What is the topic sentence? 

 If you were at a social gathering in a large building and you overheard someone say that "the roof is on fire," what would be your reaction?

 Until you knew more information, your first inclination might be toward safety and survival.

 But if you were to find out that this particular person was talking about a song called "The Roof Is on Fire," your feelings of threat and danger would be diminished.

 So once the additional facts are understood ―that the person was referring to a song and not a real fire ― the context is better understood and you are in a better position to judge and react.

 All too often people react far too quickly and emotionally over information without establishing context.

 It is so important for us to identify context related to information because if we fail to do so, we may judge and react too quickly.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Imagine that your body is a battery and the more energy this battery can store, the more energy you will be able to have within a day.

 Every night when you sleep, this battery is recharged with as much energy as you spent during the previous day.

 If you want to have a lot of energy tomorrow, you need to spend a lot of energy today.

 Our brain consumes only 20% of our energy, so it's a must to supplement thinking activities with walking and exercises that spend a lot of energy, so that your internal battery has more energy tomorrow.

 Your body stores as much energy as you need: for thinking, for moving, for doing exercises.

 The more active you are today, the more energy you spend today and the more energy you will have to burn tomorrow.

 Exercising gives you more energy and keeps you from feeling exhausted.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 When we read a number, we are more influenced by the leftmost digit than by the rightmost, since that is the order in which we read, and process, them.

 The number 799 feels significantly less than 800 because we see the former as 7-something and the latter as 8-something, whereas 798 feels pretty much like 799.

 Since the nineteenth century, shopkeepers have taken advantage of this trick by choosing prices ending in a 9, to give the impression that a product is cheaper than it is.

 Surveys show that around a third to two-thirds of all retail prices now end in a 9.

 Though we are all experienced shoppers, we are still fooled.

 In 2008, researchers at the University of Southern Brittany monitored a local pizza restaurant that was serving five types of pizza at €8.00 each.

 When one of the pizzas was reduced in price to €7.99, its share of sales rose from a third of the total to a half.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 In a competitive environment, such as a college admissions process or a job application situation, almost everyone has strong qualifications.

 Almost everyone has facts in their favor.

 But how valuable are facts alone?

 Think back to the most recent lecture or presentation you attended.

 How many facts do you remember from it?

 If you're like most people, you can't recall many, if any.

 Chances are good, however, that you remember stories, anecdotes, and examples from the event, even if you can't think of their exact context.

 The average person today is flooded with facts and data, and we let most of this pass through our brains with minimal retention or reaction ―unless something makes the information stand out in a meaningful way.

 That's where story comes in.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Born in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Charles Henry Turner was an early pioneer in the field of insect behavior.

 His father owned an extensive library where Turner became fascinated with reading about the habits and behavior of insects.

 Proceeding with his study, Turner earned a doctorate degree in zoology, the first African American to do so.

 Even after receiving his degree, Turner was unable to get a teaching or research position at any major universities, possibly as a result of racism.

 He moved to St. Louis and taught biology at Sumner High School, focusing on research there until 1922.

 Turner was the first person to discover that insects are capable of learning, illustrating that insects can alter behavior based on previous experience.

 He died of cardiac disease in Chicago in 1923.

 During his 33-year career, Turner published more than 70 papers.

 His last scientific paper was published the year after his death.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Poetry in the Park Saturday, October 13, 11:00 a.m.― 6:00 p.m.

 This annual festival, now in its sixth year, is held with the support of Riverside Public Library.

 ◈ Poetry Workshop • Meet and talk with renowned poets about their poems.

 Jane Kenny(11:30 a.m.), Michael Weil(12:30 p.m.) • Learn how to express your feelings poetically.

 ◈ Poetry Contest • Theme for this year's contest is "Arrivals and Departures."

 • Only one poem per participant • Due by 3:00 p.m. • The winners will be announced at 5:00 p.m. on the day on site.

 For questions about the festival, please visit our website at www.poetryinthepark.org.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Dinosaur Museum Established in 1993, the Dinosaur Museum has developed into the largest display of dinosaur and prehistoric life in Canada.

