5th box -Flashcards

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1. lesson17

A Cup of Coffee? The drink with the most appeal for Americans is still coffee, but coffee addicts had better be wary of the instant forms. Greedy for customers and confident* they won't lose them, companies will put their product in any instant form-liquid, powder, chips-and the coffee drinker, aware of his misfortune, finds it hard to avoid some of the more wretched instant products. The harsh fact is that an enormous* quantity of instant coffee is being sold, no doubt,* to nourish the popular demand for convenience. A keg of real coffee may become a museum piece as more and more people opt for instant coffee.
Record Holders The Guinness Book of World Records is full of fascinating facts. For example, the champion commuter is Bruno Leuthardt of Germany, who traveled 370 miles each day for ten years to his teaching job and was late only once because of a flood. The record for being buried alive is held by Emma Smith of Ravenshead, England. She was confined in a coffin for 100 days. What a way to spend the idle hours! Peter Clark of London collected 1276 autographed pictures of famous men and women. Obviously not all were his idols, but he did set a record. What drives people to these unusual practices? Some are simply done in jest, some for patriotic reasons. Certainly no one would dispute the valor of the "record-makers," even if the records themselves may be no more lasting than a popular song. While one need not be a lunatic, he must have a vein of recklessness to participate in such activities as bungee-jumping, high diving, or parachute jumping. If you are tired of leading a dull, uneventful life, remember the mortais whose fertile imaginations have found novel ways to add excitement to their lives.
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 caramels, chocolate, cookies, and pastries. This results in poor eating habits and leaves 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 the cereals, 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 will 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.
Problems We Face Despite wars, disease, and natural disasters, our world is experiencing a population explosion (boom) that threatens to change or disrupt life as we have known it. Vast numbers of people must be fed and housed, and in the process a whole rash of problems has descended upon the human race. First has been the pollution of the air and the contamination of the water supply. Second has been the rapid exhaustion of fuels, minerals, and other natural resources. The response to this situation has ranged from utter disbelief to exaggerated concern. Since scientists themselves disagree on the severity of the problem, our feeble knowledge is surely unable to suggest the correct course of action. But we cannot stand still because there is too much at stake. We are, therefore, compelled to unite in our efforts to insure that human life on this planet does not cease. We must learn to be thrifty, even miserly, with the gifts of nature that we have formerly taken for granted. If our past reveals a reckless squandering of our natural possessions, we must now find an intelligent guide to their use so that we may remain monarchs of a world that has peace and plenty.

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