Word: afflicting
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Russian sentimentality can be honey sweet, but Tolstaya spikes it with the vinegar of the circumstances that afflict her hapless dreamers. The story of an 80-year-old mother who has spent most of her life caring for her retarded son is told in the voice of that man-child. His burbling narrative takes us through his day as he waits for his mother to rise, dress her thickened body and take up the constant guard she can never relinquish. Like the immobile, anonymous soldier guarding a tomb, she is always present but never animated as the pain...
...fighter, it was suddenly forced to compete with two major rivals -- acetaminophen (Tylenol, Anacin-3) and ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin) -- that had many of aspirin's benefits without some of its side effects. Worse, aspirin had been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but sometimes deadly condition that can afflict children after a bout of flu or chickenpox. Doctors immediately ceased to recommend it for most youngsters, and liquid Tylenol replaced orange-flavored children's aspirin in the family medicine cabinet...
...tragic as their situation is, the problems afflict middle-class children as well. Even high school graduates are coming up short in meeting the demands of the workplace. Chemical Bank has reported that it must interview 40 high school graduates to find one person who can be trained to become a teller. All they are seeking is eighth-grade-level skills, and they cannot find them in most high school graduates...
...working with at least 40 different concoctions in pursuit of one of medicine's most urgent goals: the development of an AIDS vaccine. Any team that succeeds will reap fame, fortune and the satisfaction of possibly wiping out a disease that ranks among the deadliest scourges ever to afflict humanity...
...contrast to Wal-Mart's high-stepping esprit de corps, a debilitating siege mentality and lackluster follow-through afflict Sears, according to employees and managers. No effort to revitalize Sears' competitiveness, they say, is likely to succeed until management communicates a clear vision for the company. Says a closely informed source who did not wish to be named: "Why are we always ending up with these losing propositions? We arrive at a strategy, but not everyone in the organization adheres to it. They hedge. There's a lack of buy-in, and you never come out with anything coherent...