Search and Rescue Dogs Read the following article:

Have you ever seen footage of search and rescue dogs working at disasters? Have you seen movies or TV programs in which dogs are used to find lost children or track escaped prisoners? Search and rescue dogs save many lives, but they also inspire respect and admiration. They go where we can't go, use senses that out-perform our own feeble versions, and they save lives with the help of their expert trainers and handlers.

Search and rescue dogs (SARs) are not just born, however. They require a huge investment of time, dedication, training, and patience almost from the day they are born. SAR dogs are carefully selected when they are quite young. Trainers look for dogs that lack aggression and respond well to commands. They also look for a certain mental focus—it can be on a type of play or a special toy—that will enable the dog to work at a single task for a long time. This focus is important to the training of the dog, but also will be required when the dog is searching for and following human scent.

If a dog is selected for SAR training, it will be taught—through a series of games—how to make the most of its powerful nose. For example, dogs learning to follow scents on the air might play a tug-of-war game with the trainer involving a special toy. Then with a helper restraining the dog, the trainer will run away with the toy, find a hiding spot, and then call the dog. The dog can follow the scent of both the trainer and the toy. In this way, the dog is practicing important skills even though it may seem like just a game. Eventually, the toy is removed from this game, and the dog focuses on the human scent. Later the dog will learn more difficult tasks: to pick up a scent from an article of clothing or pick out a particular human scent in a crowd of people, for example.

Read the third paragraph of the article again. Why is the toy removed from the training after a certain time?

Once trust has been established, it's not needed.
The dogs need to shift their focus to human scent.
The type of play needs to become more difficult.
Toys are too easily traced by their scent.

i have learned a great many things from participating in varsity football. it has changed my entire outlook on and attitude toward life. before my freshman year at [high-school], i was shy, had low self-esteem and turned away from seemingly impossible challenges. football has altered all of these qualities. on the first day of freshman practice, the team warmed up with a game of touch football. the players were split up and the game began. however, during the game, i noticed that i didn't run as hard as i could, nor did i try to evade my defender and get open. the fact of the matter is that i really did not want to be thrown the ball. i didn't want to be the one at fault if i dropped the ball and the play didn't succeed. i did not want the responsibility of the team because i was too afraid of making a mistake. that aspect of my character led the first years of my high school life. i refrained from asking questions in class, afraid they might be considered too stupid or dumb by my classmates. all the while, i went to practice and everyday, i went home physically and mentally exhausted.

yet my apprehension prevailed as i continued to fear getting put in the game in case another player was injured. i was still afraid of making mistakes and getting blamed by screaming coaches and angry teammates. sometimes these fears came true. during my sophomore season, my position at backup guard led me to play in the varsity games on many occasions. on such occasions, i often made mistakes. most of the time the mistakes were not significant; they rarely changed the outcome of a play. yet i received a thorough verbal lashing at practice for the mistakes i had made. these occurrences only compounded my fears of playing. however, i did not always make mistakes. sometimes i made great plays, for which i was congratulated. now, as i dawn on my senior year of football and am faced with two starting positions, i feel like a changed person.

over the years, playing football has taught me what it takes to succeed. from months of tough practices, i have gained a hard work ethic. from my coaches and fellow teammates, i have learned to work well with others in a group, as it is necessary to cooperate with teammates on the playing field. but most important, i have also gained self-confidence. if i fail, it doesn't matter if they mock or ridicule me; i'll just try again and do it better. i realize that it is necessary to risk failure in order to gain success. the coaches have always said before games that nothing is impossible; i know that now. now, i welcome the challenge. whether i succeed or fail is irrelevant; it is only important that i have tried and tested myself.

the topic of this essay is how the applicant has matured and changed since his freshman year. he focuses on football. one of the strengths of this essay is that it is well organized. the applicant clearly put time into the structure and planning of this essay. he uses the platform of football to discuss and demonstrate his personal growth and development through the high school years. what he could have done better was spend more time describing himself after he made improvements. as it is, he only tells us about his newfound confidence and drive. this essay would have been stronger had he actually shown us, perhaps by including a story or describing an event where his confidence made a difference

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