed to the logic of a skeptical reader with all his statistics. This article would persuade most people to be more charitable. It would not provide a very convincing argument to the people with lower incomes. Singer did a very good job of cutting the clutter. He used simple language and said exactly what he meant. I also felt Singer’s personality through his writing. He is very realistic and believes that we should all be more charitable.

E-mail Privacy At Work :: essays research papers

E-mail Privacy at Work E-mail at our company is for work purposes only. The computers and software are company property, and therefore are used for everyday office use only. We reserve the right to monitor all e-mail use, even if you are using a private e-mail account. This is to ensure that our employees are acting in a professional manner, and not giving out any company secrets. Also, employees should never consider anything they write as private, no matter what the circumstance. If you write it on the company’s computers, it is considered public, even if you place the e-mail in a private folder. According to NOLO.com, a Texas court ruled that unlike a private employee locker where an employee can expect a certain degree of privacy, they have no expectation of privacy in a â€Å"private† folder. Another example, is if you are on your own time, but still at work, such as a lunch break. Regardless of when you write the e-mail, if you write it at work, it is public. You may be asking, â€Å"What is appropriate e-mail?† Obviously, slandering other members of the company or clients, as well as e-mails that contain secret information is prohibited. A good rule of thumb is this. If you are not, for whatever reason, comfortable with printing the e-mail out on your computer and then leaving it on your desk so anyone can read it, then you probably shouldn’t write or send that e-mail. Consequences If an employee, through e-mail, is found to have violated one or more of the company’s policies, appropriate action will follow. Depending on the case, the employee may even be terminated. In fact, a company in Pennsylvania assured its employees that e-mail would not be intercepted and used against them. Despite this claim, the company reviewed e-mails from a supervisor and used it as a basis for termination. According to the Federal court in Pennsylvania, that was perfectly legal (NOLO.com). The court ruled that the company’s interest in preventing inappropriate or illegal activities outweighed the employee’s right to privacy. Also, any e-mail can be used against our company in court. A judge can use any private or personal e-mail against us, and it would be legally upheld.

New Immigrants vs. Old Immigrants

Jessica Owuriedu Ap history HOW DID THE CHARACTERS AND EXPERIENCES OF THE NEW IMMIGRANTS OF 1880-1940 COMPARE TO THOSE OF THE OLD IMMIGRANTS WHO CAME BEFORE THEM. The Influx of immigrants into America were been placed into two distinct spheres over time. The New immigrants and Old immigrants differed greatly in their behavior and qualities which was also pertained to the America they found between 1880 and 1940. Transferring from their home country, the old immigration mainly came from northern and western Europe. The German, Irish, Norwegians Swedish including other European tribes fluxed into America not only as a result of congested Europe. Majority of the Old immigrants headed into America for its prevailing opportunities and freedom. They were attracted by the cheap lands (Homestead act) that was available and the ability to rise from rags to riches. Being mostly Protestants by religion, they were easily assimilated into the American way of life. On the other hand, the New immigrants fluxed mainly from the southern and eastern Europe. Among them were the Italians, Croats Slovaks, Greeks and Poles. Ushered into America mainly by the economic hardships and the lengthening gap between the rich and poor in their countries. Their intent were mainly settled in the idea of getting rich. They were the bird of passage of the era. Many came not with the idea of just seeking a better life but returning to their homelands with their acquired wealth. Innate in the them, was their own religious denomination which included Catholics, Orthodox and Jewish. This conflicted with the Puritanism and protestant America, partially giving rise to the various Antiforeigner organizations. Furthermore, it is important to note that the Old immigrants relocating to America were literate and skilled. For example the Germans support for education in creating Kindergartens. Although the Old immigrants were eager to preserve their culture they were also eager to learn about their new home. They learned the English language and adapted more readily. Being mostly farm skilled, there fitted into the American community which was established by farming. Conversely, the New immigrants were enormously illiterate and unskilled. These impoverished immigrants showed these characteristics by settling largely in the cites and mainly acquiring factory jobs for wages instead of farming. They were hired in the rising factory jobs and settled for low-wages. For instance, the Italians and Poland were the most largest city inhabitants( New York, Chicago ) than many of the largest cities of the same nationality in the Old world . More over it is important to note that the Old immigrants had inherent in them , the ways of democracy. They easily blended into the American Democratic order, which made it easier for them to prosper in their new Found home. It is quite interesting to also mention that the majority of the old immigrants came not entirely loaded with money but had fairly something to live on. Contrary, the New immigrants were somewhat radical and autocratic in nature. They weren’t opened to the American political system. They had with them distinct political views and doctrines such as communism, socialism, and anarchism. Which consequently sparked the American Protective Association. Relocating into American urban cites , New immigrants came quite improvised and needy compared to the Old immigrants. They immediately settled for lower-wages in the growing factory work and dirty poor tenements in the cites, especially New York and Chicago. The last but not the least was their geographical locations. It is also important to mention that the New immigrants were reluctant to blend in and they were very ethnic in their ways. Whilst most Old immigrants settled in the west, the New immigrants heavily packed in the east where there was growing urbanization. It is clear that the experiences and characteristics between Old immigrants and New immigrants in America were in two distinct spheres.

