BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ON THE TOPIC

1 Metaphors are words that give visual pictures of ideas and make the ideas easier to understand. Read the following list of metaphors about the workplace and their definitions. Discuss any words that you don’t understand with other classmates. Check a dictionary if necessary’.

a Glass ceiling: The glass ceiling is the invisible barrier that women often "hit” as they try to get promoted to higher positions within a company.

b Glass escalator: The glass escalator is the invisible machine that seems to promote men to higher positions.

c Sticky floor: The sticky floor is the force that seems to hold women back in less important and lower paid positions.

d Old boys’ club: This refers to the all-male groups that men form and the connections they make with each other to help themselves gain power and success, e Mommy Track: People often think that working women with children are not serious about their jobs. They say that these women are on the “Mommy Track." That is, they are not on the road – or "track” – that leads to higher positions, f Level playing field: The level playing field is like a sports field in which all the players are on the same level and have the same chance to win. Having a level playing field means that no one group has more opportunity to succeed than any other group.

Match each of the following situations with one of the metaphors in step 1. Write the letter of the metaphor next to the situation.

1 A woman talking to her friend about her boss:

"Since my babv was born, my boss looks at me strangely every time I get sick and take a day off. I’m sure he thinks that I just want to stay home with my baby.”

___ 2 A sales manager talking to another sales manager who was just hired:

"Don’t worry, Sam, we’ll help you with your new position. What about getting together with some of the guvs after work tonight?"

3 A company director talking to a personnel manager:

“We need to hire a new’ office assistant. Be sure to tell the people you interview that all employees are encouraged to apply when higher positions become available.”

4 Two employees talking about a third employee:

"He’s gone from sales clerk to assistant manager to manager in eighteen months. That’s a record!”

___ 5 An excerpt from a business report:

"There are about fifty female Executive Vice Presidents in the largest companies, but only two female Chief Executive Officers.”

___ 6 A woman talking to her friend:

“Even though I have good skills, everywhere I go, I seem to get offered the lowest paid positions.”

Discuss the following questions in a small group.

1 Do you think that the metaphors listed in step 1 give an accurate picture of the problems that w’omen face in the workplace?

2 Can you give any examples of these metaphors from your own experience?

1 Look at the chart below that shows the percentages of jobs held by women in various professions in 1975 and in 2000:

2 Discuss the following questions with a partner.

1 In which fields did women make the most gains between 1975 and 2000?

2 What information in the chart particularly suiprises or interests you?

7Ї LISTENING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION

1 Read the beginning of a conversation between Jack and Sheila, a manied couple.

They are discussing an article Jack read about gender stereotypes.

Jack: Hey, Sheila, I just finished reading an interesting article about

gender inequality in the workplace. It’s bv Natasha Josefow’itz.

Sheila: What does she say?

Jack: Well, she talks about common situations that happen to

employees who work in offices. Here are some of them:

1 The employee is going to get married.

2 The employee has a family picture on his or her desk.

3 The employee is talking with a coworker.

4 The employee is going to go on a business trip.

Then she says that coworkers react differently depending on w’hether the employee in the situation is a man or a woman.

Sheila: You mean that people react differently if, for example, the person getting manied is a man or a woman? Tell me w’hat the article says.

Jack: OK. Let me see w’hat I can remember. . .

2 Discuss the following question with a partner:

How do you think people react differently to the situations Jack mentions if the employee is a man or a woman? Why?

З і Listen to what Jack remembers about the situations in the article. Take notes on your ora paper.

4 Compare your notes for step 3 with your partner. Did you understand the same things?

О AMERICAN VOICES: Belinda and Farnsworth

In this section you will hear Belinda, a successful American entertainer and filmmaker, describe her feelings about discrimination against women in the workplace. Then you will hear Farnsworth, a social worker who helps people with emotional problems, give his views on gender discrimination at home and in the workplace.

GUESSING VOCABULARY FROM CONTEXT

1 The following items contain important vocabulary from Part Two of the lecture. Work with a partner. Using the context and your knowledge of related words, take turns trying to guess the meanings of the words in bold.

1 Girls can often concentrate on higher-level, abstract thinking.

2 Girls also enjoy collaborative learning activities and so they work well in groups.

3 Girls become more self-confident without the distraction of boys.

4 If they do not understand a concept, they will ask lor clarification.

5 When girls are in the same classrooms as boys, they often lose their self-esteem.

6 Girls typically sink back in their chairs and wait for the boys to quiet down.

7 Perhaps they can change the "real” w’orld into a place designed to accommodate both women and men.

Work with your partner. Match the vocabulary terms with their definitions bv writing the letter of each definition below in the blank next to the sentence containing the correct term in step 1. Check your answers in a dictionary if necessary.

a done with other people; joint b respect for themselves c explanations d make a place for e sit timidly f conceptual, theoretical

g something that takes away vour attention; disturbance

Q NOTE TAKING: USING YOUR NOTES TO WRITE A SUMMARY

Summarizing is an essential study skill. It means reducing a whole lecture (or part of a lecture) to a few sentences. A good summary shows that you have understood what the lecture is about and what the most important points are. It is a helpful record for you to review7 when you are studying for a test.

During the lecture, take notes in whatever w’av works best for you. After the lecture, revise your notes as soon as possible by making sure they are in a clear format and by adding any missing information. Then use your notes to help you write your summary. Reread your notes and select the most important points that the lecturer made. Write a summary in which you explain the main points in your own words.

Organize your notes in an appropriate format. Do you want to put vour notes into columns as you did for Part One? Do you think an outline form would be better?

(See “Note Taking: Organizing Your Notes in Outline Form," pages 27-28.) Or do you have another way that you would like to organize your notes?

