topic-specific vocabulary
94
Men & Women
For reference, see the
Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)
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.
