Unit 3 Gender DifferencesPart 1 listening oneThree guys are out having a relaxing day fishing. Out of the blue, they catch a mermaid who begs to be set free in return for granting each of them a wish.One of the guys just doesn't believe it, and says, "OK, if you can really grant wishes, then double my IQ." The mermaid says, "Done." Suddenly, the guy starts to recite Shakespeare flawlessly and then make an extremely insightful analysis of it. The second guy is so amazed that he says to the mermaid, "Hey, triple my IQ." The mermaid says, "Done." The guy begins pouring out all the mathematical solutions to problems that have puzzled scientists in all fields.The last guy is so impressed by the changes in his friends that he says to the mermaid, "Quintuple my IQ." The mermaid looks at him and says, "You know, I normally don't try to change people's minds when they make a wish, but I really wish you'd reconsider."The guy says, "No, I want you to increase my IQ five times, and if you don't do it, I won't set you free." "Please," says the mermaid, "you don't know what you're asking for. It'll change your entire view of the universe. Won't you ask for something else? A million dollars or anything?"But no matter what the mermaid says, the guy insists on having his IQ increased by five times its usual power. So the mermaid sighs and says, "Done." And he becomes a woman.Keys: 1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T2.1. set free in return2.2 recite extremely insightful analysis2.3 pouring out, puzzled, in all fields2.4 normally, change people’s minds, reconsider2.5 usual powerPart 1 listening two(Dr. Herring, author of a book on language and communication, is being interviewed by Bob White, a writer for an academic journal on communication.Bob White: Good morning, Dr. Herring! We both know that many communication specialists believe that gender bias exists in language, culture andsociety. Do you think this is really so?Dr. Herring: Yes, I certainly do. How we talk and listen can be strongly influenced by cultural expectations, and these begin during childhood. Childrenusually play together with other children of the same gender, and thisis where our conversational style is learned.Bob White: Can you give some specific examples?Dr. Herring: Certainly. We find that girls use language mainly to develop closenessor intimacy as a basis for friendship. Boys, on the contrary, uselanguage mainly to earn status in their group.Bob White: But, in communication through electronic devices like e-mail discussion groups, there should be no gender distinction if writers'names are not used in the messages.Dr. Herring: One might think so, but in fact, email writing style is more comparable with spoken language, so basic language styles are stillevident.Bob White: I thought e-mail messages were gender neutral!Dr. Herring: No. While theoretical gender equality exists for the Internet, in reality women are not given equal opportunity because of differentcommunication and language styles between the sexes.Bob White: How does that happen? Do you have any hard facts to back up this impression?Dr. Herring: Yes. I've done a research project using randomly selected e-mail messages from online discussion groups. I found that females uselanguage that is more collaborative and supportive such as "Thanksfor all your tips on...", "Good point." and "Hope this helps!". Mentend to use more aggressive or competitive language such as "Do youunderstand that?", "You should realize that...", "It is absurd tothink...".Bob White: How great are these gender differences?Dr. Herring: Males write messages using aggressive, competitive language more than twice as often as females did, while females use collaborativeand supportive language three times as often as males did. In thisstudy, it is clear that there is a gender difference in e-mail messagesjust as in other communication media.Bob White: So the "battle of the sexes" is still with us, even online.Questions:1. According to Dr. Herring, when is children’s conversational style learned?2. Which of the following is most similar to e-mail writing in style?3. Why is there still no equality on the Internet?4. What comparison did Dr. Herring make in her research?Keys: 1. C2. B3.A4. B2.1. language, culture, society, cultural expectations2.2 closeness, intimacy, earn status2.3 collaborative supportive, aggressive competitivePart 1 listening threeJohn: Cathy, do you think it's appropriate for females to continuously expect guys to behave in a standard gentlemanly fashion like opening car doors?Cathy: Well, I think it would be nice if men could do such things.John: My side of the theory is that we all have to admit that we are living in theworld of change. Right? Sometimes the equation changes if the driver is a girl and the passenger is a guy who doesn't drive. So what happens? Should