Unit 6-Assignment Studnet

Unit Six Women, Half the SkyText AA Woman Can Learn Anything a Man CanWatch the video “Obama’s Speech on American Women”. Please answer the questions and then fill in the blanks:✦Vocabulary:peaks and valleys 高潮和低谷upward 向上的daring 大胆的indomitable不屈不挠的ridicule 嘲笑, 奚落assumption 臆断crack 裂缝reflect on 思考statistics 统计数据victim 受害人domestic 家庭的bend 弯曲✦Questions1.In Obama’s opinion, what does the story of America look like?The story of America is one of hope and progress, of an upward journey.2.Wha t is the reality of American women’s life at present?It is a reality marked by unfairness, by hardship for too many wom en.3.What is the fundamental truth reflected by the facts and figures?The fundamental truth is that full gender equality has not yet been achieved.4. Can you mention some famous women in Chinese history?5. What is the reality of Chinese women’s life at present?The story of America’s women, like the story of America itself, has had its peaks and valleys.But as one of our great American educators once said, if you drew a line through all the valleys and all the peaks, that line would be drawn with an upward curve. That upward curve—what we call 1progress —didn’t happen by accident.It came about because of 2daring , indomitable women. Women like Abigail Adams, who brought on the ridicule of her husband John by advising him to “remember the ladies” in our founding documents. Women like the 3pioneers and settlers who, in the words of one, said, “I thought where he could go, I could go.”Women like Dorothy Height and Sylvia Mendez and Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem and Sandra Day O’Connor and Madeline Albright, upending assumptions and changing laws and tearing down 4barriers . Women like Hillary Rodham Clinton, who, throughout her career, has put millions of cracks in America’s glass ceiling (玻璃天花板；玻璃顶棚。

指在公司企业和机关团体中，限制某些人口群体（女性、少数民族）晋升到高级职位的障碍). It’s because of them —and so many others, many who aren’t 5recorded in the history books — that the story of America is, ultimately, one of hope and one of progress, of an 6 upward journey .But even as we reflect on the hope of our history, we must also face squarely the reality of the present — a reality marked by 7 unfairness , marked by hardship for too many women in America. The statistics of inequality are all too familiar to us — how women just earn 77 cents for every dollar men make; how one in four women is the victim of domestic violence at some point in her life; how women are more than half the population, but 8make up only 17 percent of the seatsin Congress, and less than 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.These, and any number of other 9 facts and figures, reflect the fundamental truth that in 2010,10 full gender equality has not yet been achieved; that the task of perfecting America goes on; and tha t all of us, men and women, have a part to play in bending the arc in America’s story upward in the 21st century.Background Information✦Two Famous Feminists：Betty Friedan & Bella AbzugBetty FriedanBetty Friedan is often called “the mother ofthe modern women’s liberation movement.” Herfamous book, The Feminine Mystique, changedAmerica. Some people say it changed the world.It has been called one of the most influentialnonfiction books of the twentieth century.Friedan re-awakened the feminist movementin the United States. That movement had helpedwomen gain the right to vote in the nineteentwenties. Modern feminists disagree about how to describe themselves and their movement. But activists say men and women should have equal chances for economic, social and intellectual satisfaction in life.Fifty years ago, life for women in the United States was very different from today. Very few parents urged their daughters to become lawyers or doctors or professors. Female workers doing the same jobs as men earned much less money. Women often lost their jobs when they had a baby. There were few child-care centers for working parents.Betty Friedan once spoke to ABC television about her support for sharing responsibility for the care of children. “If child-rearing was considered the responsibility of women and men or women and men and society, then we really could pull up our skirts and declare victory and mo ve on.”Friedan completed more studies. She talked to other women across the country. She met with experts about the questions and answers. She combined this research with observations and examples from her own life. The result was her book, The Feminine Mystique, published in nineteen sixty-three.The book attacked the popular idea of the time that women could only find satisfaction through being married, having children and taking care of their home. Friedan believed that women wanted more from life than just to please their husbands and children.The book said women suffered from feelings of lack of worth. Friedan said this was because the women depended on their husbands for economic, emotional and intellectual support.The Feminine Mystique was a huge success. It has sold more than three million copies. It was reprinted in a number of other languages. The book helped change the lives of women in America. More women began working outside the home. More women also began studying traditionally male subjectslike law, medicine and engineering.Bella AbzugToday, we tell about Bella Abzug. She was a member of the UnitedStates Congress in the nineteen seventies. She also was a well-knownactivist for civil rights and women’s rights. Bella Abzug was well kno wn for many reasons. She was a lawyer and activist. She represented New York City in Congress. She spoke in a loud voice. And she always wore large hats.Mir Abzug supported women’s rights and civil rights. She had strong opinions on many issues. She opposed the American involvement in the war in Vietnam. She made public her opinions on most important issues. In fact, she was called one of the most outspoken members of Congress.Bella Abzug also acted on her beliefs. She wrote legislation to prevent unfair treatment of women. She presented the first bill for equal rights for homosexuals. She often denounced the majority of the members of Congress who were white males. She said they did not know about the lives and problems of most people in America.Warming – up✦Comprehension Questions about the TextFor Part 1Questions and Answers1.What toys did the author have in her childhood?She had a complete miniature kitchen, a herd of toy ponies and several Barbie and Ken dolls.2.What did the author experience in order to get her college degree?She had to take a lot of math and science classes. She also had to work with a team of students as a part of a national competition.3.How were her school performances?She got A’s in all her classes, including multivariable calculus and differential equations.4.What was the summer program mainly for?The summer program was mainly to interest girls in engineering.5.Why did the author apply for the summer program?The author for the summer program because she wanted to be away from her parents and be independent for a while.6.What do some of the studies say about women?Studies say that in the aspect of math, women are inferior to men.For Part 2True or False1.The author was educated to do what she is best at.T2.The author’s experience showed that people could learn better if they are good at it.FThe author found out that if a subject is difficult to learn, she would try her best to be good at it, and she would enjoy it more.3. The algebra teacher in middle school often judged students by their academic performance.FThe teacher didn’t judge students by their scores and he considered bad scores as indications that students should learn more.4. The author felt comfortable while sitting in the engineering library.FThe author often felt panic and worried.For Part 3Blank Filling(Directions :) In this part, there are several comparisons or contrasts. Fill in the blanks with necessary information to make logic sentences showing comparison or contrast.1. Little girls loving dolls is just the same to _little boys loving videogames_________.2. Some people favor the right side of the brain, while others _the left side____________.3. We should ignore _hard and fast conclusion about the human brain____________. Instead, incredible flexibility should be focused on.4. In spite of agreeing that women can’t learn physics well, _the possibility that our brains are more powerful than imagined_______ should be considered.Difficult Sentences✧ 1. (Para. 1) We did have a Wiffle-ball set, but you would have been hard-pressed to find it in our playroom.1.Translate this sentence into Chinese.我们确实有一套空心棒球，但是很难在我们的游戏室找到。