contactusa

homemaker

(1)

generalize

(7)

uncivilized

(2)

nontraditional

(8)

alongside

(3)

essentially

(9)

industrialized

(4)

residential

(10)

postwar

(5)

dishwasher

(11)

inventions

(6)

undeveloped

(12)

a. very active

b. fairly active

с not active

d. In the family,

takes care of the children.

a. the mother

b. a relative

с someone else

DIRECTIONS: Now read.

American women experience a great variety of lifestyles. A

1

"typical" American woman may be single. She may also be di-

2

vorced or married. She may be a homemaker, a doctor, or a factory

3

1

worker. It is very difficult to generalize about American women.

4

However, one thing that many American women have in common

5

is their attitude about themselves and their role in American life.

6

Historically, American women have always been very inde-

7

pendent. The first colonists to come to New England were often

8

young couples who had left behind their extended family (i.e., their

9

parents, sisters, cousins, etc.). The women were alone in a new, un-

10

2

developed country with their husbands. This had two important ef-

11

fects. First of all, this as yet uncivilized environment demanded that

12

every person share in developing it and in survival. Women worked

13

alongside their husbands and children to establish themselves in

14

this new land. Second, because they were in a new land without the

15

established influence of older members of society, women felt free

16

to step into nontraditional roles. In addition, there were no rules in

17

the Protestant religion which demanded that women stay in any

18

definite role.

19

This role of women was reinforced in later years as Americans

20

3

moved west, again leaving family behind and encountering a hostile

21

environment. Even later, in the East, as new immigrants arrived,

22

the women often found jobs more easily than men. Women became

23

the supporters of the family. The children of these early Americans

24

grew up with many examples of working women around them.

25

Within the established lifestyle of industrialized twentieth-

26

century America, the strong role of women was not as dramatic as

27

in the early days of the country. Some women were active outside

28

4

the home; others were not. However, when American men went to

29

war in the 1940s, women stepped into the men's jobs as factory and

30

business workers. After the war, some women stayed in these po-

31

sitions, and others left their jobs with a new sense of their own ca-

32

pabilities.

33

When men returned from the war and the postwar "baby

34

boom" began, Americans began to move in great numbers to the

35

suburbs. A new model of a traditional family developed, and women

36

were essentially separated from men. Men generally went back into

37

the city to work, and there was a strong division between work and

38

home. Houses in the suburbs were far apart from each other, and

39

5

these areas were all residential; there were no stores or businesses.

40

Women had to drive to buy food and to visit family and friends. All

41

these factors contributed to a sense of isolation and to a feeling of

42

separation between the family and the outside world. At the same

43

time technological developments gave American homemakers many

44

time-saving inventions such as dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, and

45

frozen foods. Life became easier for American homemakers but not

46

necessarily more satisfying. With more time on their hands, Amer-

47

ican women began to want to become more involved.

48

Many people think that the women's movement, a political and

49

social effort to give women the same status and rights as men, was

50

a result of this isolation and separation of women in the suburbs.

51

Given the historical model of women who were active outside the

52

home in building America, it is really not surprising that American

53

women are working to reestablish their strong role in American life.

54

DIRECTIONS: Scan

the

reading

for

these words.

Write

the number

of the

line where you

find them.

Then

compare

its

meaning in

the

sentence

to

the

meaning

of the

word(s) on the right.

Are

the

words

similar

or different?

Write similar

or dif-

ferent

on

the line.

LINE NUMBER

SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT

1.

lifestyle

way of life

2.

divorced

married

3.

attitude

feeling

4.

couple

two people

5.

uncivilized

undeveloped

6.

share

work together

7.

definite

general

8.

reinforced

strengthened

9.

hostile

friendly

A First Look

167

10.

positions

jobs

11.

capabilities

abilities

12.

division

separation

13.

far apart

close together

14. contribute

add

15.

satisfying

boring

1.

The author thinks that there are

for American women.

с

sometimes jobs

a. few possibilities

b. many choices

2. American women have felt independent

a. only recently

b.

for several

с

since World War II

hundred years

3. Traditions were

survival in this new land.

a. as important as

b. less important than

с

only for

4. American women _

_ west with their husbands.

a. did not go

b. left

с

moved

5. In the early twentieth century,

American women worked.

a. some

b. all

с no

6.

The move to the suburbs took place in the

a.

1700s

b.

1800s

с

1900s

7.

According to the author, life in the suburbs had a

_ effect on women,

a. positive

b.

negative

с

hostile

8.

A

was absolutely necessary in the suburbs.

с

baby boom

a. business

b. car

9.

Technological developments gave women more_____

a. time

b.

satisfaction

с

hands

10.

The author feels that the women's movement has _

a strong role for women,

a. reestablished

b. worked for

с

worked against

1.

When there is little variety, people have

a. no time

b. few choices

· с

a lot of diversity

2.

The student had a negative attitude about her work. She___________

a. hated it

b. studied hard

с

tried a lot

3.

A

is an example of a timesaver.

a. watch

b. dishwasher

с

bed

4.

There were no other people. The boy was

a. undeveloped

b. social

с

alone

5.

The young people felt that they needed no help from anyone. They were very

a. influenced

b. independent

с

uncivilized

6.

A residential area has

a. stores

b. houses

с

businesses

7.

I

difficulties in language when I traveled to the Soviet Union.

a. encountered

b. established

с

contributed to

8.

The young people tried hard. They showed a lot of_________

a. effort

b. status

с

influence

9.

I

ten dollars to the organization.

a. reinforced

b. shared

с

contributed

10.

We make the same salaries, but our

is not the same because you have the

title of "director."

a. status

b. sense

с

model

In the twentieth century,

until

when

Look Again

171