BEIT BERL ACADEMIC COLLEGE
The Academic English Department
A BASIC ENGLISH READING COURSE
Part II: Academic Articles
Compiled by Susan Zisser
WINTER 2017
For Internal Use Only
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Television: How It Affects Us………..…………pgs. 2-8
2. Internet Issues……………………………………pgs. 9-16
3. The Importance of Sleep………………………..pgs. 17-22
4. What Stops us From Committing Crime……….pgs. 23-31
6. Deviance and Crime …………………………….pgs. 32-37
7. The War on Drugs………………………………..pgs.38-45
8. How We Learn to Behave………………………..pgs.46-52
9. Women’s Liberation………………………………pgs. 53-62
10. Levels of Sleep …………………………………..pgs.63-67
11. Growing Up Male or Female ……………………pgs. 68-73
12. Can Stress Make Us Sick?...................................pgs. 74-78
13. What’s the Most Stressful Job?.………………….pgs. 79-84
14. Gender Issues………………………………………pgs. 85-92
15. A Cultural Difference ………………………………pgs. 93-96
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Television: How It Affects Us (485)
1. How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who carefully
choose the programs that they want to watch. Television can increase our knowledge of the
outside world; there are high quality programs that help us understand many fields of study;
science, medicine, the arts, and so on. Moreover, television benefits very old people who
can't often leave the house, as well as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native
speakers the advantage of daily informal language practice; they can increase their
vocabulary and practice listening.
2. On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages to television. Of course, it
provides us with a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but in some countries,
people watch the "boob tube" for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children
stare at a TV screen for more hours each day than they do anything else, including
studying and sleeping. It's clear that the tube has a powerful influence on their lives and
that its influence is often negative.
3. Recent studies show that after only 30 seconds of TV, a person's brain "relaxes" the same
way that it does just before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the
human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children who view a lot of TV
can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes; they pay attention
only for the amount of time between commercials!
4. Another disadvantage is that TV often causes people to become dissatisfied with their own
lives. Real life doesn't seem as exciting to these people as the lives of the actors on the
screen. To many people, TV becomes more real than reality, and their own lives seem
boring. Also, many people get upset or depressed when they can't solve problems in real
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life as quickly as TV actors seem to. On the screen, actors solve serious problems in a
half-hour or a thirty-second commercial.
5. Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven thousand murders on the tube.
He or she begins to believe that there is nothing strange about fights, killing, and other
kinds of violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after certain
programs. They may even do the things that they saw in a violent show. An example is the
effect of the movie "The Deer Hunter". After it appeared on TV in the United States,
twenty-nine people tried to kill themselves in a way similar to an event in the film.
6. The most negative effect of the "boob tube" might be people's addiction to it. People often
feel a strange and powerful need to watch TV, even if they don't enjoy it. Addiction to a TV
screen is similar to drug or alcohol addiction: people almost never believe that they are
addicted.
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Television: How It Affects Us
I. Pre-reading: Read the title, all of paragraph 1 and the first sentence only of paragraphs 2-6. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the topic of this text?Answer in 5 words or less
2. What is the author's purpose in writing this text?Circle the BESTanswer.
a. To list the advantages of watching television.b. To convince us not to watch televisionc. To explain why television has disadvantages.d. To compare the good and bad effects of television
3. What is the main idea of this text?Answer in one sentence.
II. Close reading. Read all of the text. Answer the following questions:
4. According to paragraph one, for which people can watching television be helpful?
Mark (x) 3 answers.
____ people who don't care which shows they watch
____ people who carefully choose what they watch
____ people who have knowledge of many fields of study
____ people who are old or sick and must stay indoors
____ people who want to learn a new language.
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PARAGRAPH 2
5. According to the author, is relaxing in front of the television always a bad thing?
YES / NO Circle one answer
JUSTIFICATION
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
6. Why does television have a strong influence on children?
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
7. According to paragraphs 3-6, what are four disadvantages to television?
(Choose one from each paragraph 3-6)
a. _________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________e.
PARAGRAPH 5
8. What idea does the example of the movie "The Deer Hunter" support?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 6
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9. Why might some people watch television even if they don't enjoy it?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Fill in the blank spaces with these words.
provide reality increase quality negative program view
appear brain addiction suicide
a. Choose the ________________ you want to watch.
b. Television can ________________ our knowledge of the world.
c. After thirty seconds of TV, a person's ________________ relaxes.
d. Some children ______________ television for many hours a day.
e. The influence of TV on our lives is often _________________ .
f. After the movie ________________ on TV, many people tried to kill themselves.
g. Television ______________ us with a pleasant way to spend our free time.
h. Too much television viewing can become an _________________.
i. To many people, TV becomes more real than _________________
III. MATCH THE NEAR SYNONYMS
a. to affect 1. research
b. commercials 2. a result
c. an effect 3. an advantage
d. fight 4. advertisements
e. a study (studies) 5. influence
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f. a benefit 6. Violence
IV. MATCH THE OPPOSITES
a. advantage 1. decrease
b. negative 2. different
c. similar 3. unpleasant
d. pleasant 4..positive
e. increase 5. disadvantage
V. Translate the following noun groups into Hebrew. our knowledge
high quality programs
many fields
daily informal language practice
a pleasant way
a powerful influence
recent studies
the same way
the human brain
poor concentration
certain programs
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a violent show
the most negative effect
drug or alcohol addiction
Internet Issues (512)From: Academic Encounters: Life in Society
By Kristine Brown and Susan Hood, Cambridge, 2002
1. The Internet is an amazing information resource. Students, teachers, researchers
use it as an investigative tool. Journalists use it to find information for stories. Doctors use
it to learn more about medical developments. Ordinary people use it for shopping, banking,
and communicating with family and friends. People all over the world use it to connect with
individuals from other countries and cultures. However, while there are many positive
developments associated with the Internet, there are also certain fears and concerns.
2. One concern relates to a lack of censorship or control over what appears on the
Internet. Anyone can put information on the Internet that can then be read by anyone else,
at any time. This makes it very different from television or radio. With television and radio
there are editors to check the accuracy or appropriateness of the content of programs.
With the Internet, parents cannot check a published guide to determine what is suitable for
their children to see. While software can be used to block access to certain websites, such
as those displaying pornography, this can never be completely effective.
3. There are also concerns about privacy and control of communication on the
Internet. For example, when you use e-mail or participate in chat groups, it is possible that
your private messages may be read by others without your knowing. If you buy things on–
line or browse the Internet, it is possible to trace all the websites that you visit. Such
information can be used to build up a profile of your interests and habits. One purpose for
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such a profile is to provide information to companies who sell on-line advertising space. If
they know your habits and interests, they can select particular advertisements to send to
you when you are on-line. One potential danger is that the information could be used by
others to your disadvantage. For example, an employer could use such information to
decide that you are not a suitable applicant for a job.
4. A further issue relates to the misuse of the Internet in the workplace. Many
companies are now finding that they need to establish policies to control when employees
use the Internet and for what purposes. Recent surveys undertaken in the United States
have revealed, for example, that:
47 percent of employees send up to five personal e-mails per day, 32 percent send
up to ten personal e-mails daily, and 28 percent receive up to twenty personal e-mails per
day.
5. A fourth and growing area of concern is that of Internet addiction. An Internet addict is
someone who is unable to control his or her own use of the Internet and whose behavior
threatens to overwhelm his or her normal life. Internet addiction can result in many problems
including a lack of sleep, lateness for appointments, neglect of work responsibilities, and the
disintegration of marriages and families. Internet addiction is not just a matter of how much
time a person spends on-line. It is more a matter of how much damage Internet use causes in
a person's life.
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Internet Issues: Questions
Pre-reading: Read the title, first paragraph and first sentence only of each paragraph. Circle the correct answer.
The author's purpose in this article is
a. to discuss why the internet is an amazing information resource.
b. to prove that the internet is useful for many different professions
c. to present many positive developments associated with the internet
d. to explain why using the internet is problematic
CLOSE READING QUESTIONS:Paragraph 11. Is the Internet an entirely positive information resource?
Yes / No (Circle one)
Justification: ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: 2. What MAIN IDEA does the following example support?“Anyone can put information on the internet that can then be read by anyone else, at any
time.”
________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________
3. Why is it not always possible for parents to protect their children from viewing
pornography?
__________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 34. What may be the danger of buying things online or simply browsing the internet?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What does “such information” (line 5, paragraph 3) refer to?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
6. How might information about your internet habits be used by others to your disadvantage?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 4
7. What main idea do the recent surveys in the United States support?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 5
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8. How does the writer define an internet addict?
a.______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b.______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
9. Is spending a lot of time on the Internet always a symptom of addiction?
YES / NO (Circle one answer)
JUSTIFICATION:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10.According to the entire article, what are the writer’s major concerns about the internet?
a. ______________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________
d. ______________________________________________________________
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Internet Issues: Vocabulary
Match the words in bold with their meanings : ( The first one is done for you)
F 1.There are also certain fears and concerns
a. wrong use
2.Such information can be used to build a profile.
b. additional
3.Parents cannot determine what is suitable for their children to see.
c. absence
4.Parents cannot determine what is suitable for their children to see.
d. like this
5 .There are restrictions on what kind of programs can be shown on
television.
e. appropriate, a good match
6 .It is possible to trace the websites you visit.
f. worries
7.One purpose of such a profile is to provide information to
companies who sell on-line advertising space.
g. decide
8.Employees send up to five personal e-mails a day.
h. boss
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9.An employer could use such information to decide that you are not a suitable applicant for the job.
i. go back to find
10.A further issue relates to the misuse of the internet in the
workplace.
j. give
11.A further issue relates to the misuse of the internet in the
workplace.
k. workers
12 .Internet addiction can result in lack of sleep.
l. limitations
Internet Issues
Translate the following noun groups:
an amazing information resource
an investigative tool
the latest medical developments
internet misuse
other countries and cultures
positive developments
certain websites
your private messages
completely effective
such information
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your interests and habits
one purpose
on-line advertising space
particular advertisements
one potential danger
a further issue
recent surveys
internet misuse
CONNECTORS מילות קשור
CONTRAST ADDITION CAUSE
But moreover because/ since/ for
On the other hand as well as RESULT
However also / furthermore lead to )led to(
Although in addition as a result/ consequently
While/whereas another so / therefore / thus
Choose a word to logically connect the two sentences (in the middle).