Fingerprint and Crime Scene

Which technique is the best choice when blood is found at a crime scene? In the genetics laboratory (under â€Å"resources† at the bottom of the window), who is one individual that contributed to modern genetic analysis? What did this person contribute? The genetics laboratory is the best choice when blood is found at a crime scene. Alec Jefferys contributed to modern genetics analysis by inventing what is now an essential technique called a polymerase chain reaction. How are computers used in fingerprint analysis? They are used to identify minutiae which may be loops, dots, forks, islands and so forth.Comparison points must be perfectly matched for two fingerprints to be considered identical Who is a pioneer in fingerprint analysis? Describe a famous case that this person was involved in. Edward Foster testified as a fingerprint expert in a case called caution fresh paint in 1911. Fingerprints in the wet paint next to a murder victim were the only clue, he used those prints t o demonstrate to the court that the prints of one man was a match and he was convicted for the crime What is the role of the forensic chemist in crime scene investigation? They analyze all chemical, organic and inorganic aspects of a sample.They separate the components and identify them using a variety of tests and devices. Who helped pioneer forensic chemistry? Describe one of her famous cases. France McGill was one of the pioneers that helped forensic chemistry, when he examined the stomach of an elderly couple who had died she found a large quantity of strychnine which is a powerful poison that was along with bran. The murder weapon was soon identified they were eating bran muffins baked by their granddaughter that was intended for her father. She was charged with murder and then acquainted In the ballistics laboratory, what is the water tank used for?Describe the analysis. To determine whether a bullet found at the crime scene actually came from the suspect’s weapon. It m ust be compared with another bullet from the same gun. Ballistics experts fire it into a special water tank that slows and stops the bullet so that they can collect it in tact Who helped pioneer ballistics analysis? What did he contribute? Wilfrid Derome the Laboratoire de recherches medico-legales de Montreal, the first forensic laboratory in North America and only the third in the world Why is measuring and diagramming the scene important?It is important because it helps to note specific locations of objects, clues, and the body. The photo and this sketch will later be used to draw an accurate plan of the site on the computer What materials or tools would a crime scene technician use? Something to take a photograph, polilight, measurements and diagrams, revealing prints, and something to take samples From the activity and the information it had, what aspect of an investigation do you think you’d most like to work in?For example, would you prefer one of the laboratories? Wha t appeals to you about this particular aspect of the investigation? I would like to work in the ballistics laboratory, it appeals to me because I would play one of the most important roles I think and that is to identify the weapon used in the crime scene. I will get to compare marks on bullets, cartridges, blades, and other kinds of weapons left at the crime scene.