 Hours • 9:00 a.m. ― 5:00 p.m. (Monday ― Friday) • 9:00 a.m. ― 3:00 p.m. (Saturday & Sunday) Admission • $4 for adults, $2 for students & children Programs • Paint a Dinosaur Egg!

 At 10:00 a.m. every day, kids can paint a dinosaur egg to take home.

 • Dinosaur Quiz At 2:00 p.m. during the weekend, one winner of our dinosaur quiz will be given a real fossil as a prize.

 • Guided Tours The tours run at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. every day.

 The tours are free and require no bookings.

 Just show up!

 Notice • Food and pets are prohibited in the museum.

 • Please do not touch or climb on the exhibits.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 The belief that humans have morality and animals don't is such a longstanding assumption that it could well be called a habit of mind, and bad habits, as we all know, are extremely hard to break.

 A lot of people have caved in to this assumption because it is easier to deny morality to animals than to deal with the complex effects of the possibility that animals have moral behavior.

 The historical tendency, framed in the outdated dualism of us versus them, is strong enough to make a lot of people cling to the status quo.

 Denial of who animals are conveniently allows for maintaining false stereotypes about the cognitive and emotional capacities of animals.

 Clearly a major paradigm shift is needed, because the lazy acceptance of habits of mind has a strong influence on how animals are understood and treated.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 We notice repetition among confusion, and the opposite: we notice a break in a repetitive pattern.

 But how do these arrangements make us feel?

 And what about "perfect" regularity and "perfect" chaos?

 Some repetition gives us a sense of security, in that we know what is coming next.

 We like some predictability.

 We arrange our lives in largely repetitive schedules.

 Randomness, in organization or in events, is more challenging and more frightening for most of us.

 With "perfect" chaos we are frustrated by having to adapt and react again and again.

 But "perfect" regularity is perhaps even more horrifying in its monotony than randomness is.

 It implies a cold, unfeeling, mechanical quality.

 Such perfect order does not exist in nature; there are too many forces working against each other.

 Either extreme, therefore, feels threatening.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Albert Einstein once boarded a train from Philadelphia.

 The conductor came around to punch the tickets and said, "Ticket, please."

 Einstein reached into his vest pocket for the ticket, but did not find it.

 He checked his jacket pocket.

 No ticket.

 He checked his brief case.

 But still, he could not find his ticket.

 The conductor, noting his obvious distress, kindly said, "I know who you are, Dr. Einstein.

 Don't worry about your ticket."

 Several minutes later the conductor turned around from the front of the traincar to see Einstein continuing to search under his seat for the missing ticket.

 Quickly, he hurried back to assure the gray-haired gentleman.

 "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are!"

 he repeated.

 "Please don't worry about your ticket."

 Dr. Einstein slowly arose from his knees and addressed the young conductor.

 "Son, you don't understand.

 I, too, know who I am.

 What I don't know is where I'm going."

 What is the topic sentence? 

 If you follow science news, you will have noticed that cooperation among animals has become a hot topic in the mass media.

 For example, in late 2007 the science media widely reported a study by Claudia Rutte and Michael Taborsky suggesting that rats display what they call "generalized reciprocity."

 They each provided help to an unfamiliar and unrelated individual, based on their own previous experience of having been helped by an unfamiliar rat.

 Rutte and Taborsky trained rats in a cooperative task of pulling a stick to obtain food for a partner.

 Rats who had been helped previously by an unknown partner were more likely to help others.

 Before this research was conducted, generalized reciprocity was thought to be unique to humans.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 We have to recognize that there always exists in us the strongest need to utilize all our attention.

 And this is quite evident in the great amount of displeasure we feel any time the entirety of our capacity for attention is not being put to use.

 When this is the case, we will seek to find outlets for our unused attention.

 If we are playing a chess game with a weaker opponent, we will seek to supplement this activity with another: such as watching TV, or listening to music, or playing another chess game at the same time.

