lesson 18
should women be treated the same as men?
text
for women, there is a long way to go
one-third of the people at work in britain are women. by 1975 they will, by law, be on a footing of equal pay with men. their of reaching the top, however, are still far from equal.
a recently-published study called women in top jobs examines why this should be so. for the purposes of this study four researchers, two men and two women, chose women in top management in two business organizations and women in senior jobs in the bbc and the civil service. in their findings they found that although there are conventional and attitudes on both sides, there is a widespread that no society can afford not to utilise ability.
the studies confirm that there is no basic difference be tween the standards and quality of work performance of women who have reached top jobs and those of men in similar positions. nevertheless, there emerged some factors in the performance of women in top jobs. women were less interested in empire-building, in office politics, in status symbols. they are likely to be less forceful and competitive than men.
in the past, women tended to assume they would be overtaken y men in the race to the top. however, today’s young women are far less about their status and are more aggressive in their at being treated as in some way inferior to men. on the other hand, since lack of drive is one of the criticisms levelled against women, perhaps this is a positive advantage. some young women, though, find it very difficult to come to terms with the feeling hat characteristics of authority which are acceptable in men are often not acceptable in women.
a reason often advanced for women failing to reach the top is their desire for balance between work and a life outside work. employers know this and tend, when a woman with young children applies for , to treat the fact that she has young children as an important factor and, given the choice, are more likely to give promotion to a man than to her.
what about women whose children are almost grown up? well, the writers of the study recommend a much more positive approach by employers to women who want to return to their careers after their children are off their hands.
ii.read
read t6e following passages. underline the important viewpoints while reading.
1. what women’s lib is about
women’s lib is short for the women’s liberation movement which got its name in america some years ago. its supporters demand their freedom and equality with men.
in this dialogue sheila believes in women’s lib while has his doubts.
　
harry: i’ve never understood what this women’s lib business is all about.i can
understand women in some countries struggling for their rights. but it
strikes me that here in britain women havc already?got as much freedom
as they could possibly want. they’ve got the vote, they can go to
university, they can compete with men in the professions on equal
terms…
sheila: rubbishl you’re fooling yourself. how many women members of parliament
are there? about 30 out of 635. how many women company directors? how
many trade union leaders? how many judges?
　
harry: not many, i agree. but why is that? maybe their talents don’t lie in
those directions. perhaps they prefer to be housewives.
sheila: prefer to be housewives? you can’t have any idea what it’s like,
when you’ve been married fifteen years and you’ve cleaned a house every
day; then your husband and kids come along and mess it all up again.
can you imagine the monotony, the , the ?
harry: oh yes, i can imagine it easily enough. but don’t forget that a lot of ,
men have equally boring jobs and less freedom to do them their own
way.but that’s beside the point; the real point is that most housewives
in my experience, are” content to be housewives. take my wife jane, for
example. she’s not bored or ; she finds her life quite
satisfying; she cleans, cooks, gardens…
　
sheila: oh i’m aware of that.that’s because over the centuries men have trained
and educated women to consider themselves inferior and to accept
their position. it isn’t just the men who are piejudiced against the
women. the women have become prejudiced against themselves.they
believe they really are inferior.
harry: you mean they’ve been conditioned to accept. an inferior position.
sheila: exactly; they’ve been brainwashed. it’s the job of the women’s i.ib
movement to open their eyes to the way they have been fooled and
dominated and exploited all these years.
　
harry: so you want to take all these nice women and make them
discontent and ?
sheila: right.
harry: i see. well, i don’t accept that the present system is the result of
conditioning or brain washing at all. it’s the natural biological
function of a woman first to bring children into the world and then to
bring them up. that is how the animals do it. in the stone age, when we
were cavemen, the women stayed at home in the cave and the men, being
stronger and braver, went out to hunt.now the men go out.and earn money
instead.the women’s lib movement denies woman her natural function.i’m
not saying that wotnan’s function is necessarily inferior; but i am
saying that it’s.not the same.