the girl open the door for the guy or should the guy open the door for the girl?Maybe we should just adopt an "open your own door" policy.Cathy: Yes, I agree, John. But...sometimes it's just a matter of courtesy. It doesn't matter who opens the door for whom. Maybe females just should not expect too much. Life isn't a fairy tale after all.John: That's absolutely true. Sometimes I feel that there isn't any difference in the roles both genders can perform. Of course I'm not saying that men can give birth. Rather what I meant was except for the physical and natural differences between both sexes, there isn't much difference between them.Cathy: But honestly, although I don't expect guys to open doors for me, or to pull outa chair for me, I am usually quite impressed if they do so, as many guys don'tdo it nowadays. If the guy was walking in front of me and went through thedoor first, I'd appreciate it if he could hold the door and not let it slam in myface.John: Well, if I'm the one walking in front, I will open the door and hold it for the people behind me, be it a girl or a boy. I actually had the door slam right in my face a number of times though, when the person walking closely in front of me didn't hold the heavy glass door and let it swing back in my face. Of course, I tried to hold the door, but it was too heavy and too late. But I think it was more embarrassing for him than me as everyone was looking at him, while I was rubbing my squashed nose.Cathy: So being a gentleman does not stop at opening doors. There are many other aspects I believe.Keys:1. T T F F T2. D A B A BPart 1 listening fourDo you know how you learned to be a woman? Do you know how you learned to be a man? What makes the difference in terms of gender and our roles in society? Even when our physical structures are revealed to be really similar, women and men "tend" to play different roles in society. In an article in the latest issue of Psychology Today, we find a study that reflects how parents of 15 girl babies and 15 boy babies differed in their descriptions of their babies. Despite the fact that objective data such as birth length, weight, irritability, etc. did not differ, when the parents were asked to describe their babies, they said that girl babies were softer, littler, more beautiful, prettier, cuter than boy babies. Based on these facts, we could conclude that parents' attitudes are influencing their children.Our parents and later our school, television and the Internet are showing us a whole set of expected behaviors that create our patterns. Thus, a simple cartoon can suggest to children how they are supposed to act. Male cartoon characters are not only more prominent than female characters, but they also portray a broader range of masculine traits. Male characters are powerful, strong, smart and aggressive.Of course roles have been changing over the past decades. Women are not necessarily expected to stay home raising their family and supporting their husbands. In the same way, men are no longer expected to be the only breadwinners like they used to be; now women and men share these responsibilities. But traditional roles still have a big influence.Keys:1. 1.F F T T F2.12.1reflects descriptions2.22.2parents’ attitudes2.32.3suggest, act2.42.4raising their family, supporting their husbands2.52.5 used to be, share these responsibilitiesPart 4 Further speaking and listeningListening 1"Equal" does not always mean "the same". Men and women are created equally but boys and girls are not born the same.You throw a little girl a ball, and it will hit her in the nose. You throw a little boy a ball, and he will try to catch it, then it will hit him in the nose.A baby girl will pick up a stick and look in wonder at what nature has made. A baby boy will pick up a stick and turn it into a gun.When girls play with Barbie dolls, they like to dress them up and play house with them. When boys play with Barbie dolls, they like to tear their hair off.Boys couldn't care less if their hair is untidy. But for girls, if their hair got cut a quarter-inch too short, they would rather lock themselves in their room for two weeks than be seen in public.Baby girls find mommy's makeup and almost instinctively start painting their face. Baby boys find mommy's makeup and almost instinctively start painting the walls.Boys grow their fingernails long because they're too lazy to cut them. Girls grow their fingernails long—not because they look nice—but because they can dig them into a boy's arm.Girls are attracted to boys, even at an early age. At an early age, boys are attracted to dirt.Most baby girls talk before boys do. Before boys talk, they learn how to make machine-gun noises.Girls turn into women. Boys turn into bigger boys.Keys: 1. 