 Very often this reveals itself in unconscious movements, such as playing with something in one's hands or pacing around the room; and if such an action also serves to increase pleasure or relieve displeasure, all the better.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 From an economic perspective, a short-lived event can become an innovative event if it generates goods and services that can be sold to people, in particular to those from outside the locality.

 The remarkable growth of art exhibitions, cultural festivals and sports competitions, for example, can be analysed in this light.

 They are temporary activities that can attract large numbers of outsiders to a locality, bringing in new sources of income.

 But even here, there is a two-way interaction between the event and the context.

 The existence of an infrastructure, a reputation, a history of an activity for an area may have important effects on the economic success or failure of an event.

 In other words, events do not take place in a vacuum.

 They depend on an existing context which has been in the making for a long time.

 The short-lived event, therefore, would be performed in relation to this long-term context.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Interestingly, in nature, the more powerful species have a narrower field of vision.

 The distinction between predator and prey offers a clarifying example of this.

 The key feature that distinguishes predator species from prey species isn't the presence of claws or any other feature related to biological weaponry.

 The key feature is the position of their eyes.

 Predators evolved with eyes facing forward ―which allows for binocular vision that offers accurate depth perception when pursuing prey.

 Prey, on the other hand, often have eyes facing outward, maximizing peripheral vision, which allows the hunted to detect danger that may be approaching from any angle.

 Consistent with our place at the top of the food chain, humans have eyes that face forward.

 We have the ability to gauge depth and pursue our goals, but we can also miss important action on our periphery.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Wouldn't it be nice if you could take your customers by the hand and guide each one through your store while pointing out all the great products you would like them to consider buying?

 Most people, however, would not particularly enjoy having a stranger grab their hand and drag them through a store.

 Rather, let the store do it for you.

 Have a central path that leads shoppers through the store and lets them look at many different departments or product areas.

 This path leads your customers from the entrance through the store on the route you want them to take all the way to the checkout.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Color can impact how you perceive weight.

 Dark colors look heavy, and bright colors look less so.

 Interior designers often paint darker colors below brighter colors to put the viewer at ease.

 Product displays work the same way.

 Place bright-colored products higher and dark-colored products lower, given that they are of similar size.

 This will look more stable and allow customers to comfortably browse the products from top to bottom.

 In contrast, shelving dark-colored products on top can create the illusion that they might fall over, which can be a source of anxiety for some shoppers.

 Black and white, which have a brightness of 0% and 100%, respectively, show the most dramatic difference in perceived weight.

 In fact, black is perceived to be twice as heavy as white.

 Carrying the same product in a black shopping bag, versus a white one, feels heavier.

 So, small but expensive products like neckties and accessories are often sold in dark-colored shopping bags or cases.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Ethical and moral systems are different for every culture.

 According to cultural relativism, all of these systems are equally valid, and no system is better than another.

 The basis of cultural relativism is the notion that no true standards of good and evil actually exist.

 Therefore, judging whether something is right or wrong is based on individual societies' beliefs, and any moral or ethical opinions are affected by an individual's cultural perspective.

 There exists an inherent logical inconsistency in cultural relativism, however.

 If one accepts the idea that there is no right or wrong, then there exists no way to make judgments in the first place.

 To deal with this inconsistency, cultural relativism creates "tolerance."

 However, with tolerance comes intolerance, which means that tolerance must imply some sort of ultimate good.

 Thus, tolerance also goes against the very notion of cultural relativism, and the boundaries of logic make cultural relativism impossible.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 The way we communicate influences our ability to build strong and healthy communities.

 Traditional ways of building communities have emphasized debate and argument.

 For example, the United States has a strong tradition of using town hall meetings to deliberate important issues within communities.

 In these settings, advocates for each side of the issue present arguments for their positions, and public issues have been discussed in such public forums.

 Yet for debate and argument to work well, people need to come to such forums with similar assumptions and values.

 The shared assumptions and values serve as a foundation for the discussion.

 However, as society becomes more diverse, the likelihood that people share assumptions and values diminishes.