1. Television has several advantages. Television can be addicting.
2. Television can increase our knowledge. It has several negative effects.
3. Television benefits very old people who cannot leave the house. It offers non-native speakers the advantage of informal language practice.
4. Too much television can lead to poor concentration. It can cause people to become dissatisfied with their lives.
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5. Children often watch many violent programs. Some children become more violent.
6. You should not watch too much television. You may become addicted.
7. There are many positive developments connected with the internet. There are also certain fears and concerns.
8. Some people limit their use of the internet. Other people spend too much time online.
9. Software can block access to pornography. This can never be completely effective.
THINKING ABOUT THE TOPIC: Discuss these questions with your neighbor:
1. How many hours do you usually sleep every night?
2. Do you sleep more or less than you did when you were younger? Explain your
answer.
3. How do you feel if you don’t get enough sleep? Explain.
4. Do you dream every night? Do you remember your dreams?
The Importance of Sleep (527)From: Making Connections: Low Intermediate
By Jessica Williams, Cambridge, 2011
1. For about one third of your life, your eyes will be closed. You will not move very much. You
will breathe very slowly. You will be quiet. In other words, for about one third of your life,
you will be asleep.
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2. Why do we sleep so much? What is the purpose? Scientists do not have a complete
answer. They believe that sleep restores your energy and helps your brain to work better.
If you do not sleep enough, you cannot concentrate on your work, and you feel tired all
day. Without enough sleep, you are also more likely to get sick.
3. Sleep is important for normal development. Children need a lot of sleep in order to grow up
strong and healthy. They need more sleep than adults. During the first two weeks of life,
babies sleep for about 16 hours every day. This changes as they grow and need less
sleep. Teenagers need about nine hours of sleep every night. Most adults need about
eight hours. After about the age of 70, most adults only sleep for about six hours every
night.
4. All animals sleep, but there is great variation in how much they sleep. For example, some
big snakes sleep for more than 18 hours a day. Sheep only sleep for about four hours, and
giraffes sleep less than two hours a day. Pigs sleep for eight hours a day just like adult
humans.
5. Adult humans usually sleep for a long period and then are awake for a long period. In
contrast, most animals do not sleep for one long period. Instead, they sleep for shorter
periods during the day and night. Human babies and animals have similar sleep patterns.
They sleep for a few hours, and then they stay awake for a few hours.
6. Scientists are also learning more about how people sleep. They know there are five
different stages of sleep. Brain activity changes during these stages. During the last stage
of sleep, something strange happens. Many of the muscles in your body are paralyzed; in
contrast, your brain becomes very active. Your eyes move rapidly, and you breathe more
quickly, too. This stage is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. About 20 percent of
adult sleep is REM sleep. Adults usually go through about five periods of REM sleep every
night.
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7. REM sleep is when people have most of their dreams. If a person has one dream in each
of these REM periods, that is about 2,000 dreams every year. Humans and many animals
have dreams, but scientists are not sure of the purpose of dreams. Some scientists believe
dreams help people understand things that happen during the day. Other scientists think
dreams help us remember things.
8. There are still many things we do not understand about sleep. However, one thing we do
know is that all animals, including humans, need to sleep. They need to sleep in order to
grow and to keep their brains and bodies active and healthy. They need to sleep or they
will get sick and die.
The Importance of Sleep: Comprehension Questions
Paragraph1
1. Decide if the sentence below is true or false:
You sleep for about half of your life.
TRUE or FALSE (Circle one)
JUSTIFICATION:
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Paragraphs 2
19
2. What do scientists believe is the purpose of sleep?a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
Paragraph 3
3. What does the word “this” (par. 3, line 4) refer to?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
4. How many hours of sleep do we need at each age?
a. Babies need ______________________________________________
b. Teenagers need ___________________________________________
c. Most adults need __________________________________________
d. People over 70 years old need _______________________________
Paragraph 4-5
5. What main idea do the examples of snakes, sheep and giraffes support?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
6. What is similar about the sleep patterns of human babies and many animals? (Circle the best answer)
a. They sleep for 16 hours a day.
b. They need less sleep as they grow older.
c. They sleep for short periods and then are awake for short periods.
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d. They cannot concentrate if they do not sleep enough.
Paragraphs 6-7
7. What happens during the REM stage of sleep?
(Circle all the correct answers)
a. You breathe more quickly.b. You save energy.c. You dream.d. Your body does not move.e. Your eyes move.
8. Decide if the sentence below is true or false:
REM sleep is passive sleep.
TRUE or FALSE (Circle one)
JUSTIFICATION
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
9. At what stage of sleep do people have most of their dreams?
Complete the sentence: People have most of their dreams during the stage of
__________________________(two words only)
10.What are two possible purposes of dreams?
a. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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b. __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 8
11. According to the writer, why is sleep important for humans and all other animals?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
12. According to the ENTIRE text, is the purpose of sleep completely clear to scientists
today?
YES NO (Circle one)
JUSTIFICATION:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
The Importance of Sleep
Vocabulary Practice
Match the words in bold with their meaning:
What is the purpose of sleep?
a. People who are 18 years or older
Sleep restores your b. To think hard or
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energy. focus on somethingSleep is important for normal development
c. A specific step in a process
If you do not sleep enough, you cannot concentrate on your work.
d. A change or a different form of something
Most adults need about eight hours of sleep.
e. The reason for doing something
All animals sleep, but there is great variation in how much animals sleep
f. Very unusual
Adult humans sleep for a long period of time.
g. To make something the way it was before
During the last stage of sleep, something strange happens.
h. A process of growing or changing
There are five different stages of sleep.
i. Something that occurs in the same way over and over.
Human babies and animals have similar sleep patterns.
j. A specific amount of time
What Stops Us from Committing Crime?
THINKING ABOUT THE TOPIC: Answer the following questions and compare your answers with a partner:
1. Some of the reasons people do not break the law include the following:a. They have a strong moral belief that it is wrong.b. They fear the disapproval of their family and friends.
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c. They fear the embarrassment of being caught.d. They would have to pay a fine if they were caught.e. They are afraid of having a criminal record.
Which of the reasons above would deter or stop you from doing the
following things?
_____ 1..parking illegally
_____ 2 copying computer software illegally
_____ 3 speeding while driving
_____ 4 smoking in public places where it is prohibited
_____ 5 lying about your age to get a job
_____ 6 copying from a friend during a test
2. Do you know these words?___ obey the law ___ internal and external controls
___ effectiveness ___ moral values
___ disapproval ___ embarrassment
___ a criminal record ___. honesty
___ to pay a fine ___ to deter
What Stops Us From Committing Crimes? (601)
1. If a society is to continue to function smoothly, then the members of that society need to
behave in orderly ways: they need to follow certain norms and obey certain rules. How
does it happen that most people in a society agree to obey the rules? According to
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sociologists, there are two kinds of controls that influence the way an individual behaves.
These are referred to as internal controls and external controls.
2. Internal ControlsImagine you are in a music store and you see a CD that you want. The price is $20. You
have only $5 with you, but the thought of stealing the CD does not occur to you. Why not?
The answer is internal controls. Internal controls are those you impose on yourself based
on your values, beliefs, and fears.
3. One of the values you hold is that stealing is wrong and that honesty is right and good. To
continue to feel good about yourself, you don't steal. So the first aspect of internal control
is how you feel about yourself. The second aspect of internal control is the possible
disapproval of friends and family who might become aware of your stealing. You do not
want to have to talk with your parents or husband or wife or children or friends about why
you stole a CD. The third factor operating to discourage you from stealing is the fear of
being arrested. Many shops display signs such as "This store prosecutes shoplifters to the
full extent of the law" and employ store detectives to identify shoplifters. Finally, social
forces such as whether you are employed full-time may influence whether you steal or not.
You may be afraid of social consequences, such as losing your job or losing the trust of
your work colleagues. In a study of national property crime arrests, researchers compared
the percentage of arrests within two populations: people with full-time jobs and people who
were not employed. The researchers found that the percentage arrested among those who
were not employed was much higher.
External Controls4. For some individuals internal controls will not be enough to deter them from breaking the
law. Most societies also impose external controls or punishments of some kind to
discourage people from committing crimes. There are three main kinds of external
controls: public embarrassment; the payment of money or fines; and imprisonment. If a
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police officer stopped you for speeding, you would probably be embarrassed as other
passing motorists stared at you. If you were going fast enough, you would also be asked to
pay a fine as well as court costs. If you were driving while drunk, you would be taken to
jail, fined, and have your driver's license taken away from you.
5. There are a number of factors that influence the effectiveness of these external controls in
stopping people from committing crimes. Their effectiveness depends, for example, on
how certain it is that the crime will be punished. If there is little likelihood of being caught,
the external controls may be weak or ineffective. It also depends on how severe the
punishment is. The threat of being sent to prison is more likely to prevent people from
breaking the law than the threat of paying a small fine. For some crimes, external controls
do not seem to be very effective. For example, a person who commits a "crime of passion"
is in a state of uncontrollable anger or feels overwhelming pressure and may not give any
consideration at all to the consequences of his or her actions.
What Stops Us from Committing Crimes – Questions
I. Prereading: Read the title, subtitles as well as paragraph one and answer the following question:
26
1. What is the author's purpose in writing this text? Circle the best answer.
a. to compare internal controls to external controls.
b. to discover ways to prevent crime.
c. to explain how society functions smoothly.
d. to explain why most people obey society's rules.
Paragraph 22. Why would some people not think of stealing a CD?
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
3. How does the author define internal controls?
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Paragraph 34. What are four kinds of internal controls?
a. ________________________________________(5 words only)
b. _________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
c. ________________________________________(5 words only)
d. ________________________________________(2 words only)
5. According to a study of national property crime arrests, which population
was arrested more?
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_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Paragraph 46. Why do most societies impose external controls to discourage people from
committing crime?
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
7. What are three main kinds of external controls?
a. ________________________________________________b. ________________________________________________c. ________________________________________________
8. When might your driving license be taken away?
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Paragraph 59. What factors influence the effectiveness of external controls?
a. _________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
10. What idea does the example of “a crime of passion” support?
_____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
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11. According to the entire text, what is the author's main idea?