How to Compare High Schools Using Average ACT Scores

How to Compare High Schools Using Average ACT Scores SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’ve found this guide, you're probably looking for a good high school, or you want to see how your high school measures up compared to others. When comparing high schools, a helpful metric is average ACT Score. In this guide, I’ll tell you what average ACT score represents, why you should care about a school’s average ACT score, and where you can find information on average ACT scores by high school. What Does a High School’s Average ACT Score Represent? When thinking about what a high school’s average ACT score represents, you need to think about what the ACT measures in individual test-takers. While you may think that an ACT score simply measures the test-taker’s academic ability, the ACT, in fact, measures not only academic ability but also perseverance. What I mean by perseverance is a student’s desire to work hard in school and in pursuit of higher education. While a genius might be able to get 36 on the ACT with no prep, a test-taker with just slightly above-average intelligence can also get 36 with enough studying. Therefore, an ACT score reveals both a student’s academic ability and work ethic. A high school’s average ACT score represents these same qualities: academic ability and desire to work hard. However, in terms of an entire high school, its â€Å"academic ability† depends on the quality of education, and its â€Å"desire to work hard† depends on the quality of students. Do the students at that school care about their education? Do they care about attending a 4-year university? Why Should You Care About a High School’s Average ACT Score? The reason you should care about a high school’s average ACT score is because higher ACT scores can indicate a better quality of education and a better quality of student at that school. As I said before, the ACT measures your academic ability (to some degree). Your education is responsible for your academic ability, so the better the quality of education you receive, the better you’ll perform on the ACT. However, as I also mentioned, your ACT score is also affected by how much you prepare for the ACT. If a high school’s average ACT score is high, the students at that school most likely care more about their education and getting into a 4-year university than students at high schools with lower average ACT scores. Sending your kid to a high school with a higher average ACT score can help guarantee they’ll be surrounded by like-minded, hard working students and receive a higher quality of education. On the Other Hand, Why Shouldn’t You Rely Too Heavily On Average ACT Scores? While a school’s average ACT score can suggest the quality of its education and students, it may not give you the complete picture. Some public schools have magnet (or gifted) programs that are separated from the â€Å"regular† track at that high school. These programs often have a superior quality of students and teachers than the rest of the school. I attended a public high school with an International Baccalaureate magnet program. The admissions requirements for this program were tough, but there were no requirements for students on the â€Å"regular† high school track. Also, the IB program had better teachers who only taught IB classes. I’d venture a guess that the average ACT score for IB students was higher than the average ACT score for students on the â€Å"regular† track. However, the average ACT score for my high school does not separate IB and non-IB students. The average ACT score factors in the scores of all students at the school. As a result, you can’t figure out what the quality of education and students will be within a specific magnet program versus the quality of the â€Å"regular† track. Also, as I said before, your ACT score is also affected by your study effort. Therefore, if you attend a high school with a low average ACT score, that does not necessarily mean that you will have a low ACT score. On the other hand, attending a school with a high average ACT score doesn't mean you'll automatically get a high ACT score either. No matter where you attend high school, you can practice, learn the test format and strategies, and receive a high score on the ACT. However, you should still try to attend the high school with the best quality of students and teachers so that you’ll receive the best education you can, be challenged, and be well prepared for the ACT and college. How to Find Average ACT Scores by School There are four methods for finding a high school’s average ACT score: Search the Department of Education website (NOTE: This only works for PUBLIC high schools.) Search the school’s website (NOTE: not all schools publish this information on their websites) Email a school administrator Google Search â€Å"[High School Name] Average ACT Score† (NOTE: this can be unreliable) The best method is to use the Department of Education’s website for your state. NOTE: this will only work for some states. For a full explanation of how to find a district’s or specific public high school’s average ACT score using this method (and for a list of states that don't provide the data), read our article on ACT Scores by High School and District. Using this method will ensure you’re getting up-to-date, correct, unbiased information. For private high schools (or as another search option for public high schools), you can use the Google search method, look on the high school’s website, or send an email to an administrator at that high school. However, the websites and Google search can often have outdated information (i.e. ACT score averages from five years ago) or not post this information publicly. Administrators may also give you outdated information if they haven’t seen the most recent statistics. Also, it may take them a while to respond to your request with their busy schedules or if they’re on a school holiday. What Should You Look for in ACT Data? In the ACT data, you should be looking at the average composite ACT score. The higher this number is, the better. You can also look at the individual section scores (though some states may not publish this information). The Math section score may give you a sense of how strong or weak the school's math program is. The closer to 36 (the highest possible section score) the better. A high score most likely means a higher quality Math program. The Reading and Writing sections will give you a sense of the quality of English education at that school. Again, same as math, the closer to 36 (the highest possible section score) the better. A high score here most likely means a higher quality of English classes at that school. I would not read too much into the Science section score as the Science section does not rely on scientific knowledge but rather on reading graphs and charts. In the spreadsheet, you can also determine the fraction of students who took the ACT at that high school. NOTE: some states only list the total number of ACT test-takers and don't include the overall school enrollment, and you will not be able to figure out the fraction of students who took the ACT if they don't provide both numbers. If your state does provide you with total enrollment and the number of ACT test-takers such as California does, you can determine the fraction of students who took the ACT. For instance, here is a screenshot of the ACT data from the California Department of Education’s website: To figure out the fraction of students who took the ACT at a specific high school, take the number of test takers (listed under the NumTstTakr column) and divide it by the number of enrolled students (under Enroll912). If I was looking at Alameda Science and Technology Institute (the highlighted school), the fraction of students who took the ACT would be: 20 / 169 or about 12% WARNING: don't read too much into the fraction or percent of students who took the ACT because these numbers don't give you the full picture. The enrollment counts the TOTAL number of students, and you wouldn’t expect freshmen or sophomores to have taken the ACT yet. While 12% seems small, you need to factor in that: Alameda Science and Technology Institute has about 50 students per grade level. Typically, only juniors and seniors will take the ACT in a given year, and there are about 100 juniors and seniors at Alameda. Some students may opt to take the SAT instead (which in fact about 60 did). When accounting for all that, it appears that close to 100% of Alameda Science and Technology Institute students will take either SAT or ACT. Summary A high school's average ACT score can show the quality of education and caliber of students at that school, but average ACT score may not give you a full picture of certain schools. At high schools with magnet programs, magnet students' ACT scores are combined with the "regular" students' ACT scores to create the school's average ACT score. Although magnet students likely have a higher average ACT score (since they're likely receiving a higher quality education and are likely more studious), you wouldn't be able to see that from the overall average ACT score of that school. There are different methods for locating a high school's average ACT score. Not all methods will work in all states or for all high schools. Check out our other guide on ACT Scores by High School and District to find the best method for you. When you find the average ACT score data for the school you're interested in, you should look for the composite ACT score. The higher the score, the better that school likely is. What’s Next? Learn more about the ACT and the college application process: What is a good ACT score? A bad ACT score? An excellent ACT score? How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, by a Harvard Alum Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Bear Facts

