Jack Bauer: My favorite TV character

I don't watch TV much. In fact, after my favorite show 24 ended its 8th season a few years ago, I hardly ever find myself in front of the screen. But when I do, I am most likely watching repeats of 24, idolizing my favorite character Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer is a fictional character who works as a member of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). He emulates strength, courage and bravery. Jack enjoys saving the world, stopping terrorist attacks, and putting bad guys where they belong. He plays a tough guy character who sacrifices himself time after time for the greater good of the country he loves so very much. Jack's humble and intense attitude has won the hearts of millions of American viewers.

Vocabulary 
1. hardly (adv.) barely
2. idolizing (v.) admire or love deeply
3. emulates (v.) imitates
4. courage (adj.) the ability to do something that frightens one.
5. bravery (adj.) not being afraid even in the face of pain
6. sacrifices (v.) giving something of extreme importance for the greater good
7. humble (adj.) having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.
8. intense (adj.) having or showing strong feelings or opinions; extremely serious.

Vocabulary Exercise: 
Create a sentence for each of the following:
1. hardly _______________________________________________
2. idolizing _______________________________________________
3. emulates _______________________________________________
4. courage _______________________________________________
5. bravery _______________________________________________
6. sacrifices _______________________________________________
7. humble _______________________________________________
8. intense _______________________________________________

Grammar Point: Parallel Structure 

Parallel structure (also called parallelism) is the repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence. By making each compared item or idea in your sentence follow the same grammatical pattern, you create a parallel construction. Parallel Structure: Peter enjoys cooking, reading, and running.Not Parallel Structure: Peter enjoys to cook, reading and going for a run. The second example does not satisfy the conditions of parallelism because to cook, and reading and going for a run are not all in the same tense. The following are examples from the above paragraph that use parallel structure:

1. But when I do, I am most likely watching repeats of 24, idolizing my favorite character Jack Bauer. 2. He emulates strength, courage and bravery. 3. Jack enjoys saving the world, stopping terrorist attacks, and putting bad guys where they belong. 

Grammar Activity 

Write about your favorite fictional character using parallel structure and at least 3 reasons supporting your answer.