Circle the best answer.
a. Members of society need to follow norms and obey rules.
b. Internal controls don’t always stop us from committing crimes.
c. Both internal and external controls deter us from crime.
d. Sociologists control the way an individual behaves.
Match the words in bold with their meaning:
Members of society need to follow
certain rules. a. if
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One value is that honesty is right
and good.b. way of looking at
Internal controls are based on your
values.c..probably
Disapproval of friends may deter
you from committing a crime.d..groups of people
Disapproval of friends may deter you from committing a crime.
e..to do what you are
toldYou may be afraid of social
consequencesf..causes
There are a number of factors that
influence the effectiveness of
external controls.
g..truthfulness
Fear prison is likely to deter people
from breaking the law.h.. set of laws or
conventionsMembers of society need to obey certain rules.
i..morals
Two kinds of controls influence the
way an individual behaves. j..results
The first aspect of internal control is
how you feel about yourself.k..displeasure,
dissatisfactionResearchers compared the percentage of arrests within two populations.
l..to affect
Whether you are employed may
influence whether you steal or not.discourage
A . FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THESE WORDS:
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Define; definition; function; arrest; criminal record; aware; commit; social
forces; shoplifter; member; obey; norm; value; belief; member;
disapproval; honest; honesty; population;
1. Another way of saying “to break the law” is to ___________a crime.
2. A word that means a personal belief is a ___________.
3. People who tell the truth and do not steal are _______________.
4. When the police catch someone stealing, they can _________this person.
5. Some people do not steal because they fear the ______________of friends and
family.
6. People who live in a society are ___________of that society.
7. Bringing a gift to a friend is an example of a social ______________.
8. A word that means to follow a rule is to ___________.
9. A person who steals from a shop is a _________________.
10. When a society works well, it _____________smoothly.
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B
FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THESE WORDS:
Define; definition; function; arrest; criminal record; aware; commit; social
forces; shoplifter; member; obey; norm; value; belief; member;
disapproval; honest; honesty; population;
1. A ___________of society is someone who lives in that society.
2. When a society works well, it _____________smoothly.
3. Another way of saying “to break the law” is to ___________a crime.
4. A person who steals from a shop is a _________________.
5. People who tell the truth and do not steal are _______________.
6. A word that means to follow a rule is to ___________.
7. When a person fears the ______________of friends and family, that person will not
steal.
8. Bringing a gift to a friend is an example of a social ______________.
9. The police will _________ a person when they catch that person stealing.
10.A word that means a personal belief is a ___________.
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Deviance and Crime (585)From: Academic Encounters: Life in Society, 2002
1. Have you ever…
crossed the street against the traffic light?
driven through a stop sign without stopping?
cheated on a test?
If so, you have broken a socially accepted norm or practice, and you could therefore be
considered deviant. Deviant behavior is behavior that is considered to be unacceptable, or
outside the norms for that society.
2. There are, of course, degrees of deviance and not every member of a society will agree on
what is deviant behavior and what is normal behavior. For example, while many people
believe that prostitution is deviant, others see it as a legitimate way for people to earn a
living. Also, what is seen as deviant behavior will change over time and vary from place to
place. Drinking alcohol, for example, has been regarded as deviant or as acceptable in the
United States at different times in the past. In fact, in the 1920's, alcohol was considered to
be so unacceptable in the U.S. that it was illegal to sell, buy, or consume it. Now drinking
in moderation is accepted by the majority of the population in the United States as normal
social behavior for adults.
3. What is considered to be deviant may also vary from culture to culture. In most cultures,
but certainly not in all, it is regarded as deviant for a man to have more than one wife at
the same time. However, there are some religious groups and cultures where polygamy is
an accepted practice.
4. Some acts of deviance may simply result in a person being regarded as odd or unusual,
while other deviant behaviors actually break the law. These behaviors are seen as
crimes. Crimes can be grouped into different categories. One category is violent crime.
This includes murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Another is property crime, such as theft,
33
arson, or burglary. There is also a category of victimless crime, so-called because such
crimes do not involve harm to people other than the criminals themselves. Examples of
victimless crimes include gambling, prostitution, and drug abuse. Another category is
white-collar crime, which includes tax evasion and embezzlement.
5. In 2000, there were 11.6 million reported crimes (excluding traffic offenses) in the United
States. According to a report by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), in 2000 the
following crimes occurred at the rates shown:
Robbery: 46.5 per hourBurglary: 234 per hourViolent crime: 163 per hourRape: 10.3 per hourMurder: 1.8 per hourVehicle theft: 133 per hour
It should be noted, however, that these figures are based only on crimes that are
reported. Actual crime rates may be two or three times higher than the official figures.
6. Murder, or homicide, is the most serious crime, and reports on crime show that it is also
mostly a personal crime. That is, homicide is far more likely to be committed against
acquaintances, friends, or relatives than against strangers. It also occurs most frequently
during weekend evenings, particularly Saturday night. As a crime of passion, homicide is
usually carried out under over-whelming pressure and uncontrollable rage.
7. While the public perception may be that the crime rate, especially for violent crime, is
continuing to rise, there has in fact been a decline over the past decade. In 1991, there
were 1.9 million violent crimes reported in the United States. By 1998, this figure had
dropped to 1.5, million. Murder rates in the same period dropped from 24,700 to 16,914.
34
Deviance and Crime: Questions
Paragraph 1
1. According to paragraph 1, how does the writer define deviant behavior?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Paragraph 22. a. What general idea does the example of prostitution support?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. What general idea does the example of alcohol in the United States support?
__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Paragraph 33. What general idea does the following sentence support?“Polygamy is accepted in some cultures but is considered deviant in other cultures”
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Paragraph 44. What do "these behaviors" (par. 4, line 2) refer to?
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
5. What are 4 categories of crime?
a. ______________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________
d. ______________________________________________
35
6. Why are certain crimes considered "victimless crimes"?
__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Paragraph 57…What do “these figures” (paragraph 5, line 10) refer to?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
8..Decide if the following statement is TRUE or FALSE, circle your choice and justify your
answer by quoting from the text.
The actual crime rate for vehicle theft is 133 per hour.TRUE FALSE
JUSTIFICATION: ________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Paragraph 69. What does “it” (paragraph 6, line 1) refer to?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
10. Is homicide usually committed against strangers?
YES NO (circle one)JUSTIFICATION:___________________________________________
11. What is the usual cause of homicide?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
36
Paragraph 712. a) What is the public perception of crime?
__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
b) Is the public perception of crime accurate?
Yes No (Circle one)
JUSTIFICATION:
__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
13. Mark (x) all the correct answers:
The author’s purpose in this article is
___To explain that some acts of deviance are actual crimes.
___To discuss the different categories of crime.
___To explain that definitions of deviance never vary.
___To explain that deviance is not the same in all cultures.
___To explain how to prevent deviance and crime.
37
Deviance and Crime: Vocabulary
Match the word in bold with the correct meaning:
1. There are, of course, degrees of deviance and not every member of society will agree on what is normal behavior
a. ten years
2. Some see prostitution as a legitimate way to earn a living.
b. use, eat, or drink
3. Drinking alcohol has been regarded as deviant or as acceptable in the United States at different times.
c. against the law
4. What is considered to be deviant may also vary from culture to culture.
d. grown up people
5. Drinking alcohol has been regarded as deviant or acceptable in the United States at different times.
e. numbers
6. In the 1920’s, alcohol was considered to be so unacceptable in the U. S. that it was illegal to sell, buy or consume it.
f. habit or custom
7. In the 1920’s, alcohol was considered to be so unacceptable in the U.S. that it was illegal to sell, buy or consume it.
g. thought of, considered
8. Now drinking in moderation is accepted by the majority of the population in the U.S. as normal social behavior for adults.
h. amount ; measure
9. There is also a category of victimless crime, so-called because such crimes do not involve harm to people other than the criminals themselves.
i. understanding
10. There are some religious groups and cultures where polygamy is an accepted practice.
j. acceptable
11. Actual crime rates may be two or three times higher than the official figures.
k. behavior outside the norm
12. Actual crime rates may be two or three times higher than the official figures.
l. thought of
13. It also occurs most frequently during weekend evenings.
m. agreed to
14. While the public perception may be that the crime rate is continuing to rise, there has in
n. hurt
38
fact been a decline over the past decade.15. While the public perception may be that the
crime rate is continuing to rise, there has been a decline over the past decade.
o. happens
The War on Drugs
BUILDING VOCABULARY
the battle against drugs
the drug problem
drug use / a drug user
drug dealing
drug overdose
a drug addict / drug addicts
drug treatment
drug addiction
drug abuse
drug related homicides
drug legalization
drug education programs
legal / illegal
legalize
legalization of drugs / legalizing drugs
to oppose
to advocate
to be in favor of
to argue for / to argue against
to restrict / restriction
39
to enforce the law / law enforcement
to label someone
The War on Drugs
A. Look at the following words and expressions. What do you think the text will be about?
In favor of \ abuse \ addiction \ treatment \ Law-enforcement
advocate \ decriminalization \ legalization \ argue \ oppose
B. The War on Drugs: Opinions: Do you agree or disagree with the these opinions?
1. Over the past few decades, the drug problem has become considerably
worse.
2. Drug use has increased among teenagers.
3. Drug abuse is the result of poverty and inequality.
4. The battle against drugs is a failure.
5. People should be able to buy drugs legally the same way they buy
cigarettes.
6. If drugs were legal, there would be fewer robberies and murders.
7. Legalizing drugs would lead to more addiction.
8. The drug problem can be solved by drug education programs.
40
9. Drug users should not be labeled criminals.
10.The government should try to protect us from harming ourselves by
making drug use illegal.
The War on Drugs (609)
From: Academic Encounters: Life in SocietyBy Kristine Brown and Susan Hood, Cambridge, 2002
1. Over the last few decades, the drug problem in the United States (and in many other
industrialized countries) has become considerably worse. In 1981, there were about 3 million
drug addicts in the United States; today there are around 6 million. The number of drug
overdose deaths and drug-related homicides has also increased. This is in spite of the fact
that the government has spent more and more money in trying to solve the drug problem. The
fight against drugs is often referred to as a "war" or "battle," and most experts now believe the
battle against drugs has been a failure. They say it has failed because the government has
focused on controlling the problem through laws and punishments, rather than through drug
education and treatment.