1 hit1.2 try to catch1.3 in wonder1.4 turn…into1.5 dress, play house1.6 tear…off1.7 care less1.8 lock, in public1.9 painting their face1.10 painting the walls1.11 lazy, cut1.12 dig…into1.13 boys1.14 dirt1.15 talk1.16 make machine-gun noisesListening 2In order to understand this story, you have to know the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. In this nursery rhyme, the words in the title have no meaning. The rhyme goes like this:Hickory Dickory Dock,The mouse ran up the clock.The clock struck one,The mouse ran down!Hickory Dickory Dock.Here is the story:One day I took my seven-year-old son with me to buy an electric wall clock for the kitchen and found a whole counter full of them on sale at a discount store. I had trouble deciding which clock to buy. While I held one clock in my hand and looked at anoth er, I asked my son which one he liked best. He said,“The one you’re holding with the mouse in it, Mom,”.Before I understood his words, a real, live mouse jumped out onto the counter and ran away. I screamed so loud everyone turned to see what was wrong. I was so embarrassed. I tried to make my way quietly out of the store but my delighted son recited Hickory Dickory Dock. What a naughty boy!Questions:1. 1.Where did the story take place?2. 2.Why did the mother ask her son which clock he liked better?3. 3.Which clock did the boy like best?4. 4.Why did the mother feel embossed?5. 5.Why did he boy recite Hickory Dickory Dock?Keys:1. 1.B2. D3. A4. C5. DListening 3Men, it is said, are generally more aggressive than women and enjoy taking risks. They play fighting games and enjoy "dares". More men than women are convicted for crimes, especially crimes of violence.Some say that this is simply a matter of biology; others suggest that it is a function of the way we organize the sex and gender roles in our society. In fact, many of the findings, in this area, have turned out to be unsatisfactory, and often there turns out to be very small differences with a large degree of overlap.Biologically, men certainly seem to be the weaker sex. On average, men experience heart attacks 10 years earlier than women, but have a better rate of survival if they survive the first year after an attack. Symptoms also vary by sex: Women experience shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest pain; most male heart attacks come on as a sudden, striking pain in the chest. In adulthood, men are more likely to be infected with viruses and have a shorter average lifespan.In recent years, a great many biological sex differences have been found throughout the body, including the brain. However, regardless of the findings that sex differences really do exist after all and despite the pressure to deny them, socially, we still expect women to behave like women and men like men.Keys:1) aggressive 2) taking risks 3) crimes 4) biology 5) function 6) roles7) unsatisfactory 8) weaker 9) heart attacks 10) rate of survival 11) vary 12) be infected with 13) average lifespan 14) do exist 15) deny16) behaveListening 4It is my belief that gender stereotypes are very real gender characteristics that are exaggerated to the extreme ends with no gray areas. So in truth a woman is "weak" physically only because a man is in reality "stronger". A woman is "submissive" only because a man in reality is more "aggressive". A woman is "emotional" only because a man is "less emotional". All these are observed facts.Are there ways to avoid the stereotyping? This is hard to do. We as males and females love to exaggerate our differences. It seems we love to do this in many ways. We love to exaggerate gender traits as if to say "Look how female I am" or "Look how male I am". Do we go so far as to actually create differences that do not exist? Not from what I see. I think we like to exaggerate our differences because the more male we feel or the more female we feel, the more attractive we feel.So all in all I believe stereotypes are true differences that are exaggerated. I don't think stereotypes should be avoided because they are real. I do think that we should not attribute extremes of a trait to a gender as a whole, and most certainly not limit someone's potential abilities based on a stereotype. Stereotypes should apply in general but not to an individual. They should serve to help make judgment but not as an absolute.Keys:1. 1.T F F F T T2.1 physically, in reality, aggressive2.2 avoid, differences, attractive2.3 extremes, potential abilitiesUnit 4 CreativityPart 1 Listening, Understanding and SpeakingListening IIn China, education is considered a race. Students have to begin as early as possible and have to proceed as quickly as possible around the track. Success is measured by how many students cross the finish line in the short time. In America, we recognize the race too, but we feel that the students have a chance to explore things for themselves, even if not all of them reach the finish line. As a result of their exploring, some of the participants may have more to offer by the end of the race.The advantage of the Chinese way is that more students become proficient and reach the finish line. The disadvantage is that they may have less to say or to show once they get there. The disadvantage of the American way is that some students never finish the race. The advantage, however, is that some who do go "all the way" have very interesting and original things to say when they get there.1. 