3 I Compare your notes for steps 1 and 2 with a partner.

4 Following is a summary of Part Two of the lecture. Use your notes to complete the summary. You may need to pul more than one word in some blanks. Then compare summaries with your partner. Do you have similar answers? You don’t have to use exactly the same words because summaries are in your own words.

The Benefits of Single-Sex Education for Girls Part Two: Two Main Benefits of All Girls’ Schools Dr. Mary Frosch

Single-sex education girls’ unique qualities and also

helps girls develop________________________________________ .

The unique qualities of girls include their ability to concentrate on

____________________ thinking at an______________________ age than

boys and their ability to______________________ for longer periods of time.

They also enjoy working in groups and teams. Girls are not as competitive as

boys, but they tend to be________________________________________ .

Boys can be noisy and girls often react by becoming timid and losing

their_____________________ . When they learn without the

__ of boys, girls feel confident in themselves, they enjoy

being____________________ , they help each other, and they freely ask for

if they don’t understand something. In single-sex schools, girls can develop deep confidence in themselves. This self-confidence prepares them to become adults.

When you are taking notes during a lecture, you have to write down a lot oi’ information very quickly. Instead of writing out each word separately, you should develop the habit of using symbols and abbreviations.

You may want to change some of the symbols and abbreviations below to ones that are easier for you to remember and use. You will probably also want to invent some of your own, depending on the content of the lecture you are attending. When you invent symbols and abbreviations, it is important to review your notes as soon as possible after the lecture while their meanings are still fresh in your mind.

Symbols

Here are some symbols that are commonly used in English. Many of them come from the field of mathematics.

Abbreviations

In addition to using symbols, good note takers abbreviate long words or words that are frequently used. Here are a few standard abbreviations that are commonly used in English. Notice that some are based on Latin words.

(for example; "e. g.” is from the Latin exempli gratia) (with)

(and other similar things, from the Latin etcetera) (before noon, from the Latin ante meridiem)

(after noon, from the Latin post meridiem) (government)

(education)

(Professor)

(Doctor)

(usually)

Pro and Con

pro (for, a Latin prefix meaning "in favor of”) con (against, an abbreviation of the Latin contra)

When taking notes, these tw»o words are useful. Many texts and lecturers talk about arguments for or against something, or the advantages and disadvantages of something. In such cases, it is easy to simply use the heading pro for arguments in favor of something or its advantages, and the heading con for arguments against something or its disadvantages. (The terms may be used in the plural as well: pros and cons.) It is also common for people to use these terms in conversation.

1 Study the symbols and abbreviations in the column on the left. Match them with their definitions in the column on the right. You might want to use some of these symbols and abbreviations in your notes for the lecture in this chapter.

Compare your answers with a partner.

Now listen to an excerpt from the lecture. Take notes as you listen, using symbols and abbreviations. Use your notes to tell your partner what you heard. Did you gather the same information?

LECTURE, PART ONE: Disadvantages and Advantages of Single-Sex Education for Girls

GUESSING VOCABULARY FROM CONTEXT

1 The following items contain important vocabulary from Part One of the lecture. Work with a partner. Using the context and your knowledge of related words, take turns trying to guess the meanings of the words in bold.

1 I’m often asked to defend single-sex education.

___ 2 as if girls’ schools were on trial

3 goes against the aims and the goals of feminists

4 Single-sex schools do not provide a smooth transition into the adult world.

5 Single-sex education values girls.

6 It values girls’ unique qualities.

___ 7 It helps girls develop self-confidence.

2 Work with your partner. Match the vocabulary terms with their definitions by writing the letter of each definition below in the blank next to the sentence or phrase containing the correct term in step 1. Check your answers in a dictionary if necessary.

a unusual, special b easy way

c the feeling that you can manage any situation d being questioned in a court of law e people who support womens rights f encourages and supports g explain why I am in favor of

NOTE TAKING: USING SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1 Look at these notes on Part One of the lecture. Think about what kind of

information might belong in the blanks. Notice that these notes are formatted in columns. The Cons (disadvantages, reasons against) arc in the first (left) column because these are the first aspects of the topic that Dr. Frosch presents. The Pros (advantages, reasons in favor of) are in the second (right) column. Putting your notes in columns labeled Pros and Cons is often an effective way to organize notes if a lecture is an argument for or against something, which this lecture is.

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Now listen to ParL One of the lecture. Take notes on your own paper. Remember to use symbols and abbreviations.

3 I Use vour own notes to complete the notes in step 1.

4 ! Compare your completed notes for step 1 with a partner.

DRAWING INFERENCES

Drawing inferences means understanding things that are not directly stated by a speaker. When you listen to people speak, you should not only think about what they tell you directly, but you should also be aware of what they communicate indirectly. Drawing inferences is a critical aspect of listening.

1 For each of the following statements, decide whether you think it correctly reflects what Linda or Shingo inferred in their interviews. Write T next to the statement if you think it is true or F if you think it is false.

1 Linda probably thinks that

a it isn’t easy for girls to make friends if they aren’t good at spoils, b boys today communicate with each other better than thev did in the past.

___ c it is difficult for boys to grow up in today’s changing world.

___ d both boys and girls should be caring members of societv.

2 Shingo probably thinks that

a parents want their daughters to stay closer to them than then – sons, b schools should offer the same classes to boys and girls, c parents love their sons and daughters in different ways, d children should not be allowed to make then – own decisions.

2 Work with a partner. Check to see if you drew the same inferences. Explain why you thought each answer was true or false. You may disagree about your answers.

SHARING YOUR OPINION

1 Look at the following photographs. They show people of both sexes in roles that were unusual for their gender in the past.

2 Discuss the photographs with a partner. How common would these scenes be in your і community?