 As a result, forms of communication such as argument and debate become polarized, which may drive communities apart as opposed to bringing them together.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Some people believe that the social sciences are falling behind the natural sciences.

 They maintain that not only does social science have no exact laws, but it also has failed to eliminate great social evils such as racial discrimination, crime, poverty, and war.

 They suggest that social scientists have failed to accomplish what might reasonably have been expected of them.

 Such critics are usually unaware of the real nature of social science and of its special problems and basic limitations.

 For example, they forget that the solution to a social problem requires not only knowledge but also the ability to influence people.

 Even if social scientists discover the procedures that could reasonably be followed to achieve social improvement, they are seldom in a position to control social action.

 For that matter, even dictators find that there are limits to their power to change society.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 We cannot predict the outcomes of sporting contests, which vary from week to week.

 This heterogeneity is a feature of sport.

 It is the uncertainty of the result and the quality of the contest that consumers find attractive.

 For the sport marketer, this is problematic, as the quality of the contest cannot be guaranteed, no promises can be made in relations to the result and no assurances can be given in respect of the performance of star players.

 Unlike consumer products, sport cannot and does not display consistency as a key feature of marketing strategies.

 The sport marketer therefore must avoid marketing strategies based solely on winning, and must instead focus on developing product extensions such as the facility, parking, merchandise, souvenirs, food and beverages rather than on the core product (that is, the game itself).

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Plants are nature's alchemists; they are expert at transforming water, soil, and sunlight into an array of precious substances.

 Many of these substances are beyond the ability of human beings to conceive.

 While we were perfecting consciousness and learning to walk on two feet, they were, by the same process of natural selection, inventing photosynthesis (the astonishing trick of converting sunlight into food) and perfecting organic chemistry.

 As it turns out, many of the plants' discoveries in chemistry and physics have served us well.

 From plants come chemical compounds that nourish and heal and delight the senses.

 Why would they go to all this trouble?

 Why should plants bother to devise the recipes for so many complex molecules and then expend the energy needed to manufacture them?

 Plants can't move, which means they can't escape the creatures that feed on them.

 A great many of the chemicals plants produce are designed, by natural selection, to compel other creatures to leave them alone: deadly poisons, foul flavors, toxins to confuse the minds of predators.

 Plants also can't change location or extend their reproductive range without help.

 Many other of the substances plants make draw other creatures to them by stirring and gratifying their desire.

 It is this fact of plants' immobility that causes them to make chemicals.

 What is the topic sentence? 

 Rangan opened his cycle shop early in the morning.

 Yesterday he could not attend to business as he was laid up with high fever, but today he made it up to the shop to earn money for his family.

 Shouting to the tea boy in the next shop for a strong cup of tea, he lined up all the bicycles to be repaired outside.

 He took a sip of the tea, thinking about the order in which he had to go ahead with his job.

 Rangan's thoughts were disturbed by an old man walking with his bicycle towards his shop.

 The old man was wearing an old turban on his head.

 His hands and face were covered in wrinkles.

 In a gloomy tone, he said, "Would you please replace the tire?

 I'll pay you this evening."

 Feeling sympathy for him, Rangan fixed the bicycle.

 He even treated the old man to a cup of tea.

 The old man thanked Rangan and left.

 Rangan worked hard to finish what he had to do.

 It was already late evening but there was no sign of the old man.

 Doubts filled him.

 What if the old man does not return with the money?

 He regretted fixing up the old man's bicycle.

 Suddenly he lost all hope and he could wait no longer.

 He locked up his shop later than usual and cursed himself for getting tricked by an old man.

 At home, Rangan was confused.

 Washing his greasy hands, he heard a knock at his door.

 It was the old man and the tea boy.

 The old man said, "Your shop was closed when I returned.

 Luckily, I saw this boy in front of the shop."

 Handing over the money to Rangan, he continued, "Thanks for your hospitality."

 Rangan grinned at the kind words the old man spoke to him.

 The fact that he had suspected the old man pained his heart.