　
sheila: so if something happened in the stone age it was “natural” and so it
would be right and proper and “natural” to go and do it now.
i suppose if a man thinks he wants a woman all he has to do is go out
and knock one on the head with his club and drag her home by the hair.
or maybe swop her with his for a couple of tiger-skins?
harry: don’t be silly. we’ve grown out of that sort of barbarity .
sheila: i should jolly well hope so too. anyway all this stone age stuff is a
myth made up by men. for all we know, stone age women were the top
dogs.
harry: all right, let’s drop the stone age. let’s come down to the modern
british family. i suppose you want to abolish it?
　
sheila: no, but i want to reorganize it; i believe that the housework and the
bringing up of the children should be shared equally.
harry: how? the husband should wash up, presumably.
sheila: of course.
harry: well, i do that at my house; and i fill up the stove and the lawn and
dig the garden.
sheila: naturally. those are men’s jobs, anyway.
harry: oh! i didn’t think you.believed in men’s jobs’ and women’s jobs’ anyway i
do quite a lot of the shopping.
sheila: fancy that!
harry: and in my time i’ve bathed a few babies.
sheila: and changed nappies?
harry: both changed them and washed them.
sheila: well, all i can say is you must be pretty unusual. my husband’s
never touched a nappy in his life.
　
harry: i wouldn’t say it was all that unusual. there are plenty of men in england
who do the same as i do. maybe that’s why our wives are so satisfied. now
suppose we all did the same and there were enough nursery schools and so
on and all the women who wanted to work could do so, what would you
say to that?
sheila: well…
harry: now suppose i was to stay at home and do all the housework and look after
the children while my wife went out to work. what would you think about
that?
　
sheila: i’d approve of it.
harry: and you’d be willing for her to do any job at all?
sheila: anything she was strong enough to do.
harry: good. now some time last century a law was passed making it illegal
for women to work down the coalmines. you would like that law abolished?
sheila: certainly.
harry: i hope you won’t want men to open doors for you and give up their seats in
the bus for you.
sheila: of course not, as long as i’m fit.
harry: in fact, in return for equality you would give up all these special
allowances made for the so-called weaker sex?
sheila: if i’m going to be logical, yes.
harry: well, if women are going to be logical, that will be progress.
　
2. women’s education should be urged
recently, a woman in a factory in beijing was notified that she was being laid off as part of the ” ” work force reductions in state enterprises. to escape at the hands of her husband and mother-in-law, she tried to kill herself by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills.
after she was rescued, her mother took her to the factory director, demanding that her daughter be re-employed. otherwise, she said, the director would be responsible for any accident tbat happened to her daughter. in the end, the director agreed to grant the woman a leave of absence at full pay plus bonus.
this is only one example of the problem for which traditional theorists of women’s studies and supporters of women’s liberation in china have no ready solution. but some researchers recently urged that a new approach be adopted to help women gain a fresh foothold in the struggle to improve their lives.
traditionally, paid employment has been seen as the only passage towards women’s liberation. and the rate of women’s employment has been used as the major criterion in determining the level of women’s liberation .
however, after more than three decades, few chinese women feel from the old burdens of family and children. they feel they have simply been given more work.
“we now have to admit that women’s employment doesn’t necessarily lead to their liberation, or more exactly, to the full development of their personalities,” said ma lizhen, an editor at chinese women magazine.
“in china, ” she said, “this road has reached a dead end. “
for nearly 40 years, china has pursued policies that encourage women to join the labour force.
but they have resulted in serious problems, such as low efficiency in factories, strains on the state budget and a heavy load of housework and child care in a family, ma said.
this employment-oriented system has hurt the women’s fundamental interests as well, ma said. women were often put into jobs in heavy manual labour with men more as a of equality

than because they were suited for the work. this left them more dependent on government policies and less competitive.
a survey conducted by ma’s magazine indicates that about 70 per cent of the workers who will be squeezed out of the labour force in the current optimization will be wornen. the survey also reveals that more women than men prefer. stzte employment, whieh is..more secure and less competitive.
to protect women’s interesta, some women organizations l;ave urged the top leadership for more favourable policies for women. but some now disagree.