Bear Facts Bears (Ursus species) are large, four-legged mammals that have a unique status in pop culture. They are not quite as cuddly as dogs or cats; not quite as dangerous as wolves or mountain lions; but they are decidedly ever-compelling objects of fear, admiration, and even envy.  Found in a variety of environments from Arctic ice pack to tropical forests, bears live on every continent except Antarctica. Fast Facts: Bears Scientific Name: Ursus sppCommon Names: Bear, pandaBasic Animal Group: Mammal  Size (length): Sun bear: 4–5 feet; brown bear: 5–10 feetWeight: Sun bear: 60–150 pounds; brown bear 180–1300 poundsLifespan: 20–35 yearsDiet:  OmnivoreHabitat: Woodlands, grasslands, deserts, temperate and tropical forests, on all continents except AntarcticaConservation Status: Least Concern: Brown bears, American black bear; Vulnerable: sloth bear, polar bear, giant panda, sun bear, spectacled bear, Asian black bear Description With some minor exceptions, all eight bear species have  roughly the same appearance: large torsos, stocky legs, narrow snouts, long hair, and short tails. With their plantigrade postures- walking upright on two feet- bears  walk flat-footed on the ground like humans but unlike most other mammals. Bears range in color with species: Black, brown and Andean bears are typically red-brown to black; polar bears are generally white to yellow; Asiatic bears are black to brown with a white patch and sun bears are brown with a yellow crescent on their chest.  They range in size from the sun bear (47 inches tall and weighing 37 pounds) to the polar bear, (nearly 10 feet tall and weighing 1,500 pounds).   Buck Shreck/Getty Images Species Scientists recognize eight species as well as numerous subspecies of bears, which live in different regions, that have differences in body shape and coloration. American black bears  (Ursus americanus)  live in  North America and Mexico; their diet consists primarily of leaves, buds, shoots, berries, and nuts. Subspecies of this bear include the cinnamon bear, the glacier bear, the Mexican black bear, the Kermode bear, the Louisiana black bear,  and several others. Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus)  live in Southeast Asia and the Russian Far East. They have blocky bodies and patches of yellowish-white fur on their chests, but otherwise resemble American black bears in body shape, behavior, and diet.   Brown bears (Ursus arctos)  are some of the worlds largest terrestrial meat-eating mammals. They range across North America, Europe, and Asia and include numerous subspecies, such as the Carpathian bear, the European brown bear, the Gobi bear, the grizzly bear, the Kodiak bear,  and several others. Polar bears  (Ursus maritimus)  rival brown bears in size. These bears are restricted to a circumpolar region in the Arctic, reaching south into northern Canada and Alaska. When theyre not living on pack ice and shorelines, polar bears swim in open water, feeding  on seals and walruses. Giant pandas  (Aeluropoda melanoleuca)  feed almost exclusively on bamboo shoots and leaves in the central and southern regions of western China. These distinctly patterned bears have black bodies, white faces, black ears,  and black eyespots.   Sloth bears (Melursus ursinus)  stalk the grasslands, forests, and scrublands of Southeast Asia. These bears have long, shaggy coats of fur and white chest marks; they feed on termites, which they find using their acute sense of smell. Spectacled bears  (Tremarctos ornatos) are the only bears native to South America, inhabiting cloud forests at elevations over 3,000 feet. These bears once lived in coastal deserts and high-elevation grasslands, but human encroachment  has restricted their range. Sun bears  (Helarctos malayanos) live in the lowland tropical forests of Southeast Asia. These small ursines  have the shortest fur of any bear species, their chests marked with light, reddish-brown, U-shaped patches of fur. Diet and Behavior Most bears are omnivorous, feasting opportunistically on animals, fruits, and vegetables, with two important outliers: The polar bear is almost exclusively carnivorous, preying on seals and walruses, and the panda bear subsists entirely on bamboo shoots. Oddly enough, though, pandas digestive systems are relatively well adapted to eating meat. Because the vast majority of bears live in high northern latitudes, they need a way to survive the winter months when food is dangerously scarce. Evolutions solution is hibernation: Bears go into a deep sleep, lasting for months, during which their heart rates and metabolic processes slow drastically. Being in hibernation isnt like being in a coma. If sufficiently roused, a bear can wake up in the middle of its hibernation, and females have even been known to give birth in the deep of winter. Fossil evidence also supports  cave lions preying on hibernating cave bears during the last Ice Age, though some of these bears woke up and killed the unwelcome intruders. Bears may be the most antisocial mammals on the face of the earth. Full-grown bears are almost entirely solitary. This is good news for campers who accidentally encounter lone grizzlies in the wild, but quite unusual when compared with other carnivorous and omnivorous mammals, ranging from wolves to pigs, that tend to congregate in at least small groups. Depending on species, a bears basic communication needs can be expressed with  about seven or eight different words- huffs, chomps, groans, roars, woofs, growls, hums, or barks. The most dangerous sounds for humans are roars and growls, which denote a frightened or agitated bear