addict Oprah, who once confronted her own childhood sexual abuse on her show, last week broke down during a program featuring female drug users and revealed that she had smoked cocaine in the mid-1970s and become an addict.

adversary Diplomacy without force against an adversary without scruples is useless.

advocate That's because much of AIDS research would be impossible without experiments that animal advocates consider unethical.

anecdote Princeton astrophysicist David Spergel offered a telling historical anecdote in an address to colleagues at the AmericanAstronomical Society's January meeting.

antidote Jessica Dubroff's adventure… Might have worked as a cute,uplifting antidote to the shaming mess of the O. J. Simpson trial.

arbitration A clause added to athletes'entry forms stipulates that competitors' disputes be resolved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport,a 12-member body set up by the International Olympic Committee in 1994． arrogance But Fidelity, the biggest fund company of all, known for its arrogance and aggressiveness, is under unprecedented strain.

assets Mutual funds have topped $3. 145 trillion in assets.

beneficiary The new law will turn welfare over to the 50 states, where beneficiaries will be required to find work within two years, be limited to five years of benefits during their lifetime and face stringent restrictions aimed at limiting out-of-wedlock births.

bid Because of pressure from the U.S.,Beijing believes,it lost its bid to host the 2000 Olympics,which went instead to Sydney,Australia.

blockbuster The Soul of Chant, in any event, has risen to No. 10 on the classical charts, not a blockbuster like Chant, but enough to make Milan(Records)Chairman Emmanuel Chamboredon rejoice． bloom Along with the wastewater came a strain of cholera that found a home in huge algal blooms stimulated by unusually warm ocean waters and abundant pollution． capacity My job is to help our clients expand their perceived range of possibilities, Saffo says．Of course,in that capacity,he acknowledges,"you can affect outcomes.