2. The failure of the law-enforcement approach has led to calls for other approaches to solving
the problem, including the decriminalization and the legalization of drugs. Advocates of
decriminalization think that drug users should no longer be labeled as serious criminals and
that the punishments for drug use should be significantly reduced. Advocates of legalization
believe there should be no restriction on drug use at all, and that individuals should be able to
buy drugs the same way they buy cigarettes and alcohol today.
3. Those who are in favor of legalization argue that the current drug laws do more harm than
good. They argue that the current laws waste police time because while police officers are
busy arresting people for smoking marijuana, they are not doing the work of arresting robbers
and murderers. Further, they argue that the high cost of illegal drugs and the enormous
41
amounts of money to be made from drug dealing encourage more serious crimes. For
example, many drug users turn to stealing to support their habit and police can sometimes be
bribed to "look the other way." Finally, those who support legalization believe that if drugs
were legalized, the huge amounts of money currently spent on law enforcement could be
used for drug treatment and education, which would drastically reduce drug use.
4. Those who oppose legalization respond that, if drugs are legalized, drug use and addiction
will skyrocket. They point to the experience with alcohol, which was prohibited in the United
States in the 1920s. At the end of this period, called Prohibition, the consumption of alcohol
apparently soared by 350 percent (Bennet 1989). Others feel that the use of drugs is a
stepping stone to other crimes – that, for example, the use of marijuana leads to the use of
heroin or cocaine, and on to more serious crime. If drug use is stopped, this trend will be
prevented.
5. Another aspect of the debate on whether or not drugs should be legalized involves the
question of individual rights. Some people call for legalization because they feel they have the
right to take drugs – that it is none of the government's business. They think that laws
governing this behavior are an invasion of individual rights. On the other hand, others argue
that the government should try to protect us from harming ourselves.
6. Finally, there are those who believe that the problem of widespread drug abuse and crime can
only be solved when the government attacks the root causes of the problem: poverty, racism
and inequality (Currie 1993). They propose that the government should deal with the factors
that cause the problem by providing employment for all, increasing the minimum wage,
improving health care for the poor, offering paid family leave, and providing affordable
housing.
42
The War on Drugs – Questions
Pre-Reading: Read the first paragraph and first sentence only of each paragraph.
Circle the best answer.The author's purpose in this text is
a. To explain why the battle against drugs has failed.
b. To argue in favor of the legalization of drugs.
c. To discuss the problem of widespread drug abuse.
d. To present opposing approaches to the war on drugs.
Close Reading Questions:PARAGRAPH ONE1. Why do most experts think the battle against drugs has failed?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 22. What do advocates of decriminalization want to change?
a.______________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________
3. What do advocates of legalization want to change?
a. ___________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
43
PARAGRAPH 34. Why do advocates of legalization think the current laws waste police time?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5. What is a possible result of the high cost of illegal drugs?) ________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
6. For what would advocates of legalization prefer to spend money?
a. _________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 47. What do opponents of legalization think will happen if drugs are legalized? Circle the correct answer.
a. drug use will decrease greatly.
b. drug use will lead to alcohol use.
c. drug use will increase greatly
d. drug users will explode.
8. Decide if the following sentence is true or false. Circle the correct answer.TRUE FALSE
“At the end of the period of Prohibition, people stopped drinking alcohol.”
Justification:________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
44
9. What does "this trend" in the last sentence of paragraph 4 refer to?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 5
10. a. Why are some people in favor of legalizing drugs?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. What do opponents of legalization think about the role of government?
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 6
11..What do some people think really causes drug abuse? (3 words only)
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
12. What should the government do to solve the drug problem?
Give 5 suggestions.
a. _________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________
d__________________________________________________
45
e. _________________________________________________
The War on Drugs
Vocabulary: Match the words in bold with their meanings
1 .Over the last few decades, the drug problem in the U.S. has become considerably worse.
a. occurring in many places (adj.)
2 .Over the last few decades, the drug problem in the U.S. has become considerably worse.
b. to be against something (v)
3 .The failure of the law-enforcement approach has led to
calls for other approaches to solving the problem
c. a method to solve a problem (n)
4 .Advocates of decriminalization think that drug users should no
longer be labeled as serious criminals.
d. ten years (n)
5 .Advocates of decriminalization think that drug users should no
longer be labeled as serious criminals.
e. to hurt (v)
6 .Advocates of decriminalization think that punishments for drug
use should be significantly reduced.
f. in a large and important way (adverb)
7 .They think that punishments should be significantly reduced.
g. use (n)
8 .Those who oppose legalization point to alcohol which was
prohibited in the United States in the 1920’s
h. to make illegal (v)
9 .Alcohol was prohibited in the i. people in favor of something
46
United States in the 1920’s(n)10 .At the end of Prohibition,
consumption of alcohol soaredj. to include (v)
11 .Another aspect of the debate involves the question of
individual rights.
k. to make less (v)
12 .The government should try to protect us from harming
ourselves
l. considerably (adverb)
13 .The problem of widespread drug abuse can be solved only by
attacking the root causes
M using a word to describe someone (v)
How We Learn to Behave (732)
A woman turns off her cell phone as she enters a movie theater.
A driver eats a candy bar and puts the paper wrapper in the ashtray.
A couple decides to have a baby.
1. Being polite, neat, and family-oriented are characteristics of the well-socialized citizen.
Socialization is the process of learning how to behave in the society we live in. For
societies to exist, there must be some organized way of teaching the members what is
expected of them and how they are to behave. Through socialization, the infant develops
into a person like one of those described above.
2. Every society tries to socialize its members. The task is performed by several groups and
institutions (called socializing agents). The family, the school, and the peer group (that is,
people of the same age) are the most important socializing agents. Of these, the family is
the most important, especially during the first few years of life. A review of various studies
of families has concluded that warm, supportive, moderately strict family environments
usually produce happy and well-behaved children; and that cold, rigid, and overly strict
families tend to cause youngsters to become rebellious, resentful, and insecure (Gecas
1981).
3. How, then, do families and other socializing agents teach children how to behave? Two
important ways are by sanctions (rewards and punishments) and by modeling.
47
Rewards and Punishments4. Sanctions are consequences following a behavior that influence whether the behavior will
be repeated. Positive sanctions mean that the behavior is followed by something that is a
reward. If a child asks a parent "May I have some gum please?" and the parent gives the
child some gum, the child learns that saying "please" at the end of a request results in
getting what he asks for. Negative sanctions (also known as punishments) mean that
something bad happens after a behavior occurs. When a child says "Gimme some gum"
and the parent says "No gum until you learn to ask politely" and does not give the child the
gum, the child learns that it is not a good idea to speak this way because he does not get
what he wants.
Modeling 5. Modeling refers to learning by watching the behavior of others – especially parents – and
copying that behavior. Modeling influences both positive and negative behavior. For
example, children who are respectful to elderly people have probably seen their parents do
things such as helping older people onto trains and buses. On the other hand, children
whose parents are alcoholics are more likely than other children to become alcoholics
themselves.
Differences Across Cultures 6. It is easy to assume that every culture socializes children in the same way. Studies of
other cultures, however, show that children are socialized differently depending on the
culture they are brought up in.
7. A study of 6- to 11-year-old children in six farming communities in the United States,
Kenya, Okinawa, northern India, the Philippines, and Mexico is a good example of these
studies. Beatrice and John Whiting (1975) found a big difference between the types of
household chores that children were expected to do in these cultures. More importantly,
they found that parental expectations about work around the house were an important part
of children's socialization. Where children were expected to take care of other younger
children and do chores that helped the whole household (as in the Kenyan and Mexican
48
communities studied), they quickly learned to be responsible and caring toward others. In
communities like the one studied in the United States, where children were only expected
to do chores such as cleaning their rooms and picking up toys, they were less likely to
develop these traits at an early age. Of course, not every family in a particular culture
socializes their children in exactly the same way – and this would be true of expectations
about household chores also. Nevertheless, many cross-cultural differences in
socialization have been identified by researchers.
8. Other evidence of these differences in socialization practices comes from a study of how
traditional Vietnamese and Chinese socialize their children (Dillard 1987). In these families,
the needs of the group are seen as more important than the needs of the individual, and so
children learn that their first responsibility is to their parents rather than to themselves. For
example, many children work hard at school so that their parents will be proud of them.
MATCH COLUMN A WITH COLUMN B
A Bto depend on a. traits
punishment b. an infant
to conclude c. result in
a task d. adolescent
to perform e. to rear / raise
institutions f. youngster
a baby g. a negative sanction
a teenager h. to carry out
a grown-up i. to come to an opinion
lead to j. a job
49
characteristics k. an organized part of a culture
a child l. an adult
to bring up m. to rely on
Translate these Noun Groups:
a particular culture cross-cultural differences
socialization practices household chores
six farming communities parental expectations
the well-socialized citizen other researchers
the peer group various studies
a moderately strict family environment / some organized way
How We Learn to Behave: QuestionsPARAGRAPHS 1-3
1. What are some characteristics of the well-socialized citizen?
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
50
2. How does the author define socialization?
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
3. What does "the task" (paragraph 2, line 1) refer to?
__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________
4. What are the important socializing agents in society?
a. ___________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________
5. What socializing agent is the most important?
________________________________________________________
6. What may cause a child to become rebellious, resentful and insecure ?
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
7. What are two ways families teach children how to behave?
a. ______________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________
8. How does the author define sanctions?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Paragraph 4 9. Complete the sentences below:
51
a. A parent who gives a child gum when the child says "please" is an example of
____________________________________________
b. Another word for "negative sanctions" is _____________________
Paragraph 510. What MAIN IDEA does the following sentence support?
"Children are respectful to older people when they see their parents act respectfully"
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Paragraph 6 11. What determines how a child is socialized?
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
12. PARAGRAPH 7: Complete the sentences below: a. In Kenya and Mexico, children quickly learned to be responsible and caring
toward others since_________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
b. In the United States, children were only expected to clean their room and their
toys, therefore
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
13. PARAGRAPH 8Why do children in Vietnam and China learn that their first responsibility is to their
parents rather than to themselves?
