Reading comprehension

Ex. 1. On the basis of the text mark the following sentences as True or False. Correct them in accordance with the text.

1. The Women’s Liberation Movement was started by women who were concerned about their identity, their role in society, and about the view of women that many people held.

2. Women don’t need absolute equality with men – in marriage, in the workplace, in politics as numerous women find homemaking a satisfying career.

3. At home women do not expect their husbands to share in the cleaning, cooking and other household jobs.

4. Maternity leave must be given only to mothers, so that they can stay home from work if the need arises.

5. Some women do not think they are capable of doing anything important.

Ex. 2. Give response to the following questions.

1. What is the Women’s Liberation Movement?

2. What are women concerned about?

3. Are women satisfied with their role of wife and mother?

4. What is the social revolution for women?

5. What are the basic inequities that feminists attack?

6. What examples of women being ever nominated for high posts in the US do you know?

7. What are the women’s proposals concerning housekeeping chores and raising children?

8. What do different people think of the Women’s Liberation Movement?

Ex. 3. Read the text again and divide it into logical parts, give a headline for each part.

Speaking activities

Ex. 1. Develop the ideas expressed in the following statements by adding some sentences logically connected with them.

1. The Women’s Liberation Movement began in 1960s.

2. Many women want full equality with men in every aspect of life.

3. Women must not be tied to the house.

4. Many people agree with the ideals and goals of women’s liberation.

Ex. 2. Prove the following, using the text.

1. Many women want full equality with men in every aspect of life.

2. The Women’s Liberation Movement is not a political party.

3. The Women’s Liberation Movement has not yet achieved all goals.

Ex. 3. What do you think is the main idea of the text? Give arguments supporting your viewpoint.

Ex. 4. Ask questions on the text composing a dialogue with your friend who is a beginner in journalism.

Ex. 5. Suppose you are opposed to women’s liberation. Give your arguments.

Ex. 6. Speak on gender problems which you have come across. Illustrate your opinions on the problems by the examples from your own experience.

Writing activities

Ex. 1. Write out the most interesting ideas expressed in the text.

Ex. 2. What questions would you like to ask? Write an interview with a representative of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Work in pairs.

Ex. 3. Write a short summary of the text.

Creative activities

Ex. 1. Imagine that you are to make a report about gender problems in the world. What would you speak about?

Ex. 2. Get ready to talk about the following topics:

1. The question of women’s roles in the society.

2. The ideas and goals of women’s liberation.

3. What do women want?

4. Male-female relationship.

5. Women are only interested in getting married

6. Men are worse gossips than women.

Ex. 3. Look through the following quotations about men and women and their relationship said by different outstanding people of the world. Try to comment on those which you like most.

1. Супружество с хорошей женщиной – это гавань в буре жизни, а с плохой – это буря в гавани.

Д. Птитсен

2. Жениться – это значит наполовину уменьшить свои права и вдвое увеличить свои обязанности.

Шопенгауэр

3. Женщиной не рождаются, ею становятся.

Симона де Бовуар

4. Оптимист – тот, кто женится на сестре своего лучшего друга.

Дж. Биллингс

5. Замужество – это искусство решать проблемы, которые не возникали, пока жили сами по себе.

6. Добившись руки любимой девушки, вы всегда будете ощущать ее в своем кармане.

7. Женщина может сделать из ничего салат, прическу и трагедию.

8. Поступайте так, как я: выходите замуж за археолога. Это единственный мужчина, который будет на вас смотреть все с большим интересом по мере того, как вы будете стариться.

А. Кристи

9. A man without a woman is like a neck without pain.

10. A man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing.

O. Wilde

11. The strength of women comes from the fact that psychology cannot explain them.

Men can be analyzed, women … merely adored.

O. Wilde

12. A man’s life is of more value than a woman’s. It has larger issues, wider scope, greater ambitions.

O. Wilde

13. I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work.

That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.

M. Thatcher

14. Whether women are better than me I cannot say – but I can say they are certainly no worse.

Goldo Meir

15. Can you imagine a world without men? No crime and lots of happy fat women.

Nicole Hollander

16. A liberated woman is one who has sex before marriage and a job after.

Gloria Steinem

17. If you prefer critisism of one man to administration of hundreds of them, go ahead and get married.

18. Marriage is a struggle first for the union, then for equal rights and at last for independence.

19. One should never give a woman anything that she can’t wear in the evening.

O. Wilde

20. There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman – it’s a thing no married man knows anything about.

21. Society is nothing unless ladies are present.

Napoleon

Ex. 4. Read the following well-known facts and jokes given below, write small articles of your own on gender problems using some of them:

1. There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels – and only 8 who do.

2. Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14.

3. If Barbie were a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.

4. The average woman weights 114 lbs and wears between a 12-14.

5. A psychological study in 1995 found that three minutes spent looking at a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful.

6. Models twenty years ago weighted 8% less than the average woman. Today they weight 23% less.

7. An English professor wrote the words, “Woman without her man is nothing”, on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly.

The men wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”

The women wrote: “Woman! Without her, man is nothing.”

8) The images of Mother:

– 4 years of age	– My Mom can do anything!
– 8 years of age	– My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
– 12 years of age	– My Mother doesn’t know quite everything.
– 14 years of age	– Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that, either.
– 16 years of age	– Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned.
– 18 years of age	– That old woman? She’s way out of date!
– 25 years of age	– Well, she might know a little bit about it.
– 35 years of age	– Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.
– 45 years of age	– Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
– 65 years of age	– Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

9) Beauty of a Woman

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, the beauty of a woman with passing years – only grows.