defending its territory. Huffs are generally produced during mating and courtship rituals; hums- a bit like the purrs of cats, but much louder- are deployed by cubs to demand attention from their mothers, and moans express anxiety or a sense of danger. Giant pandas have a slightly different vocabulary than their ursine brethren: In addition to the sounds described above, they can also chirp, honk, and bleat. Evolutionary History Given the proliferation of so-called bear dogs millions of years ago- including the standard-bearer of the family, Amphicyon- you might assume that modern bears are most closely related to dogs. In fact, molecular analysis shows that the closest living relatives of bears are pinnipeds, the family of marine mammals that includes seals and walruses. Both of these mammalian families descend from a last common ancestor, or concestor, that lived sometime during the Eocene epoch, about 40 million or 50 million years ago. The exact identity of the progenitor species, however, remains a matter of speculation. Given that the populations of medieval Europe didnt have much contact with polar bears or panda bears, it makes sense that European peasants  associated bears with the color brown- which is where the English name of this animal derives, from the old Germanic root bera. Bears are also known as  ursines, a word that has ancient roots in Proto-Indo-European languages that were spoken as far back as 3500 BCE. The long history of this word makes sense, given that the first human settlers of Eurasia lived in close proximity to cave bears  and sometimes worshiped these beasts as gods. Amphicyon, the bear dog. Wikimedia Commons Reproduction and Offspring Like their close cousins seals and walruses, bears are some of the most sexually dimorphic animals on earth- that is to say, male bears  are significantly bigger than females​, and, what is more, the bigger the species, the larger  the disparity in size. In the largest brown bear subspecies, for instance, males weigh about 1,000 pounds and females only slightly more than half that. However, even though female bears are smaller than males, theyre not exactly helpless. They vigorously defend their cubs from male bears, not to mention any humans foolish enough to interfere with the child-rearing process. Male bears, however, will sometimes attack and kill cubs of their own kind, in order to induce females to breed again. Although there are some differences among the species, in general, female bears generally become sexually mature at between 4 and 8 years of age and have litters every three or four years. Bear breeding occurs during the summers- it is the only time when adult bears get together at all- but implantation doesnt typically occur until late autumn. Total gestation time is 6.5–9 months. Cubs are born singly or up to three at a time, generally in January or February, while the mother is still in hibernation. The young usually stay with their mother for two years. After mating, females are left to raise the young by themselves for a period of about three years, at which point- eager to breed with other males- the mothers chase the cubs away to fend for themselves. James Hager / Getty Images Threats Considering that early humans used to worship bears as gods, our relationship with ursines hasnt exactly been stellar over the last few hundred years. Bears are especially susceptible to habitat destruction, are often hunted for sport, and tend to become the scapegoats whenever campers are attacked in the wild or garbage cans are overturned in suburbs. Today, the largest threats to bears are deforestation and human encroachment, and, for polar bears, climate change which is reducing the environment in which they live. On the whole, black and brown bears are holding their own, even though adverse interactions with humans have increased as their habitats become more constricted. Conservation Status According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the sun bear, sloth bear, Asiatic, and spectacled bears are all listed as Vulnerable and decreasing in population; the polar bear is also listed as Vulnerable but its population status is unknown. The American black bear and brown bear is considered Least Concern and increasing in numbers. The giant panda is Vulnerable but increasing in population.   Bears and Humans Within the past 10,000 years, human beings have domesticated cats, dogs, pigs, and cattle- so why not bears, an animal with which Homo sapiens has coexisted since the end of the Pleistocene epoch? One explanation is that since bears are intensely solitary animals, theres no room for a human trainer to insert himself into the dominance hierarchy as the alpha male. Bears also pursue such varied diets that it would be difficult to keep even a tame population well-supplied. Perhaps most importantly, bears are anxious and aggressive when stressed, and simply dont have suitable personalities to be  house  or yard pets. Sources Dharaiya, N., H.S. Bargali, and T. Sharp. Melursus ursinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T13143A45033815, 2016.McLellan, B.N.et al. Ursus arctos (amended version of 2017 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T41688A121229971, 2017.Scotson, L. et al. Helarctos . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T9760A123798233, 2017.malayanus (errata version published in 2018)Swaisgood, R., D. Wang, and F. Wei.Ailuropoda melanoleuca (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T712A12174566, 2016. Wiig, Ø. et al. Ursus maritimus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T22823A14871490, 2015.