52
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
14. What is the main idea of the entire text? Circle the best answer.a. Every society tries to socialize its members.
b. Children learn best if they are given rewards and punishments.
c. The way we behave is due to the process of socialization.
d. Not every culture socializes children in the same way.
A SUMMARY OF THE TEXT:The following paragraph summarizes the text "How We Learn to Behave". Fill in the missing words according to the text.
Socialization is the process of learning how to behave in the society we live in. The
job of socialization is performed by several groups called _________________. The
family, the school, and the peer group are the most important socializing agents, and of
these three, the _____________ is the most important, especially in the early years. Two
important ways that families and other socializing agents teach children to behave are
_____________ and __________________. Sanctions are the _________________ that
follow a particular behavior and influence whether or not the behavior will be
_________________. Sanctions can be positive (__________________) or negative
(punishments). Modeling is learning by ________________ the behavior of others –
53
especially parents - and copying that behavior. Children are socialized differently
depending on the __________________they are brought up in.
Women's Liberation
Decide if you agree or disagree with these opinions. Then compare your answer with your partner.
1. Most women today are no longer content
with the traditional role of housewife. agree/ disagree
2. All women should pursue a career. agree/ disagree
3. All women should acquire an education. agree/ disagree
4. Mothers should stay at home and look after their children. agree/disagree
54
5. Women today want fewer children than they did in the past. agree/ disagree 6.
Birthrates would increase if mothers didn't have to work. agree/ disagree
7. It is wrong to use birth control methods. agree/ disagree
8. Women should have a choice when and if to bear children. agree/ disagree
9. The invention of labor-saving devices is one cause of women's liberation. agree/ disagree
10. Women today have the opportunity to pursue the same careers as men. agree/disagree
Women's Liberation (741)
A. Since the middle of the twentieth century, women around the world have been
seeking greater independence and recognition. No longer content with their
traditional roles as housewives and mothers, women have joined together to create
the so-called "women's liberation movement." While the forces behind this
international movement vary from culture to culture and from individual to individual,
the basic causes in the United States can be traced to three events: the
development of effective birth control methods, the invention of labor-saving
devices for the home, and the advent of World War II.
B. The first cause for the liberation of women was the development of effective birth
control methods, freeing women from the endless cycle of childbearing and rearing.
55
As a result of having a choice as to when and if to bear children, women acquired
the freedom and the time to pursue interests outside of the home. Because of the
development of birth control, women could delay having children or could avoid
having them altogether. Consequently, women had the opportunity to acquire an
education and/or pursue a career.
C. The second event was the development of mechanized labor-saving devices for the
home, resulting in more leisure time and freedom for women. For example, fifty
years ago, a housewife spent an average of twelve to fourteen hours per day doing
housework. Due to the invention of machines such as vacuum cleaners, washing
machines and dishwashers, a housewife can now take care of her daily housework
in a few hours.
D. The third event that, at least in the United States, gave impetus to the liberation of
women was World War II. During the war, most men were serving in the military.
Consequently, women had to fill the vacancies in the labor force. Women by the
thousands went to work in factories and even took over businesses for their absent
husbands. This was a great change for the majority of American women, for they
discovered that they could weld airplanes and manage a business as well as
change diapers and bake cookies.
E. These three events planted the seeds of a great change in society, and the effects
of this change are being felt at all levels; in the family, in business, and in
government.
F. One of the biggest effects of the greater independence of women is being felt in the
home. The traditional husband-wife relationship is undergoing a radical
transformation. Because so many women are working, men are learning to share
the household tasks of cooking, cleaning and, even caring for children. In some
families, there has been a complete reversal of the traditional roles: the husband
stays home while the wife earns the family's income. It should be pointed out,
56
however, that this is the exception, not the rule. In most families in the United
States, the husband still earns most of the money, and the wife still does most of
the housework.
G. The effects of women's liberation are being felt not only in the home, but also on the
job. More and more women are working, and they are demanding equal salaries
and equally responsible positions. It is not uncommon for a woman to be the
president of a corporation these days. Many businesses encourage women to
advance to higher management positions, and every year the nation's schools
produce more women doctors, lawyers, and accountants.
H. Politics and government are still other areas that are feeling the effects of the
women's movement. Although the United States doesn't appear ready to accept a
woman president, as some countries of the world have, women are being elected to
public office in increasing numbers. The United States has had several women
governors, which is the highest office in a state. A few years ago, this would have
been unthinkable. Furthermore, the increasing political power of women has
resulted in a proposal for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, called the Equal
Rights Amendment, which will give women complete equality with men by law, if
passed.
I. In conclusion, women in the United States are acquiring greater independence,
which is causing sweeping changes in society – at home, at work, and in politics.
While men may not be happy with these changes, they should always remember
that it was they, the men, who created the conditions leading to the liberation of
women: men made war, male scientists developed birth control, and businessmen
earned a lot of money selling vacuum cleaners and dishwashers.
Women's Liberation – QUESTIONS
57
PRE-READING: Read the first paragraph and first sentence only of all the
other paragraphs. Choose the best answer.
1. The author's purpose in writing this text is:
a. to describe the development of effective birth control methods.
b. to explain the reasons why women seek greater independence.
c. to present the events which led to the women's liberation
movement.
d. To explain the causes and effects of the women's liberation
movement.
CLOSE READING QUESTIONS:
Paragraph A1. Why did women create the international women's liberation
movement?____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
2. Decide if the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.
The reasons which led to the creation of the international women's
liberation movement are the same for all cultures.
58
TRUE FALSE (circle one)Justification:
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
3. What three events led to the creation of the women's liberation movement in the United States?
a. _________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________
Paragraph B: 4. What enabled women to acquire an education and pursue a career?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5. How did the invention of labor-saving devices change the lives of
women? (paragraph. C)
_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
6. Why did women begin to work in factories and businesses during World
War II? (paragraph. D)
_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
59
7. According to paragraphs E-H, where were the results of women's liberation felt?
a. _______________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________
8. In what way are men responsible for the conditions that led to women's
greater independence? (paragraph I) _________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article. Use your dictionary to help you.
a. vary strength, strong reasons
b. create invention
c. causes look for
d. trace change
e. device invent
f. seek reasons
g. forces to follow the history of something
60
PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article. (Sometimes more than one combination is possible.)Write the two phrases together to see if they make sense.
a. the development of for women
b. the forces behind the twentieth century
c. the middle of to create a movement
d. greater independence birth control methods
e. no longer content for the home
f. women joined together this movement
g. basic causes and recognition
h. effective with traditional roles
i. labor-saving devices can be traced
Fill the gaps with the words on the right. REMEMBER – first decide what part of speech is missing.
Since the middle of the 20th _____________, women vary
around the world have been ____________ greater events
independence. No longer content with their traditional roles, joined
women ______________ together to create the women's century
liberation movement. While the forces behind the movement seeking
61
________ , the basic causes can be traced to three ________.
The development of ____________________ birth control acquired
methods free women from having too many children to opportunity
_______________ . As a result, women ____________ effective
the freedom to ______________ an education . In addition pursue
they had the ________________ to pursue a career. rear
Translate the following noun groups into Hebrew.Remember: the noun comes at the end of the noun group.
the women's liberation movement
their traditional roles
this international movement
the basic causes
effective birth control methods
mechanized labor-saving devices
62
the endless cycle
the second event
leisure time
their absent husbands
a great change
the greater independence
the traditional relationship
a radical transformation
the household tasks
a complete reversal
equal salaries
equally responsible positions
the increasing political power
complete equality
equal rights
CONNECTORS: WORDS THAT SIGNAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IDEAS
cause result addition contrast condition
because consequently moreover nevertheless otherwise
because of therefore in addition however or else
for thus furthermore yet
since so as well as although
63
due to as a result also though/ even though
as despite/ in spite of
while / whereas
Choose a word to logically connect the two sentences (in the middle).
1. Today there are many labor-saving devices. Women have more leisure time.
2. Women can choose when to have children. Effective birth control methods are available today.
3. Women can acquire an education. Women can pursue a career.
4. Some men stay home while the wife earns money. This is an exception.
5. Today women demand equal salaries. They demand equally responsible jobs.
6. Today there are several women in government roles. In the past, this was rare.
7. Sometimes the mother works outside the home. The father looks after the children.
8. Women are acquiring greater independence. There are sweeping changes in society.
The Levels of Sleep (807)
By Peter Farb; From: Humankind
1. The modern understanding of sleep began quite by accident in 1952. A graduate student
was assigned to observe the eyelids of sleeping volunteers to see whether any movement
occurred. He observed that at certain times during the night the eyeballs of sleepers moved very
quickly beneath closed eyelids. Such activity was totally unexpected, since people thought sleep
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was a quiet time, not one in which the brain was actively causing eye movements that were often
faster than could be produced by a waking person.
2. Since then, much more has been learned about rapid eye movement (technically
known as “REM”) during certain stages of sleep. REM sleep is always accompanied by
distinctive brain-wave patterns, an increase in blood flow, irregular breathing and a twisting
of the face and fingertips. REM sleep is active sleep, even though the large muscles of the
body are completely relaxed. The other kind of sleep is known as “NREM” (that is, non-
REM). During this state, breathing is regular, body movement is generally absent, and
brain activity is low. Perception shuts down because the senses are no longer gathering
information and communicating it to the brain. NREM sleep is sometimes called “quiet
sleep” but in one way that is not so; snoring occurs during this state.
3. A number of curious experiences occur at the onset of sleep. The most common
sensation is that of floating or falling, which is why “falling asleep” is a scientifically valid
description. A nearly universal occurrence at the beginning of sleep is a sudden,
uncoordinated jerk of the head or even of the entire body. Most people tend to think of
going to sleep as a slow process, but the onset of sleep is not gradual at all. It happens in
an instant. One moment the individual is awake, the next moment not.
4. The first period of sleep is always NREM. It consists of four stages. During each
stage the sleeper becomes more remote from the sensory environment. Children in
particular can almost never be awakened at the fourth stage. Even if they can finally be
awakened, it may take several minutes before they return to awareness. This deepest
fourth stage is the period during which most of the talking in one’s sleep, sleep-walking,
night terrors, and bed-wetting by children take place. After the fourth stage, the sleeper
retraces all the stages back to lighter sleep. The first REM period begins about seventy or
eighty minutes after a person has fallen asleep and usually lasts for only about ten
minutes. The entire NREM-REM cycle averages about ninety minutes.