1.F T T T F F2. 2.1) race 2) race 3 ) proceed 4) explore things for themselves 5)proficient 6)interesting 7) original 8) less 9) finish the raceListening IIOnce Wealth and Poverty approached a merchant and introduced themselves as Goddesses. The merchant greeted both of them and said, "May I ask why you have come to my humble house?" The Goddess of Wealth said, "We want you to judge between us who is the most beautiful."The merchant did not know what to say. He knew he was between the devil and the deep blue sea: If he said that Wealth was more beautiful than Poverty, Poverty would curse him. If he said that Poverty was more beautiful than Wealth, Wealth would abandon him. However, he became calm and said, "I have great respect for you both. Would you please do what I ask of you? It is the only way I can judge properly." The Goddesses agreed. He said, "Mother Wealth, would you please walk towards my house? Mother Poverty, Would you please walk away from my house? This way I can see you both better, from near and far." The two Goddesses did what the merchant had asked them to do. Then the merchant confidently declared, "Mother Wealth! You appear most beautiful when you are nearest my house. Mother Poverty! You look most beautiful when you are farthest from my house." The Goddesses appreciated the wit and wisdom of the merchant. The Goddess of Wealth happily stayed in his house while the Goddess of Poverty cheerfully departed.Whenever we have a serious problem, if we look within and think calmly, a solution will come in answer to the problem.1. 1.F T F F F2. 2.1. Why did the two Goddesses go to the merchant’s place? CListening IIIThere is an old and common saying in the United States that "There is nothing new under the sun."I thought of that today while reading an article in a magazine. The article tells about the growing number of people who are building earth-sheltered houses, which are partly underground. I had known about modern earth-sheltered houses, but I had never thought about their roofs before. Instead of having metal or tiles on the roofs, many of these houses now have living roofs. The wooden top of the house is covered with a special waterproof plastic material. On top of this there is soil, in which grass and flowers are planted. Such a roof can be very beautiful. But this really is not a new idea. When the early settlers came to the United States, they often made their houses by digging into the ground. Their roofs were made of wood, and then covered by large areas of soil with grass or turf. They were warm, though not always waterproof. People replaced these houses and roofs as soon as they could live in regular wooden homes with wooden or metal roofs. Now, 200 years later, some people think of this as a new idea. But I think, "There is nothing new under the sun."1. 1) partly underground 2) living 3 ) digging into the ground 4) grass waterproof2.Questions:1. What does the speaker mean by saying "There is nothing new under the sun"?2. What makes the speaker think of "earth-sheltered houses"?3. What is a living roof?4. How many years ago did the early settlers first build earth-sheltered houses?5. Why did People replace these earth-sheltered houses with regular wooden ones?Key: C D A B DListening IVMan: It is said that the first sandwich was made in 1762 by the Earl of Sandwich. He didn't want to take time away from his card games to eat, so he ordered his butler to makesandwiches instead.Woman: Is that so? Hey, look at this. The first beauty contest was held in Belgium in 1888.Why in Belgium of all places?Man: Why not? Oh, here's one I bet you're proud of. The electric chair was used for the first time in 1890, in the United States. Yes, you're first to diagnose AIDS, too. The firstrecorded case was in New York.Woman: Plus and minus signs were used in 1514 in Holland. Yeah, there was no way we could have guessed that one. And the equals sign, you'll be pleased to hear, was first used inOxford, in 1557. You'd have thought they'd all have been invented at the same time.Man: Well, we both got these right. Coffee was in Arabia around 1,000 AD, and just before that, playing cards were invented in China.Woman: Well, I got this one right. First diagram of a flying machine was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, as I said, in 1492.Man: Yeah, but the first air flight wasn't made until 1903, and it was in the United States. Woman: But that wasn't the question, was it? Also, England was also the first to transmit television.Man: Garbage! It was the Italians.Woman: No, it says here, the first TV transmission was in London, 1925. And here we are again, the first traffic lights were in London, in 1868.Man: But they didn't even have cars then, so why would they have needed traffic lights? 