“we know that special government treatment alone will not produce cornpo.tent women,” dai qing, a writer and journalist, said at a discussion. “on the contrary, it has made them weaker and more dependent. what we should do now is to help women become more able and self-confident. and the only way is through

education.”
the long-standing neglect of women’s education, especially in the countryside, has resulted in a large proportion of female , whose negative effect on the nation’s devel.opment is most strikingly seen in ihe country’s barely controllable birth rate.
state statistics indicate that women make up about 70 per cent of china’s 200 million . this situation cannot be expected to improve soon as hundreds of thousands of girls in the countryside are being forced by their parents to drop out of school at early grades to help work at home or in the fields. girls make up an estimated 70 per cent of the dropouts in the countryside, according to chinese women magazine.
“the women’s movement should shift its focus from employment to education,” dai urged.
“if women are taught self-supporting skills, they will support themselves as opportunities arise even without special care.
“a good education will benefit a woman throughout her life whether she is a career woman or a housewife,” said da.i, who is working on a plan to set up what would be the only non-governmental girls’ school in the capital.
another way to help women stand up to the current challenge is for the media to give more positive to housework and good housewives or househusbands, ma suggested.
china at present cannot afford to provide publicly all the services traditionally performed within the family, such as cooking, washing and care for children and the elderly. but many people dislike doing housework because it is and unappreciated.
ma proposed that society in some way the people who work at home.
“thus fewer women workers would feel ashamed about returuing home to do the housework, ” she added.
these feminist researchers have also begun reflecting on the sources of and philosophy behind the current in the china’s women’s liberation movement. they noted that the movement in china is still operating ithin the framework of male culture because from the very beginning it was and directed by men.
“they set the male sex as a model for women to follow. so women remain the second sex,” ma said.
she argued that the time has come for chinese women to define their own roles in society. they should strive for a society in which they can choose to work outside, or stay at home, in which they can have more time to develop their own interests and improve community conditions.
3. two top career women say family also matters
it was quite a surprise for wang yunfeng, 58-year-old general manager of the shenyang department store, to find herself at the head of a list of shenyang’s top 10 modern women.
the list was the result of a competition organized by the women’s of shenyang, capital of northeastern liaoning province.
zheng baohua, director of the federation, said that wang won the most votes not just because she is the general manager of one of the largest and most-progressive department stores in the country, but also because of her .
wang was first in the city to promote ties between commercial establishments, and the total volume of profits her department store turned over to the state over six years was 11 times more than the total investment.
wang’s 83-year-old mother said that her husband died very early. “it was yunfeng who raised her three younger brothers,” she said, adding, “she never fails to bring me some tasty every time she comes home, no matter how busy she has been at work.”
a middle-school teacher who voted for wang said, “in my opinion, in addition to career success, modern women should also be independent and charming, and have a sense of freedom. this, of course, has nothing to do with a person’s age.”
a soldier named xiang mingjun wrote to the federation, expressing his approval of the selection of the top 10 modern women, who are to their husbands, tender to their children, filial to their parents and friendly to their neighbours.
in the house of another of the top 10 modern women, zhang guiqing, general manager of shenyang’s mulan industrial corporation, colourful flowers can be found everywhere. zhang was cleaning the house when the reporter visited her.