Should English Be Our Official Language Research Paper

Should English Be Our Official Language - Research Paper Example However, such attempts, especially in the congress, have proved futile despite the fact that most of the Americans, i.e. more than 90%, use English as their main language of communication (Lehrer Productions, 2005). This paper is a critical evaluation of whether the US should adopt English as the official language of communication. Despite the fact that English is the most widely used language in the US, the constitution does not mention it or any other language for that matter as the official language of communication. However, there have been attempts from different quarters such as the Congress to enact legislation for that purpose but this has not been achieved. The US is a country, which is full of cultural diversity as its population is a mixture of different races, with some of them having their own unique languages of communication. Some of these languages include and not limited to Spanish, German, Italian, Korean, Greek, and Chinese among others. This has been attributed to the ever increasing number of immigrants entering the country either to do business or to settle and also due to the presence of the descendants of immigrants, who entered the country either as slaves or as settlers during the colonial times. It may be important to note that even the English which is spoken contains different diale cts depending on the speakers, for example with those of African decency, Latinos among others (Crawford, 2000). Various reasons have been brought forward by proponents of adopting English as the country’s official language. This is for example the need to improve national unity. Linguistic diversity around the world has been noted as one of the major contributing factors to bad blood between citizens of a country, and which has the capacity to encourage tribal animosity and violence (US English Inc, 2006).