5. The two kinds of sleep – as different from each other as sleep is from wakefulness
– continue to alternate throughout the night. With each cycle, the amount of REM sleep
gradually increases, to the degree that it may become as long as 60 minutes just before
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awakening, whereas the amount of NREM sleep decreases markedly. An adult who sleeps
seven and a half hours spends from one and a half to two hours of that period in REM
sleep, mostly toward the end of the sleep period.
6. The new view of sleep is that it is not passive. Rather, it is an active state in which
the brain is never at rest. One theory about human sleep assigns different functions to the
two kinds of sleep. NREM sleep apparently does the things that have traditionally been
assigned by common sense to all sleep: growth, repair of the body’s tissues, and the
synthesis of proteins. NREM sleep is a biological necessity; without it, an individual
eventually would collapse. When someone is deprived of sleep, NREM sleep is usually
made up first. And until the deprivation is compensated for, that person feels lethargic and
less able than usual to carry out physical tasks.
7. REM sleep, in contrast, apparently restores the neural processes underlying
consciousness; it is mental rather than physical. People deprived of it are not physically
lethargic but emotionally irritable; they usually perform poorly in concentration and learning
tests. REM sleep appears to be essential to integrate recently learned material into long-
term memory. Students who stay up all night cramming for an examination the next day
usually do not do as well as those who have had some sleep. The explanation is that the
students have momentarily learned a lot of new facts, but these facts cannot be
remembered unless they have been processed during sleep into memory. REM sleep also
seems to help people cope with day-to-day stress. Experiments have shown that
volunteers who were exposed to stressful situations had a sharply increased need for
REM sleep, during which time they apparently made peace with the traumatic
experiences. Such experiments offer fresh evidence that sleep is one of the most active
parts of person’s day.
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Levels of Sleep: QUESTIONS
PARAGRAPH 1
1. What observation led to the modern understanding of sleep?
_____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. Why was the graduate student surprised?
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 2
3. What happens during REM sleep? Write 3 things.a. _______________________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________
4. What happens during Non- REM sleep? Write 3 things.a. _______________________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 3
5. Why is “falling asleep” a scientifically valid description?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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6. Do we fall asleep slowly? (Circle the correct answer)YES NO
JUSTIFICATION:
____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 4 -5
7. Who sleeps most deeply during the NREM period?
__________________________________________________________________
8. When does REM sleep begin?__________________________________________________________________
9. Complete the sentence. The longer we sleep the more _______________________ we have.
PARAGRAPH 6
10.What functions does NREM sleep seem to perform?
_____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
11. What happens to people who are deprived of NREM sleep?
______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
12. PARAGRAPH 7: What happens to people who are deprived of REM sleep?
______________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________
13. Complete the sentence. (Choose the best answer)
According to paragraph 7, the best way to remember material for an exam is
a. to stay up all night cramming
b. to momentarily learn a lot of new facts
c. to try to cope with the stress of an exam
d. to get enough REM sleep
14.. According to paragraph 7, what are two important functions of REM sleep?
a. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
15. In the experiment with volunteers, what helped them make peace with the traumatic
experiences?
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
16. What idea does the experiment with volunteers seem to prove?
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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Growing Up Male or Female
Decide if you agree or disagree with these statements. Compare with your partner.
1. From the moment of birth, babies are usually treated differently according to their
gender.
2. Today, parents are more likely to bring up boys and girls in a similar way than in the
past.
3. Parents use words about feelings and emotions more with girls than with boys.
4. Mothers tend to talk more politely and fathers tend to use more direct language.
5. Girls are taught to rely on others – especially males – for help.
6. Girls rely more on their beauty than on their intelligence to attract men.
7. Boys are encouraged to be independent and strong and to avoid being "mama's
boys".
8. Boys are taught not to cry.
9. Daughters, more than sons, are socialized to think more about the family, to
remember birthdays, and to care for sick family members.
10.Sons are expected to be more interested in the world outside the family.
11. Daughters are thought to need more protection than sons.
12. Young parents today are likely to socialize their children into more equal gender
roles than in the past.
13. It is difficult to bring up children in a non-sexist way.
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14.Bringing up boys and girls differently leads to both good and bad consequences.
Growing Up Male or Female (686)
From: Academic Encounters: Life in SocietyBy Kristine Brown and Susan Hood, Cambridge, 2002
1. Newborn babies do not know if they are boys or girls, but it does not take them long
to find out. They very quickly learn the way that their society expects males and females to
behave and think. That is, they learn their gender roles.
2. From the moment of birth, babies are usually treated according to their gender. In
the United States and in many other countries, baby girls tend to be dressed in pink clothing
and baby boys in blue. Baby girls are handled more gently than boys. Girls are cuddled and
kissed while boys are bounced around and lifted high in the air. Girls are given dolls, whereas
boys are given cars, trucks, and building blocks. Mothers think a lot about how pretty their little
girls should look, but they are less concerned about their little boys' appearance.
3. When they start to talk, children are taught the difference between the words "he"
and "she" and between "him" and "her." There are also differences in the way parents talk to
their children. Parents use words about feelings and emotions more with girls than with boys,
and, by age 2, girls use these words more than boys do. Furthermore, mothers and fathers talk
differently, because of their socialization. Mothers tend to talk more politely ("Could you turn off
the television, please?") and fathers tend to use more direct language ("Turn off the
television."). By age 4, girls and boys have learned to imitate these conversational styles.
4. Girls are generally taught to be "ladylike" – polite and gentle. They are taught to rely
on others – especially males – for help. They are allowed to express their emotions freely.
Girls learn the importance of being pretty. They may even learn that they must rely more on
their beauty than on their intelligence to attract men. Boys, on the other hand, are taught to
behave "like men." Boys are also encouraged to be independent and strong and to avoid being
"mama's boys." They are told that boys don't cry. If they put on makeup and wear dresses
71
during play their parents are horrified. Therefore, boys grow up with a fear of being feminine,
and, as young men, try to keep up a "macho" image. They may also develop a negative
attitude toward women in adult life (Elkin and Handle 1988; Power and Shanks 1989).
5. Parents also have different social expectations of daughters and sons. Daughters,
more than sons, are socialized to think more about the family, for example, to remember
birthdays, to spend time with the family on holidays, and, when they get older, to provide care
for sick family members and relatives. Sons are not expected to do these things. They are
expected to be more interested in the world outside the family and more independent of the
family in social activities. Daughters are also thought to need more protection than sons, For
example, parents may make their daughters come home earlier at night and forbid them to
places that they might let their sons go to. Such protectiveness often encourages girls to be
less active in exploring their environment.
6. In recent years, though, there has been a trend in many parts of the world to more
gender-neutral socialization. Young parents, female professionals, and well-educated parents,
in particular, are more likely to socialize their children into more equal gender roles. However,
this is not always an easy task. One study of parents who wanted to bring up their children in a
nonsexist way found that it was very difficult to do. The parents complained about toy stores
being filled with gender-specific toys – war toys for boys and domestic toys for girls. They also
commented that while they might be able to give their children gender-neutral toys themselves,
it was difficult to get relatives and friends to do this. Almost all the children in the study owned
and played with gender-specific toys given to them by other people. The parents also found it
hard to fight against the gender lessons of books, the peer group, and school.
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Growing Up Male or Female: Questions
1. a. According to paragraph one, how does the author define "gender roles"?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. b. What two words helped you find the definition?
________________________________________________________
3. Paragraph 2: What general idea does the following example support?
”Baby girls are handled more gently than boys”
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
3. According to Paragraph 3, why do parents talk differently to their children?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
4. What does "these conversational styles" refer to (par. 3 last line)?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Paragraph 45. In paragraph 4, how does the author define "ladylike"?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
6. Complete the sentence:
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Whereas girls are generally taught to rely on others, boys are expected to be
_________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 57. What general idea does the following example support?
“Daughters, more than sons, are socialized to think about the family”
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
8. Why do some parents make their daughters come home earlier at night than their
sons?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
9.What is a possible result of making daughters come home earlier than sons?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Paragraph 6
10.Circle the best answer:
The meaning of "gender-neutral socialization" in paragraph 6 is:
a. bringing up boys and girls according to gender
b. bringing up boys and girls differently
c. bringing up boys and girls to be neutral
d. bringing up boys and girls the same way
11.According to paragraph 6, what is not an easy task?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
12. Give 3 reasons why it is difficult to bring up children in a non- sexist way?
a.__________________________________________________________________
b.__________________________________________________________________
c.__________________________________________________________________
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13. Circle the best answer: The main idea of the entire article is:
a. Newborn babies do not know if they are boys or girls.
b. Girls are taught to be ladylike and boys are taught to be "macho."
c. The process of socialization is different for males and females.
d. Gender-neutral socialization is difficult to achieve.
Can Stress Make Us Sick?
I.THINKING ABOUT THE TOPIC: Discuss these questions with your neighbor.
1. How do you know when you are suffering from stress? What are the symptoms?
2. How do you handle stress?
3. Do you get stressed easily? Why/why not?
4. What do you do to reduce stress in your life? How do you relax?
5. What circumstances cause you to feel stress you the most?
6. Do you think life is more stressful now than in the past? Why/ why not?
7. Do you think your life will become more stressful in the future?
8. Which life events do you think are the most stressful? (e.g. learning to drive; losing
your job; taking an exam; starting a new job; money problems; migrating to a
strange country; getting married)?
9. What do you do to help your family of friends when they are stressed?
10.Do you agree with the following statement? Why?
“When people say they can’t handle stress, they mean that they can’t handle
responsibility.”
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II. Rank the following occupations in order of how stressful you think they are. Compare your list with your partner:
doctor mother student miner lawyer reporter salesperson
computer-programmer accountant fire-fighter teacher policeman politician
street-cleaner dentist
Can Stress Make You Sick? (533)
1. Scientists are now studying a new field of research called psychoimmunology. It is
based on the idea that people who are depressed or have a lot of stress are more
likely to become sick. Researchers have recently found a connection between
diseases and stressful situations. To test this theory, psychoimmunologists are
trying to find a link between the brain and the immune system.