1．D A A F C E A B B2．1)1762 2)1888/Belgium 3)1890/the United States 4)New York5)1514/Holland 1557 6) 1492/1903 7) 1925/1868Part 4 Further ListeningListening IJuan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He's got two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and says, "What's in the bags?""Sand," answers Juan.The guard says, "We'll just see about that. Get off the bike." The guard takes the two bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand.He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing but pure sand in the bags.The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man's shoulders and lets him cross the border.A week later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, "What have you got?""Sand," says Juan.The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan, and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle.This sequence of events is repeated every week for three years. Finally, Juan doesn't show up one day and the guard meets him in a bar in Mexico."Hey, buddy," says the guard. "I know you are smuggling something. It's driving me crazy. It's all I think about. I can't sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?"Juan sips his beer and says, "Bicycles."1) border 2) rips 3) overnight 4) analyzed 5) release 6) cross7) weekly 8 ) thorough 9) show up 10) bicyclesListening IIPottery has been found in the remains of every ancient civilization. The oldest known piece of pottery was found in China and dates back to 7,900 BC. That's almost 10,000 years ago!The first pots were large bowls, formed by taking a lump of clay and making a bowl shape. Pottery doesn't just include pots, but anything made from clay that can hold things, such as jugs, vases and cups. Pottery was used to hold water, milk, seeds and grains.Later, people learned to mix different clays together to make stronger pottery and to put the pottery in a fire oven so that the clay would harden faster. The potter's wheel was invented in China around 3100 BC. The wheel spins clay like a top. It allowed people to make pottery much more quickly and made shapes that were perfectly symmetrical—bowls that were really round, rather than lumpy or uneven. Pottery is not only considered one of the first inventions but also one of the first art forms. Most types of pottery have been painted with figures or designs; some even tell a story!1. B A C2. 1.The oldest known piece of pottery was found in china and dates back to 7900 BC(and wasmade almost 10,000 years ago).2. It was used for holding water, milk, seeds and grains.3. To make stronger pottery and to make the clay harden faster.4. It allowed people to make pottery much more quickly and to make symmetrical shapes.5. Because most types of pottery have been painted with figures or designs; some even tell astory.Listening III(Students are in the classroom waiting for the teacher to arrive. Two are talking.)Cathy: I've enjoyed talking about creativity in our English class. I wish I had been encouraged more when I was in elementary school.Michael: I know what you mean. I always liked drawing, but my teachers and parents insisted I was just wasting my time with it. My father said I should work onmathematics.Cathy: Maybe you will still use your artistic talent some day.Michael: Oh, I don't know. After all, I'm in university now. Perhaps I'm too old to be creative.Cathy: I don't think so. I read an interesting article about a lady who wanted to be an artist but the whole family wanted her to work in their candy business.Michael: What happened?Cathy: Well, Jean, the lady, knew painting was what she wanted to do, not making candy. After graduating from college she tried various jobs to support herself,though none of her jobs was in the candy business. And she kept painting in herspare time.Michael: Then what?Cathy: About 20 years ago a worker in the family candy business quit aroundValentine's Day, one of their busiest seasons. Her father needed Jean to come tohelp with the business.Michael: Did she?Cathy: Yes, although she didn't like it.Michael: So, how did she cope?Cathy: She got an idea of putting art and candy together.Michael: How?Cathy: First she experimented with making an edible paint. She found that powdered food coloring mixed with vodka would work.Michael: That's quite a combination.Cathy: Then, for her "canvas", she melted white chocolate and molded it flat. She even learned how to make chocolate