“despite her fame as a boss of 27 enterprises, she is a good and an attentive housewife. she is also a capable and kind mother,” zhang’s husband said proudly.
zhang, 48, has six children, four of whom are now university students. “the whole family is happy at my being chosen,” she said.
according to the director of the women’ s federation, two of the most important for the top 10 modern women out of the city’s 2.63 million women are having been praised by authorities above the city goverument level and having a and happy family.
this is quite a departure from past attitudes, in the days when a strong sense of family was often regarded as selfish and , zhang said.
only two years ago, the story of a mo:lel woman teacher who in her work and ignored the pleas of her sick son was widely cited with approval
1
n.期望，出路(恒为复数)参阅例句：
there is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对作业前景绝望的心境。they are less sanguine about the company’s long-term prospects. 他们对公司的前景不那么旷达。2
adj.树立的，不简略改的(风俗习气)参阅例句：
television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告前言中健壮地占有头号方位。if the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.假定敌人竟敢进犯咱们据守的阵地，咱们就消除他们。3
n.知道，醒悟，明理，正确参阅例句：
there is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.我们广泛知道到吸烟有害安康。environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来我们的环境知道增强了。4
adj.特另外，有特征的，异乎寻常的参阅例句：
she has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的姿势与别人很纷歧样。this bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种杰出的特征。5
adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，旷达的参阅例句：
the teacher couldn’t answer the philosophical problem.教师不能答复这个哲学疑问。she is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自个的意外看得很开。6
n.愤懑，忿恨参阅例句：
all her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾诉出一切的仇恨。she cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她私自对她的雇主记恨在心。7
n.进犯，侵略，侵略，损害参阅例句：
so long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只需咱们紧密地联合，就不必惧怕外来侵略。her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为进犯性是人类赋性的一部份。8
n.前进，晋级；促销，宣传参阅例句：
the teacher conferred with the principal about dick’s promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的晋级疑问。the clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职工升了级，加了薪。9
vt.掠取，蹂躏，使烦恼参阅例句：
today,people feel more hurried and harried.今日，我们感到愈加繁忙和烦恼。obama harried business by healthcare reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠取了商界。10
n.厌烦，厌烦，庸俗，无聊参阅例句：
unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.赋闲会让你无聊得发疯。a walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么庸俗了。11
n.波折，失利，失效，失利参阅例句：
he had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失落的泪水。he beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。12
adj.波折的，失落的，悲观的v.使不成功( frustrate的曩昔式和曩昔分词 )；波折；使受波折；令人沮丧参阅例句：
it’s very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个作业很简略令人沮丧。the bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的气候损坏了咱们出行的期望。 来自《简明英汉词典》13
adj.满足的，安心的，知足的参阅例句：
he won’t be contented until he’s upset everyone in the office.不把单位里的每自个弄得心慌意乱他就不会满足。the people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.公民休养生息。14
adj.造反的，抵挡的，难控制的参阅例句：
they will be in danger if they are rebellious.假定他们造反，他们就要发生风险。her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的答复尽管很温文，但她的心里非常恶感。15
adv.完满地，无可谴责地，完全地参阅例句：
the witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证我们个个对自个所说的话非常必定。everything that we’re doing is all perfectly above board.咱们做的每件作业都是光亮磊落的。16
n.兄弟，火伴，同志；vi.结为友参阅例句：
he is a pal of mine.他是我的一个兄弟。listen,pal,i don’t want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我小妹说话了。17
v.割（草、麦等），扫射，蹙眉；n.草堆，谷物堆参阅例句：
he hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。we shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.咱们得把大田里的高草割掉。18
adv.早年，早年参阅例句：
we now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.咱们如今享受到了曩昔只是传闻过的那些舒畅条件。this boat was formerly used on the rivers of china.这船早年飞翔在我国内河里。19
n.最佳化，最优化；优选法；优化组合参阅例句：
development of detergents has required optimization of the surfactants structure. 打开洗刷剂时，需求运用最恰当的表面活性剂规划。 来自辞典例句in the case of productivity tools and other non-entertainment-oriented products, this optimization means minimizing work. 关于出产东西和其他非文娱导向的产品而言，这意味着将作业负荷降至最低。 来自about face 3交互方案精华20
n.侮辱参阅例句：
he suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他遭受了被逼需求辞去职务的侮辱。he will wish to revenge his humiliation in last season’s final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的羞耻而报复的。21