2. The immune system in our body fights the bacteria and viruses which cause
disease. Therefore, whether or not we are likely to get various diseases depends on
how well our immune system works. Biologists used to think that the immune
system was a separate, independent part of our bodies. Recently, however, they
have found that our brain can affect our immune system. This discovery indicates
that there may be a connection between emotional factors, such as stress or
depression, and illness.
3. Although many doctors in the past suspected a connection between emotional
factors and disease, they had no proof. Scientists have only recently discovered
how the brain and the immune system function. Before this, no one could see a link
between them. As a result, medical science never seriously considered the idea
that psychological factors could cause disease.
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4. Several recent studies showed a connection between stress and illness. For
example, researchers went to an American military school to study the students. By
studying the students’ blood, they found that many were infected with a virus which
causes mononucleosis, a common glandular disease. Of the infected students, only
5% actually became ill. The sick students had a lot of academic pressure and
wanted to achieve, but they were not very good students. In a similar study,
researchers studied a group of student nurses. They focused on cold sores, which
are also caused by a common virus. Many student nurses carried the virus in their
blood, but few of these infected nurses actually developed cold sores. The nurses
who did develop cold sores were the ones who described themselves as generally
unhappy people.
5. In addition to these results, which support their theory, researchers are also looking
for proof that stress can damage the immune system. Researchers studied recently
bereaved people, i.e., people whose loved ones have just died, because they are
more likely to become ill or die. By examining the immune system of recently
bereaved people, the researchers made an important discovery. They examined
white blood cells, called lymphocytes, which are an important part of the immune
system. The lymphocytes in the immune system of recently bereaved people were
not functioning properly. The fact that they were not working correctly indicates that
severe psychological stress, such as a loved one’s death, may damage an
important part of our immune system, namely, the lymphocytes.
6. There is still no positive proof of a link between the immune system and
psychological states. Researchers also say that the results of the studies on
bereaved people could have a different explanation. For example, bereaved people
often eat and sleep less than normal. Or may drink alcohol or take medication.
These factors can also affect the immune system. More research is needed to
clearly establish the connection between the immune system and psychological
factors.
77
Can Stress Make You Sick? – Questions
PARAGRAPH 1
1. According to scientists, which group of people is more likely to become sick?
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. What does “this theory” (paragraph 1, line 5) refer to?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 2
3. What is the role of our immune system?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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4. What does our tendency to get various diseases depend on? ( 6 words only)
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
5. What does “This discovery” (par. 2, line 6) refer to? ( 7 words only)
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
6. What is a possible result of this discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 37. Why did doctors in the past never seriously consider the link between emotional
factors and disease? ( 4 words only)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
8. What does the word “them” (paragraph 3, line 4) refer to?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 49. In the two experiments in paragraph 4, very few of the infected students actually
became ill. Why? (Circle the correct answer)
a. Because they were not very good students.
b. Because they were carrying a virus which cause disease
79
c. Because they participated in a medical experiment
d. Because they had emotional problems that the others didn’t have.
PARAGRAPH 510.a. Who are bereaved people?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
b. Why did researchers study them?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
11.Was the immune system of recently bereaved people working well?
YES NO (Circle one)
JUSTIFICATION:____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
12. What does the experiment with recently bereaved people suggest?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 6
13. What factors may also affect the immune system of bereaved people?
a.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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b.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
13. Does the author think that there is a clear connection between emotional factors
and the immune system?
YES NO (Circle the correct answer)JUSTIFICATION:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
What's the Most Stressful Job in the World? (1138)
By: Deborah Shaw Lewis
Adapted from: Motherhood Stress, World Publishing Co., 1989
1. No one disputes that motherhood is wonderful. However, what continues to surprise people is
that stress - so often associated with office jobs - is a real factor in the lives of mothers, too .In
fact, the degree of stress and the symptoms it can cause are substantial. Yet - and this is even more
remarkable - mothers themselves have been slow to recognize their symptoms as stress-related. And
even mothers who work outside the home, who expect to feel tension in their "real' jobs, are
surprised to find that their domestic duties are stress-producing as well. The reality is that the work
of being a mother generally produces pressures that are equal to the most challenging of
professions, in addition to providing unique ones of its own. Some of these pressures are discussed
below.
Unpredictability
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2. A certain amount of novelty can be positive in any job. It reduces boredom and stimulates
creativity and productivity. But novelty taken to the extreme of unpredictability can create
tremendous tension - and motherhood is actually synonymous with unpredictability. Just as each
day of childrearing is unpredictable, so too is each child. No mother can predict how a child will
develop physically, emotionally, socially, regardless of how an older child progresses.
Lack of Control
3. Many studies show that the less control employees have over their daily work, the more stress
they experience. Full-time mothers, who typically have very little control over how they spend their
time, are no exception. And while feelings such as these - that is, having very little control - last
throughout motherhood, they often intensify when a new baby is added to the family. In the world
of work, this is analogous to getting yet another boss. And studies about job-stress have shown that
the more bosses a person has, the greater the potential for stress.
Power Overload
4. Everyone recognizes that some kinds of stress come with jobs that require making life-or-death
decisions. And yet, every day, mothers labor under such stressful conditions. The responsibilities
that they assume in safeguarding the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being of their
children is staggering. As Anna Quinlan, a weekly columnist in The New York Times, states,
"Mothers have the power to make children feel good or bad about themselves, which is the greatest
power in the world.”
Poor Job Training
5. Insufficient preparation is another stress-producer in the work place. Most employers today
recognize this problem and provide their workers with job training and orientation. Yet training is
neither required nor available for the job of motherhood. Most women usually acquire their
knowledge of mothering through trial and error, a situation which is guaranteed to lead to days of
worrying about whether they are doing the job "right". In fact, it's impossible for a mother to feel
that she has mastered the job because, as one young mother laments, “Just when you think that you
know what you are doing with your infant, she becomes a toddler."
Unrealistic Expectations and Unclear Priorities
6. Given the consequences of the job of a mother, many women try to be "perfect” mothers. And
yet, in any other job, success is not only easier to attain, but is also more easily measured. When
you complete a business deal, deliver a speech, or type letters, tangible evidence of your work exists
82
to demonstrate your skill and effectiveness. This is not so with motherhood.
7. "Before my baby was born, 1 fantasized about my daily routine," says a young mother whose son
is not yet two. "1 imagined I would clean the house in the morning before the baby woke up. Then
we would go for a long walk and do many stimulating and interesting things together. And we'd be
the picture of calmness when Daddy got home in the evening. 1 soon found out that taking care of a
baby doesn't work that way. 1 found it very stressful because I've always been an organized person,
and I couldn't understand why my life was suddenly so disorganized."
8. The fact is that planning and organization, basic skills which are required for success in many
jobs, cannot ensure success as a mother. It isn't that planning and organizing are of absolutely no
value to mothers. The problem is that one can't schedule the needs of children and family in the
same way that one can juggle business appointments. Several tasks which require a mother's
attention may be of equal importance, so that it is difficult to decide which takes precedence.
Furthermore, all such priorities can change depending on the circumstances. For example, one often
finds that the most menial task )e.g., doing laundry( absolutely must be done on a given day, while a
much more meaningful task )such as taking the children to the library( can be put off indefinitely.
Having to make such choices is stressful in itself. Whichever decision a mother makes, she is still
left feeling guilty or frustrated, or both.
Inadequate Feedback
9. Many studies have shown that the amount of evaluation a person receives on the job, along with
the tone )positive or negative( of that evaluation, and the timing of the evaluation affect the amount
of stress that the worker will experience. Usually, mothers lose out in all three cases. There is no
periodic evaluation of the work of a mother, no supervisor to tell her she's doing a good job, and it
is very hard for her to evaluate her own performance.
10. Even more stressful may be to receive negative criticism from husband, parents, in-laws, or
even friends who disapprove of her childrearing methods. And even believing that she has done
what is best for herself and her family does not always ease the stress such pressure can produce.
Over time, especially when those negative remarks continue, a woman may begin to doubt herself.
And when self-esteem plummets, stress rises.
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Low Status
11. Society tells us that mothers are valued. Yet, the low status granted to mothers denies this. Even
working women - who should know better - think a full-time mother's time is expendable. Neither
are women who hold jobs immune to the belittling of their mothering roles. For example, a divorced
mother of two school-aged children stated that while she was valued by her boss as a highly skilled
and professional employee, she was criticized by the same boss for calling home each afternoon to
make sure that her children had arrived home safely from school. Obviously, her being a concerned
parent was of no value to the company she worked for.
12. And last but not of lesser importance, is the small issue of salary. Because full-time mothers do
not bring home a salary for functions they perform, it is very easy for them to feel that their work
isn't valued.
What's the Most Stressful Job in the World –QUESTIONS
1. According to paragraph 1, what are two surprising facts about motherhood?
i. ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
ii. ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. Novelty in a job can have advantages and disadvantages. What is the advantage of novelty
and what is the disadvantage? )paragraph 2(
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Advantage: ________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Disadvantage: ______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. How is the job of a full-time mother similar to an employee who gets another boss?
)paragraph 3(
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What are some of the responsibilities that make the job of a mother especially stressful?
)paragraph 4(
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What reason is given for motherhood stress in paragraph 5? Why does the author believe
this is stressful?
__________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
6. What idea does the example of the young mother in paragraph 7 support?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
7. Why are planning and organization often useless for a mother? )paragraph 8(
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
8. According to paragraphs 9 and 10, all mothers need more
i. common sense.
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ii. serenity of spirit.
iii. selfishness.
iv. positive reinforcement.
9. Paragraph 11: Decide if the following statement is TRUE or FALSE,
Society treats mothers in a contradictory way.
TRUE FALSE )circle one(
Justification:
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
9. According to the entire article, list 8 factors which contribute to motherhood stress.i. _______________________________________________________________ii. _______________________________________________________________iii. _______________________________________________________________iv. _______________________________________________________________v. _______________________________________________________________vi. _______________________________________________________________vii. _______________________________________________________________viii. __________________________________________________________________
Gender Issues Today
A. Chat: In pairs, translate these words. Then predict what the article will be about.
a full-time job / investment banking / raising children / role overload /
household chores / employed women / balancing / combining / wages /
unpaid work / implementing a scheme / self-concept / self-confidence
A. Opinions: Read each statement carefully and decide if you agree or disagree with it. Then discuss your opinion with your partner.
