Unit 6 Women, Half the Sky

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Unit 6 Women, Half the Sky

• Meng Ling

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Cultural Notes

• Feminism In the 1960s feminism (the belief that
  women and men are equal in abilities and should
  have equal rights and opportunities) became the
  subject of intense debate when the womens
  liberation movement encouraged women to reject
  their traditional supporting role and to demand
  equal status and equal rights with men in areas
  such as employment and pay.

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• Since then the gender gap between the sexes has
  been reduced. However the battle between feminist
  and traditional views of a womans role
  continues. It is widely accepted by younger
  people that women should, if they wish, be
  allowed to develop their careers and not give up
  work when they have a family.

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• Feminism has brought about many changes in the
  English language. Many words for job titles that
  included man have been replaced, for example,
  police officer is used instead of policeman
  and chairperson for chairman. He is now
  rarely used to refer to a person when the person
  could be either a man or a woman. The title Ms
  is used for women instead of Miss or Mrs,
  since it does not show whether a woman is married
  or not.

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• 2. The Brooklyn Bridge

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• The Brooklyn Bridge, built in 1883, spans the
  East River in New York City. The bridge connects
  the densely populated boroughs of Brooklyn and
  Manhattan. The bridge was designed by the
  American engineer John Augustus Roebling, and
  construction was begun in 1869 by his son
  Washington Augustus Roebling. When the Brooklyn
  Bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883, it was
  the longest suspension bridge in the world.

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• The main suspension span is 486m (1595ft) long
  the average height above the river is 41m
  (133ft) and the overall length is 2065m
  (6775ft). Numerous techniques devised by Roebling
  made this bridge possible, including the use of
  caissons (watertight chambers) for building the
  bridges stone towers and of steel wire for the
  cables. To allow tall-masted sailing ships to
  pass under

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• bridge, Roebling positioned the road deck 36.6m
  (120ft) above the water. Stone towers, which rose
  to a height of 84.3m (276.5ft), made this high
  roadway possible and made the bridge the tallest
  structure in New York at its completion. The span
  from tower to tower of just over 486m (1,595ft)
  and the span between cable anchors of 1,054m
  (3,456ft) constituted a remarkable achievement.

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• The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City perhaps best
  demonstrates the scale of building made possible
  by the rapid expansion of American industry and
  by American ambition. The expression selling the
  Brooklyn Bridge to somebody means tricking
  somebody in a deal.

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Reading Techniques Skimming Scanning

• Skimming read quickly for key topics, main
  ideas, overall theme, basic structure
• Scanning read quickly to find a specific piece
  of information (e.g. names, addresses, facts,
  prices, numbers, dates, etc.)

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Coherence

• Coherence is concerned with the form of
  expression.

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Three Main Ways of Achieving Coherence

• The use of transitional words and phrases
• The repetition of key words and phrases
• The use of parallel structure

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• Transitional signals are useful words or phrases
  for helping the readers grasp the connections in
  a paragraph. These connecting words or phrases
  permit easy passage from one sentences or ideas
  to the next. Words like first, next, for
  example are like road signals, helping to point
  the way. They tie ideas together.

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Transitional Expressions

• To add ideas together
• And, also, besides, furthermore, in addition,
  moreover, too, first, second, finally
• To show emphasis and clarity
• Above all, after all, in fact, particularly, that
  is
• To show similarity
• Like, likewise, in the same manner, in the same
  way, similarly
• To express cause and effect
• As, because, due to, for, for this reason, now
  that, since, owning to, as a result
  (consequence), accordingly, consequently,
  therefore, thus.

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• To point out examples
• For example, for instance, to illustrate
• To draw a conclusion, an inference, or a summary
• In a word, in conclusion, in brief, in short, in
  summary, to conclude, to summarize, to sum up,
  therefore.
• To indicate time
• At times, after, afterward, from then on,
  immediately, later, meanwhile, next, now, then,
  until, while.