adv.显着地；表面上，如同参阅例句：
an apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.穷途末路，恍然大悟。he was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显着感到非常惊异。22
adj.主张男女对等的，女权主义的参阅例句：
she followed the feminist movement.她撑持女权运动。from then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女对等受教育的表象初步灵敏鼓起。23
a.无拘谨的，放纵的参阅例句：
the city was liberated by the advancing army. 戎行向前行进，解放了那座城市。the heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量致使化学反应，开释出氧气。24
n.标明，演示，证明，示威参阅例句：
his new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精力的证明。he gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场扮演了这种新的操作办法。25
adj.撑持的，称誉的，有利的，杰出的，顺畅的参阅例句：
the company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。we found that most people are favourable to the idea.咱们发现大大都人附和这个定见。26
n.男女对等主义者，女权扩展论者( feminist的名词复数 )参阅例句：
only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项查询中，只需16%的年青女人认为自个是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句the organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女对等主义者中。 来自辞典例句27
adj.闻名的，出名的参阅例句：
the local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精巧而著称。jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。28
n.文盲参阅例句：
it is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中晓得文盲情况正在好转，这是令人煽动的。we must do away with illiteracy.咱们有必要打扫文盲。29
目不识丁者( illiterate的名词复数 )； 无知参阅例句：
in 1996, an additional four million young and adult illiterates learned to read and write. 1996年，全国又削减了400万青壮年文盲。even semi-illiterates can read the writing on the wall, and many are throwing in the towel. 即就是常识不多的人也能看出不祥之兆。许多人认输了。30
n.报导，稳妥规模，稳妥额，规模，掩盖参阅例句：
there’s little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报导。this is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保规模广泛的稳妥。31
adj.未付款的，无酬劳的参阅例句：
doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无酬劳。he’s doing a month’s unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿作业一个月以获得作业经历。32
vt.抵偿，抵偿；酬报 vi.抵偿；抵偿；抵消参阅例句：
she used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她使用她秀丽的表面来抵偿智力的缺乏。nothing can compensate for the loss of one’s health. 一自个失掉了键康是不可以抵偿的。33
n.让步，波折，波折参阅例句：
since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在作业上一向没有遇到曲折。she views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的波折都当作严峻灾害。34
v.想象出( formulate的曩昔式和曩昔分词 )；方案；切当地论说；用公式标明参阅例句：
he claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有知道地阐明他自个的理论见地。 来自《简明英汉词典》this idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英归纳大词典》35
n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会参阅例句：
it is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个当地工会结组成的联合会。mr.putin was inaugurated as the president of the russian federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。36
n.怜惜，怜惜参阅例句：
he could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他不由自登时怜惜起那个不幸的人来。her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她关于没有母亲的孩子们充溢了怜惜心。37
adj.旁边面的，周围的参阅例句：
an airfoil that controls lateral motion.可以控制横向飞翔的机翼。mr.dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个旁边面的门走进法庭。38
n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点参阅例句：
the cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。the pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。39
adj.留心的，专心的；关怀(别人)的，周到的参阅例句：
she was very attentive to her guests.她对客人款待得非常周全。the speaker likes to have an attentive audience.讲演者喜爱留心力会集的听众。40
adj.年迈的，陈年的参阅例句：
he had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。he is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年迈，可是回想力还好。41
n.打点家务的主妇，女管家参阅例句：
a spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洗无瑕就标明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。she is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。42
n.标准参阅例句：
the main criterion is value for money.首要的标准是钱要用得合算。there are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严肃。43
adj.友善的，和谐的，调和的，调和的参阅例句：
their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们联络调和的有些缘由是他们有着类似的方针。the room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得颜色和谐。44
adj./n.寻求物质享受的(人)；中产阶层分子参阅例句：
he’s accusing them of having a bourgeois and limited vision.他责备他们像中产阶层相同目光狭隘。the french revolution was inspired by the bourgeois.法国改造遭到中产阶层的鼓舞。45
v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的曩昔式和曩昔分词 )参阅例句：
she persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 尽管条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句