frames.Michael: What kind of art did she create?Cathy: She copied the works of famous painters. She displayed her candy art in the candy shop and customers would come in just to look at the art.Michael: What did her family think then?Cathy: They didn't take her seriously until the Toledo Museum of Art heard about her works and paid her to paint 77 reproductions of works in their collection. Thatwas her first big job. Now she works full-time on her candy creations.Michael: Does she do anything besides copying art masterpieces?Cathy: Yes, she's done some portraits. However, people love her reproductions.Michael: What are the prices for her candy art creations?Cathy: From $150 to $200 each.Michael: Well, her creativity has brought her success.1. 1.What did the male speaker like to do ? B2. 2.How did Jean make a living right after graduating from college? B3. 3.Why did she begin to help with the family business? C4. 4.How did she paint? A5. 5.In what way was she successful? AListening IVFor over 30 years, "Sesame Street" has been the most popular TV program for young children in the United States. The characters on this show are mainly puppets, and probably the most loved of the puppets is a gigantic yellow bird called "Big Bird".Caroll Spinney has played Big Bird all the years of Big Bird's existence on American television. Spinney's love of puppets and his own creativity led him to this career. When he was five years old, he saw his first puppet show. He loved the show and never forgot it. When he was seven he bought a used monkey puppet for five cents. His mother had made him a stuffed snake from green material, so he got the idea of making his own puppet show. He made a stage from wooden orange boxes and his mother's old curtains. He charged 2 cents for admission and earned 32 cents for his first performance.Spinney's family liked his creativity and encouraged him to do more. For Christmas when he was nine, his older brother made him a better puppet theater and his mother secretly sewed eight colorful puppets for him. Spinney later wrote, "The more I gave shows, the more I felt the power that one has when performing. All these people would sit in a room and listen to everything I said.I did all the character voices: little girl voices, an old lady voice, and a ghost voice. The audience listened and clapped at the end, and also paid me to do it. What could be a better way to make a living than to perform? I knew that I would wind up in the world of entertainment."Spinney continued giving puppet shows. When he decided to go to art school, puppet shows helped him pay for his tuition. Even when he was in the army, he managed to continue giving puppet shows. He knew he wanted to do this as his life's work and that he wanted his audience to be children. When he was given the opportunity to create the character of Big Bird on "Sesame Street", he accepted it and over the years has made Big Bird one of the most beloved characters on American television.1-5 T T T F F6-10 T T T F FUnit 5 AthletesPart 1 Listening, Understanding and SpeakingListening II'm Ted. Well, I've been playing it since I was quite young. My father was very keen on it and he used to give me lessons. We didn't have to go far to play, so we used to play together quite a lot. Unless you have to join a club, it's not an expensive sport. You just need a racket and some balls. When I was in university, I played for an hour or so every morning. Sometimes it was not easy for us to book a court because it was so popular. For most people, it’s great exercise and requires a lot of energy. Of course, you have to be fit, as it demands a lot of running and speed around the court. Usually, there’s not a lot of standing around; one is constantly moving. But that’s why it’s a sport I like to play and watch so much.I'm Mike. I think I've been playing it for nearly 40 years now, ever since I was a little kid. It has always been a great interest of mine. When I watch a game, I appreciate the athletic skills of the players: the strategies of the manager or coach; and the excitement of the uncertainty. I enjoy not knowing how the game is going to end, even when a very strong team is playing against a very weak team. There's always that possibility of surprise, and of the unexpected changing the game.I'm Lisa. Well, I've been doing it every winter holiday for as long as I can remember. I love doing it because you can get better every time. It's fast and exciting and although it's really cold, you can still get a tan. Of course, the scenery is beautiful and it's really nice when you're tired to go and have a hot drink afterwards. The problem is that it's very expensive and really dangerous. But apart from getting hurt occasionally, I still thoroughly enjoy it.1. 1) tennis 2 ) quite young 3)soccer 4) a little kid 5) nearly 40 years6)skiing 7) remember。