86
1. If both a woman and a man apply for the same job, it is the man who
will usually get the position.
2. A woman should not combine a full-time job with raising her children.
3. Women are better at nurturing and taking care of children than men.
4. When a couple gets married, it is the woman's job to clean the house
and do the cooking for the family.
5. Husbands should do an equal share of the housework, the childcare,
and the cooking.
6. Governments should pay people for doing housework.
7. Women who stay at home have a negative self-concept.
8. Women who are employed outside the home have more self-
confidence.
9. Women are likely to live longer than men.
10.Male children are generally preferred over female children.
11.There are advantages and disadvantages to being a modern woman.
Gender Issues Today (791)
From: Academic Encounters: Life in SocietyBy Kristine Brown and Susan Hood, Cambridge, 2002
Balancing Home and Work
1. Here is one woman's story of balancing home and career. Rachel always dreamed of
having a large family and an interesting career. She now has four children and works full-
time.
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"I really have two full-time jobs. My job in the city is in investment bank-ing and I
really like it. It's interesting and important. My other job is at home – raising four kids
and keeping the household going. I like this job too, and though it's not always
interesting, I know it's important. But when I'm not cleaning up the kitchen after a
meal, or picking up the kids' things from the floor for the millionth time, or feeding
the dog, then I'm falling asleep during my youngest daughter's piano practice. When
I do have some free time, I've usually got a headache. The reality is that, most of
the time, it's just too much."
Role Overload2. Rachel has role overload. That is, she has difficulty combining the roles of worker and
of wife and mother. Role overload is one of the disadvantages that today's women face.
While both parents are more "stretched" when the woman of the household works, it is
usually the woman who does most of the childcare and housework. Most studies
investigating housework conclude that women (whether employed or not) do "the lion's
share" of housework and childcare. An Australian study, for example, found that employed
wives did 69.3 hours of unpaid work around the house during a two-week period while
employed husbands did approximately 31.2 hours. A study by Bird (1999) shows a similar
picture for U. S. households. In this study of 1,256 adults, Bird showed that while working
women certainly want an equal share of housework, they "shoulder the main burden" by
doing approximately twice as much as their spouses. Her study showed that after
marriage, women work 14 hours more on household chores per week, while their
husbands work only 90 minutes more.
Value of Housework3. There have been some attempts in the United States, Europe, and Australia over the
past few decades to encourage governments to pay people for the housework they do. A
United States organization called The Wages for Housework Campaign argued for many
years that housework was boring and degrading because it was unpaid, and that payment
would improve the status of women in society overall. More recently they have argued for
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housewives to be included in the labor force and for unpaid housework to be included in
calculations of a nation's wealth, for example, the gross national product (GNP). They
have argued that this would make housework more visible, and could possibly lead to
greater investment in programs to help women.
4. So far, no government has seriously considered paying people for housework. This
is not surprising when you consider how difficult it would be to implement such a scheme.
The first problem would be to determine how much people would be paid. In 1995 the
United Nations estimated the annual value of women's unpaid work at $11 trillion
worldwide. An Australian government study in 1991 calculated that if someone was to be
paid to do all the housework in one home it would be worth 400 Australian dollars a week
(equivalent to about 250 U.S. dollars at that time). However, there would be more
problems to "iron out". Would everyone get the same amount? Which tasks would and
would not be paid for? How would the government know if the work was done?
Other Consequences of Being a Woman5. Role overload is not the only disadvantage women of today may experience. A
negative self-concept and lack of self-confidence are other disadvantages. In a study in
which woman and men were told they were incapable of performing a mental task, the
women were more likely than the men to believe that they were incapable (Wagner et al.
1986). Another study showed that women are more likely to think their success is due to
luck than to their own ability (Heimovics and Herman 1988). A further problem for many
mothers is the difficulty they have in finding new interests and activities when their children
leave home.
6. But there are also advantages to being a modern woman. One is the likelihood of
living longer. In 1998 in the United States, average life expectance for men was 73.9,
whereas for women it was 79.4. Other advantages are being able to express emotions
more easily, having a closer bond with children, and not having one's identity tied to
employment. One big advantage today is that women have so many options. It is socially
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acceptable to work full-time if you have children, but it is also acceptable to be a full-time
mother and stay at home, or to work part-time.
Gender Issues Today
Balancing Home and Work
1. What are Rachel's two full-time jobs?
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a. _______________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________
2. What is the point of Rachel's story? Circle the correct answer.
a. that you should not work full-time if you are a woman with children.
b. that it can be difficult to combine full-time work and raising a family.
c. that women do most of the housework even if they work full-time.
d. It would be better if a woman would not work outside the home.
Role Overload
3. How does the writer define "role overload"?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What idea does the result of the Australian study support? ________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________ _________
5. Decide if the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.
The result of a study by Bird is different than the result of the Australian study.
TRUE FALSE (CIRCLE ONE)
JUSTIFICATION:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. Circle the correct answer: "the lion's share of housework" is an expression which means:
a. the hardest housework
b. the most frightening housework
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c. most of the housework
Value of Housework
7. Why does The Wages for Housework Campaign think that housework is boring and
degrading for women?
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
8. What information can you find in paragraph 4 to suggest that governments will never
pay people to do housework?
a.______________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________
d.______________________________________________________
Other Consequences of Being a Woman
9. According to this section, what are 4 disadvantages of being a woman today?
a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________
10. According to this section, what are 5 advantages of being a woman today?
a. ________________________________________________________
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b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
d. ________________________________________________________
e. ________________________________________________________
SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following near synonyms from the text.
a. employed 1. make better
b. capable 2. mix together
c. an equal share 3. carry out
d. wages 4. having a job
e. improve 5. the way you think of yourself
f. consider something 6. try
g. self-concept 7. able to do something
h. similar 8. almost the same
i. attempt 9. salary
j. implement 10. the same amount
k. combine 11. think about
Phrase Match: Match the following phrases from the text. (Sometimes more than one
combination is possible).
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a. Most studies conclude that 1. have many options
b. Employed wives 2. can lead to a headache
c. Housework is boring and degrading 3. in the labor force
d. There are many problems 4. women do most of the housework
e. It is not easy to implement 5. to iron out
f. House wives should be included 6. do the lion's share of housework
g. Role overload 7. the government's scheme
h. Women today 8. because it is unpaid
Test each other: Can you identify the prefix or the suffix in these words?
Do you remember how these words were used in the text?
overload acceptable
degrading unequal
disadvantage employer
unpaid encourage
incapable payment
PERSONALIZING THE TOPIC
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Fill in the table for your family. Put an (x) in the appropriate column.
Who does each job in your family? Male Female Shared equally
General straightening up
Vacuuming
Cleaning bathrooms
Washing floors
Shopping for food
Cooking meals
Cleaning up after meals
Childcare
Taking children to school, sports
Doing household repairs
Paying bills
Laundry
Organizing social events
1. Compare your answers with your group.a. Who does the most housework – males or females?b. What jobs do males usually do?c. What jobs do females usually do?
d. What factors influence who does certain jobs?
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A Cultural Difference (424)
1. In the United States it is important to be on time, or punctual, for an appointment,
a class, a meeting, etc. This may not be true in all countries, however. An
American professor discovered this difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian
university. The two hour class was scheduled to begin at 10 AM and end at 12
PM. On the first day, when the professor arrived on time, no one was in the
classroom. Many students came after 11 AM. Although all the students greeted
the professor as they arrived, few apologized for their lateness. Were these
students being rude? He decided to study the students' behavior.
2.The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both a
formal and informal situation: lunch with a friend and a university class,
respectively. He gave them an example and asked how they would react. If they
had a lunch appointment with a friend, the average American student defined
lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time. On the other hand, the average
Brazilian student felt that the friend was late after 33 minutes.
3. In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour.
In contrast, in Brazil, neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour. Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in the United
States, but they also end at the scheduled time. In the Brazilian class, only a few
students left the class at noon; many remained past 12:30 to discuss the class and
ask more questions. While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil, neither
is staying late.
4.The explanation for these differences is complicated. People from Brazilian and
North American cultures have different feelings about lateness. In Brazil, the
students believe that a person who usually arrives late is probably more
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successful than a person who is always on time. In fact, Brazilians expect a
person with status or prestige to arrive late, while in the United States, lateness is
usually considered to be disrespectful and unacceptable. Consequently, if a
Brazilian is late for an appointment with a North American, the American may
misinterpret the reason for the lateness and become angry.
5.As a result of his study, the professor learned that the Brazilian students were not
being disrespectful to him. Instead, they were simply behaving in the appropriate
way for a Brazilian student in Brazil. Eventually, the professor was able to adapt
his own behavior to feel comfortable in the new culture.
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A Cultural Difference - QUESTIONS
Paragraph 11. Why did the professor study the Brazilian students' behavior?
a. He wanted to know why they greeted him when they came in.b. He wanted to understand why the students came late.c. He wanted to make the students understand American culture.
2. What does punctual mean? (para 1, line 1)___________________________________________________________
3. What does "few" refer to? (para 1, line 6) ___________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
4. a. What example does the writer give of an informal situation?______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
b. What example does the writer give of a formal situation?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
5. What do the words "on the other hand" show about the American idea of lateness and the Brazilian idea of lateness (par. 2, line 5)?(Choose the best answer)
a. It shows a similarity.
b. It gives more information.
c. It shows a contrast.
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Paragraph 36. "Neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour."
(par. 3, line 2) Who arrives at the appointed hour? (Choose the best answer)
a. no oneb. only the studentsc. the teacher and the students
Paragraph 4 -57. What does "in fact" indicate? (par. 4, line 4)
a. a contrast between two ideasb. an additional ideac. emphasis on the previous idea
8. Complete the following sentence using the words from the following list.important stupid rude clever
a. If I were a Brazilian and my friend came late to a meeting, I would think he was
_____________________________________________________
b. If I were a American and my friend came late to a meeting, I would think he was
_____________________________________________________
9. What is the main idea of the entire article? (Choose the best answer.)a. It is important to be on time for class in the United States.
b. People learn the importance of time when they are children.
c. The importance of being on time differs among different cultures.
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