CHAPTER TWO Reading Page 24 and 25
A WOMAN'S PLACE IS IN THE HOME
Chairperson and fellow students,
1.Replying to such a well0argued speech is not easy,but I will try.
As you know,I'm speaking against this motion.
I wish to make three main points.
First,we cannot accept the traditional role for women
in a modern and sophisticated society.
Second,I wish to refute the argument that women are weaker than men.
Third,I shall discuss whether or not it is damaging
for a childif his/her mother has a job.
2.In proposing the motion,
Jane suggested that we should be proud of our history
and respect the traditional role of women.
Well,I want to remind her of some other facts about the past.
Girls born into some poor families were not wanted.
They were sometimes killed or later sold as slaves.
After getting married,many women were like servants in their husband's family.
These wives,confined to their houses,had very low status.
New wives sometimes committed suicide.
Are these traditions which we should support today?
I don't think so.
We can be proud of our history without clinging to these old traditions.
3.Second,the proposer mentioned the old argument
about women being weaker than men.
Having made this point,
she said it showed that women were unsuitable for many jobs.
Well,I must disagree with both statements.
Looking around,we can still see some women doing heavy,physical work
on farms,building sites androads.
Thus,women can do heavy manual labour when they have to.
Furthermore,statistics prove that women suffer fewer serious diseases.
Moreover,the life expectancy for women is longer than that for men.
So how can we say women are weaker?
Finally,while agreeing that men are better at weightlifting,
I must say that very few jobs actually require physical strength these days.
4.In his speech,James tried to pay us a compliment,I think,
when he said that women are superior to men in bringing up children,
and should therefore stay home.
I concede that many women feel torn between their careers and their families.
However,a recent study has shown that working women
spend only five hours lessa week with their children than non0working women.
It is better for the family finances and for the woman's own development.
For instance,my mother returned to work a few years ago.
Having been at home for ten years,she felt quite nervous.
After returning to work,she became more confident.
But I feel strongly that every woman should have the right to work out her own priorities.
5.Thus,I have shown that some traditions of the past were unfair,
and that women are not the weaker sex.
I believe we're capable of doing any job a man can do.
In our city,over 51% of the female population now have jobs.
Many of those also manage to run a home,and so they have a double burden.
Very few men could manage this.
6.There are still many examples of discrimination against women in our society,
as Simon pointed out in his speech.
As a community,we are wasting our valuable resources
if we don't let women play their full part.
A woman's place is not only in the home,but also in the office,
in the design studio,in the bank,and in the managing director's chair.
I urge you to vote against the motion.Thank you.
1 LISTENING SKILLS Changing texts
2 LISTENING SKILLS Changing texts
SPEAKING
A Stress in words ending in 0ion
When you want to say or read a long word such as discriminationit helps if you know where the main stress is.
Most words ending in0ion
have their main stress on the vowel before the 0ion ending
Exercise A1
construct construction discriminate discrimination
donate donation explode explosion
investigate investigation limit limitationoppose opposition organize organization
pronounce pronunciation recommend recommendation
Exercise A2
1.Thank you for your donation to our charity.
2.The police investigation into the crime will start immediately.
3.There is a lot of opposition to that proposal.
4.It is difficult to learn communication skills in a foreign language.
5.The modern industrialization of this city began in the 1950s.
6.Discrimination against women still exists in some occupations.
7.We have decided to oppose all of your recommendations.
MORE LANGUAGE INPUT
A Reading Growing Up
Leaving childhood andheading into adulthood
is a physical and emotional process for teenagers.
Growing up is difficult in terms of health as well.
As a teenager,you need to understand what is going on with your body,
how to handle those changes,
and how to start taking responsibility for your own health.
Puberty is a mysterious word.
Upon pronunciation,it almost sounds embarrassing.
But it is really nothing to be shy about.
After all,everyone goes through it.
A young person may begin development at 8 years of age,
while another may not show signs of development until 14 or 15.Generally,
girls tend to enter puberty two years ahead of boys.
For both sexes,puberty is usually complete by age 18.
During these years,your voices deepen,
pimples grow and many other physical changes happen.
Your emotions also see0saw as you ride the wave of adolescence.
Part of the ride may have something to do with your hormones;
whereas the other part may come from your changing relationships
with your parents and friends,or pressure from peers.
Puberty is important for all boys and girls
It may greatly influence personality development,particularly for girls.
Research findings show that adolescent girls
sometimes undergo a significant drop in self0confidence.
They may feel uncertain and insecure about their own judgement and emotions
Yet they are usually reluctant to tell their parents and teachers
about their feelings.
Therefore,adolescent girls
should be encouraged to discuss things with trusted adults
to cope with such natural developmental difficulties
in their personal and school life.
Good advice at the right time can lead to positive and productive results.
Boys,at this stage,
should also start to learn how to make sensible decisions for themselves.If not,bad choices or risky behaviour may bring about lifelong consequences.
Parents and schools,communities and media can each do a lot to care and help.
It is the responsibility of the whole society
to ensure young people's health growth
00through their teenage years into adulthood.
B Listening