Vocabulary Focus:
- Outlaw
- Promote
- Undernourished
- Illustrate
- Disclose
- Excessive
- Disaster
- Censor
- Culprit
- Juvenile
- Bait
- Insist
What Did You Have for Breakfast?
A parents’ organization to protect children’s health appealed* to a Senate committee to outlaw television commercials that promote the purchase of sugary products. Too much advertising urges the young child to eat caramel, chocolate, cookies, and pastries. This results in poor eating habits, leaving youngsters undernourished and subject to rapid* tooth decay and other diseases.
To illustrate the extent of the problem, a recent survey of one typical day of CBS’s Channel 7 in Boston between 7 A.M. and 2 P.M. disclosed 67 commercials for sweet-tasting products. Several witnesses said that many children’s cereals contained more than 50 percent sugar, that children often forced their parents to buy them, and that excessive use of sugar from cereals, soft drinks, and snack foods is a national disaster. Dr. Jean Mayer, professor of nutrition at Harvard University, recommended censoring the culprits in advertising for juvenile viewers. Recognizing the powerful opponents in the food industry who will resist* control, Dr. Mayer said that no feeble efforts would do. “Sugar-coated nothings,” he added, “must cease* to be the standard diet of the American child.”
Other witnesses pointed out that many cereal boxes, as bait for the children, used offers of dolls, balloons, airplane or car models, magic kits, monster cutouts, and similar trifles, but the cereal inside the box, they insisted, had no more food value than the container it came in.
- Outlaw: Penjahat, orang yang dilarang, orang yang dikejar hukum
- Promote: Mempromosikan, memajukan, memperkenalkan
- Undernourished: Kurang gizi, kekurangan nutrisi, kurus
- Illustrate: Mengilustrasikan, menggambar, menjelaskan dengan gambar
- Disclose: Membuka rahasia, mengungkapkan, menyingkap
- Excessive: Berlebihan, terlalu banyak, tidak wajar
- Disaster: Bencana, malapetaka, musibah
- Censor: Menyensor, membatasi, memotong adegan
- Culprit: Pelaku kejahatan, tersangka, orang yang bersalah
- Juvenile: Remaja, anak muda, belum dewasa
- Bait: Umpan, perangkap, jebakan
- Insist: Bersikeras, menekankan, memaksakan.
The Outlaw’s Bait
Jake was an outlaw who had a knack for finding trouble. He liked to promote himself as the best hacker in the city, but he was also undernourished and desperate for money. One day, he received an offer from a mysterious client who wanted him to illustrate a comic book that would disclose the secrets of a powerful corporation. Jake agreed, thinking it was an easy job, but he soon realized he had bitten off more than he could chew. The comic book was actually a trap to lure him into a web of lies and danger. The corporation had hired the client to censor Jake and stop him from exposing their excessive and illegal activities. Jake had to face a series of disasters, from being chased by armed guards to being framed for murder. He had to find out who was the real culprit behind the scheme and how to escape. Along the way, he met a juvenile hacker named Amy, who claimed to be his fan and wanted to help him. But was she really on his side, or was she just another bait? Jake had to insist on his innocence and his skills, while trying to survive and uncover the truth.