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• Repeating the important words in the previous
  sentences, particularly the controlling ideas in
  the topic sentence, helps to remind the reader of
  the focus. These words will remove the trouble of
  going back to see what you are talking about.
  Some times the word may appear in different
  forms. (In the following samples, the Italicized
  words are the repetition of the key words.)

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Tasks

• 1. Try to find transitional words like but,
  however, yet,
• especially in Paras 8 to 10, which provide a good
  example of using transitional phrases and
  sentences.

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• 2. The most striking feature of this text is the
  repetition of key words and phrases. Try to scan
  the whole text to find the following key words
  and phrases and get the writers purpose of
  repeating them.

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• 1) Brooklyn Bridge or the bridge
• The occurrences of the phrases Brooklyn Bridge or
  the bridge weave the essay into a coherent piece
  and the appearance of the word bridge coincides
  with a new part of the text.

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• 2) synonyms of superwoman
• Synonyms like superwoman, superwomen, heroine,
  supersisters, and superheroines appear five times
  to remind readers of the topic of this essay.

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• 3) in her spare time
• The five instances where the phrase in her spare
  time is used emphasize the amazing fact that some
  super-capable women can still find spare time in
  their tight schedule.

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• 4) synonymous phrases of fairy tale
• Synonymous phrases like modern fairy tale,
  fantasy, dream, incredible achievements, and
  extraordinary deeds point out the fact that many
  people do not believe in superwomen stories.

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• 3. There is no strictly parallel structure in
  this essay. However, some may regard the
  comparison between my daily struggle and the
  achievements of Kate L., the daughter of a
  politician, the woman executive, etc. as
  parallel.

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• Interestingly, the author uses many words and
  phrases related to food.
• Find as many words or phrases as possible related
  to food in the text .

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Word-web
to bake cakes
a piece of cake
to devour
you cant eat the cake and have it too
the old low-dream diet
strawberry jam
food
a diet without treats
a whole box of cookies
a dieter
tea
soup
juice
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Can you get the implied meaning of those words or
phrases? All these were coined on the basis of
low-fat diet. Those words or phrases just
reflect the traditional role of women as
food-providers.
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Additional Listening

• When is the International Womens Day?
• (March 8th )
• What are the issues mentioned about women rights
  in the passage?
• What does Human trafficking mean?
• What was Ms. Bushs opinion?
• What is she called now in America?

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• In Asia last Tuesday there were demonstrations
  against unfair treatment of women.
• In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza
  Rice held a conference of women leaders.
• In Afghanistan, president Hamid Karzai has
  appointed the first female governor of a
  province. In Iraq, women hold almost one third of
  the seats in the newly elected national assembly.
  
• Nearly half the voters in the Palestinian
  presidential election were women.
• Hundreds of women and men demonstrated in Kuwait
  to demand the right for women to vote.

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• Human trafficking is the recruitment,
  transportation, harboring, or receipt of people
  for the purposes of slavery, forced labor
  (including bonded labor or debt bondage) and
  servitude.

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• She praised recent political gains for Muslim
  women and added that women in China and Cuba
  still cannot freely express their political or
  religious beliefs. And she said human trafficking
  continues to make women slaves around the world.

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• ? The United States joins in protesting the
  House arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the
  Democracy Movement in Burma.

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Discussion

• 1. If you had a second life, which one would you
  prefer to be, a man or a woman? Why?
• 2. Can you persuade men that women should have
  great control over their own lives and over
  society? And for what reasons?
• 3. Should women have equal job opportunities with
  men?
• 4. Can you name some successful women to back up
  that women are not second-class citizens? What
  are their common characteristics?

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• Remember to - -Review Unit 6 and preview and
  study Text A of Unit 7, Integrated Course 2
  Finish reading Unit 6, Reading Course 2Finish
  fast reading Unit 6, Fast Reading Course 2Finish
  listening to Unit 11-12, Listening Speaking
  Course 2Discuss topics with your group members
  to practice oral English