topic-specific vocabulary

Men & women

B. Use the words and expressions in the box to complete the conversation below.

gender roles • child-rearing • male counterparts

breadwinner • stereotypes • household management • role division

cuc chin phân chia
nh kin vai trò ca gii tính
battle of the sexes • Sex Discrimination Act • social convention
quy c xã hi

Chris: Cleaning and cooking are a woman’s job. After all, men are no good

household management
at 1. ____________________ .

Terry: What rubbish! Thank goodness the 2. ____________________

SDA exists to prevent men from taking

advantage of women.

Chris: Well, let’s face it, in the workplace women never do as well as their male counterparts.
3. ____________________

Terry: And I suppose you think that women are only good for changing babies’ nappies and other

child-rearing
tedious aspects of 4. ____________________ .

Chris: No, but I do believe that in a modern household there should be a clearly-defined

5. ____________________
role division . Men are good at DIY, for example. Most women aren’t. And I’ll always

believe that it’s the man who should be the 6. ____________________

breadwinner , providing food and shelter

for his family.

Terry: social convention

Well, all I can say is that I’m glad your ideas of 7. ____________________ are not shared by most

people.

Chris: Nonsense! A lot of people believe in traditional 8. ____________________

gender roles ; the man goes out to

work, the woman stays at home. It’s as simple as that.

Terry: stereotypes
Men at work and women at home? Come on dear, those are such typical 9. __________________ !

With people like you around, the 10. ____________________

battle of the sexes will always continue.

Chris: Oh, shut up dad.

Terry: Sorry Christine, but it’s an issue I feel strongly about.

Don’t forget to keep a record of the words and expressions that you have learnt, review
your notes from time to time and try to use new vocabulary items whenever possible.

93
For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)
topic-specific vocabulary

Men & Women

C. Now read this essay and complete the gaps with one of the words or expressions from
Tasks A and B.

‘Men and women are, and always will be, different in the way they behave and are treated’.
Do you agree with this statement?

A totally (1)__________________________society, in which sexual (2)__________________________between

men and women is the norm, is still a long way off. This is certainly the case if you watch television, where
men are often portrayed as the (3)__________________________ , bringing money home to the wife, who
is usually depicted as the (4)__________________________ , prone to extreme emotions and temper
tantrums. But is this really the case? Is it still fair to create (5)__________________________such as this?
After all, as more women go out to work and more men stay at home to look after the house and the
kids, it is quite clear that so-called (6)__________________________are merging and disappearing.

Take the office workplace as an example. For years, businesses and companies were
(7)__________________________ - the directors, managers and businessmen were always men, the
secretaries and personal assistants always female. This was probably because men have traditionally been
seen as more (8)__________________________ , more able to deal with the cut-and-thrust of business.
But now women are proving that they can be equally tough, while simultaneously being
more (9)__________________________ and caring. In fact, in many ways, women are more
(10)__________________________ than men, a vital aspect of modern business where you are expected to
do more than just one job. And thanks to the (11)__________________________ , women are paid the same
as men. It would appear that, in many cases, the (12)__________________________is a dying breed.

At home, too, there is less evidence of (13)_________________________ . It is no longer the

woman who does all the cooking and cleaning and (14)_________________________ . Such
(15)__________________________ is now often shared equally. (16)__________________________ no longer
requires the woman to stay indoors all day while the man stays out until all hours. Whether this is due to
the struggle by the (17)__________________________ in the 1960s and 1970s, or whether it is due to a
natural shift in attitudes is unclear.

What is clear, however, is that women no longer feel they need to be regarded as
(18)__________________________ , the underdogs in a (19)__________________________with their
(20).__________________________ . In fact, many believe that in the (21)__________________________ , it is
women who have come out on top.

Don’t forget to keep a record of the words and expressions that you have learnt, review
your notes from time to time and try to use new vocabulary items whenever possible.

94
For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)