Unit 26

UNIT 26 WORD LIST adhere To adhere means to act in the way that a rule or agreement says is right. If the new employees wish to succeed, they must adhere to the boss's rules. administer To administer means to take responsibility for organizing something. The teacher's assistant will administer the test. compassionate When people are compassionate, they feel pity and sympathy for others. The compassionate nurse tried to make the sick man feel comfortable. contaminate To contaminate something means to put dirty or harmful chemicals into it. The lake was contaminated when pollutants entered the water. deficiency A deficiency is a lack of something, especially something that is needed. Your snack has a deficiency of any real nutrients. emphasis When you put an emphasis on prevention, you give special attention to prevention. The government placed a strong emphasis on educational reform. epidemic An epidemic is an outbreak of a disease that spreads quickly. It was difficult to stop the flu epidemic. hazard A hazard is something that could be dangerous to a person's health or safety. Smoking cigarettes poses many health hazards. imperative When something is imperative, it is extremely important and must be done. It was imperative for him to find a job. intestines Intestines are tubes through which food passes after it leaves the stomach. Whatever you eat goes into your intestines.

manifest To manifest means to make something visible or obvious. The joy of the holiday season manifested as bright smiles on the faces of the children. overcrowded When a place is overcrowded, it has too many people or things in it. The lobby was overcrowded with people. practitioner A practitioner is a doctor. She made an appointment with the practitioner to treat her cough. provision The provision of something is the act of giving it to people in need or want. That department is responsible for the provision of emergency supplies. replenish To replenish something means to make it full or complete again. We planted nearly one hundred seeds to replenish the garden after the fire. reverse When a car reverses, it goes backwards. We reversed out of the parking place and then drove away. sterile When something is sterile it is completely clean and free from germs. The hospital room looked quite sterile. upgrade To upgrade something means to improve it or make it more efficient. He upgraded to a real fancy car. viable When something is viable, it is capable of doing what it is intended to do. Her method of solving the math problem seemed viable. voluntary When something is voluntary, it is done by choice but is not required. Many people attended the voluntary boat safety class.

Epidemic in Zimbabwe In August of 2008, a deadly cholera epidemic manifested itself in Zimbabwe. A severe health hazard caused the outbreak. There was a lack of clean drinking water in the overcrowded urban areas. Garbage and chemicals got into the public water supplies and contaminated them. Since people did not have access to other sources, they had to drink the dirty water. The outbreak spread rapidly and infected almost 16,000 people. The illness caused extreme pain in people's intestines. It also caused a deficiency of important fluids in sick people's bodies. Without the proper fluids and minerals, their bodies stopped working correctly. People were unable to digest food properly or replenish their lost nutrients. Without viable treatment, they would die. It was imperative to reserve the situation. However, the government of Zimbabwe was unable to provide help to its people. The government didn't have a plan to stop the spread of cholera. In addition, the country was too poor to get clean water or medication for the sick. The people seemed to be doomed. Luckily, many other countries recognized the need to contain the outbreak. Dozens of voluntary practitioners from Britain France, the United States, and other countries went to Zimbabwe to treat the disease. Through the provision of sterile drinking water and medication, people finally got the treatment they badly needed. The compassionate doctors were able to save the lives of thousands. By January of 2009, the epidemic was almost completely contained. Today, the Zimbabwean government is investing in measures to avoid future epidemics and placing an emphasis on prevention. They are cleaning up the water supply and making changes to reduce health hazards. The system used to filter water is being upgraded. The government now administers the water supply plants and makes sure that they adhere to strict safety guidelines. Hopefully, future instances of cholera will be treated before they start deadly epidemics.