Name: Mark:

UNIT 7 Test Level 2

WRITTEN COMPREHENSION

1 Read the article. Five sentences have been removed from it. From sentences A-F, choose the one
that fits each gap. There is one extra sentence. (5 x 2 = 10 points)
A In private, the women took just as many risks as the men.
B This hostile environment, which may lead to failure, may be what’s keeping women away from leadership positions.
C There is growing evidence that females compete at equal rates to men when the type of task is appropriate.
D Women are more cautious because they correctly believe that the potential risks are greater than the benefits.
E High-paying, powerful positions in the workplace involve competition and risk.
F On the other hand, why should we expect it to?

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Who Are the Real Risk Takers?

I We’ve all heard the traditional theory. Back when our ancestors lived in caves, men went out to hunt while
women stayed at home with the children and gathered plants. Hunting was riskier, so over the
generations male brains, with the help of the hormone testosterone, developed a tendency towards
aggressive and risk-taking behaviour. Women’s brains, on the other hand, developed to avoid risks in order
to create a safe and stable home environment.
II These differences are used by modern economists to explain the inequality that still exists in the labour
market, despite all the advances women have made. 1 If women hesitate to compete, say the
economists, then they are less likely to try for promotions or to enter male-dominated, competitive fields.
But is this theory really valid? In her book Testosterone Rex, psychologist Cordelia Fine explores and
explains the latest research in order to debunk it.
III According to Fine, the differences in competitiveness and risk-taking say much more about society than
about innate evolutionary traits. For example, in a study done in China, researchers asked young men and
women to play a computer game involving risk. 2 However, when the researchers told them that
they were being observed by someone of the opposite sex, the females reduced the number of risks they
took, while the males increased it. This change was due to social expectations of how their behaviour
would be judged by others. Another, larger study showed that age and type of risk has more effect than
gender on risk-taking behaviour.
IV So how does Fine explain the differences between men and women in the workplace? The answer lies in
the way they perceive risk. Taking a risk is an action that enables us to achieve a goal that we desire, but it
also involves the possibility of failure or of losing something we have. Men and women behave differently
because they have different perceptions of the possible risks and rewards of their actions. 3
V Women are expected more than men to be kind, cooperative and non-competitive. When competing for
a project, dominating a meeting or giving orders, they are far more likely to encounter disapproval,
opposition and even dislike. 4 And why is it that women often earn less than men in the same jobs?
Women are less likely to negotiate salaries with their employer because arguing aggressively for your own
benefit is not seen as acceptable female behaviour. Therefore, there will be no reward – so why try?
VI Struggling with so many obstacles in their way, it could be said that females in the workplace take far
more risks than men, making women the true daredevils. Fine herself expresses optimism that this
situation may improve. 5 Letting women compete fairly could mean that men have to leave their
comfort zone – and with or without evolution, they are far from likely to take such a risk.

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2 Complete the sentences. (5 x 2 = 10 points)

1 Because women stayed at home and gathered plants, ....................................... .
2 The traditional theory is used to explain why there are fewer women .................................. .
3 The Chinese experiment shows that women are expected .................................. .
4 People may dislike a woman .................................. .
5 The writer of the article does not expect .................................. .

3 Find words or expressions in the text that mean: (5 x 2 = 10 points)

1 show something is not true (paragraph II) ............................
2 characteristics (paragraph III) ............................
3 see and understand (paragraph IV) ............................
4 meet, face (paragraph V) ............................
5 undemanding situation (paragraph VI) ............................