contents a. text one i. pre-reading:i. pre-reading (i) warm-up questions (ii) background information...

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• Contents• A. Text one• I. Pre-reading: • (I) Warm-up questions • (II) Background information• II. While-reading: Text Analysis• (I) Structure analysis• (II) Comprehension questions • (III) Language points• (IV) Difficult sentences • III. Post-Reading:• (I) Grammatical items• (II) Translation Exercises• (III) Oral activities• (IV) Writing practice • B. Text two• （ I ） Questions for text comprehension• （ II ） Language points

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A. text one

• I. Pre-reading: • (I) warm-up questions• The Chinese language is generally

believed to be a language with features demonstrating male supremacy and female subservience. Can you give some examples to illustrate the point?

Pre-reading: (I) warm-up questions

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(II). Background Information

• 1. Why We Need an Equal Rights Amendment: • Why We Need an ERA; The Gender Gap Runs Deep in

American Law• Martha Burk and Eleanor Smeal• Why is the amendment needed? Twenty-three countries —

including Sri Lanka and Moldova—have smaller gender gaps in education, politics and health than the United States, according to the World Economic Forum. We are 68th in the world in women's participation in national legislatures. On average, a woman working full time and year-round still makes only 77 cents to a man's dollar. Women hold 98 percent of the low-paying "women's" jobs and fewer than 15 percent of the board seats at major corporations. Because their private pensions—if they have them at all —are lower and because Social Security puts working women at a disadvantage and grants no credit for years spent at home caring for children or aging parents, three-quarters of the elderly in poverty are women. And in every state except Montana, women still pay higher rates than similarly situated men for almost all kinds of insurance. All that could change if we put equal rights for women in our Constitution.

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• 2. Gender bias in education• Gender bias in education is an insidious problem that

causes very few people to stand up and take notice. The victims of this bias have been trained through years of schooling to be silent and passive, and are therefore unwilling to stand up and make noise about the unfair treatment they are receiving. Girls and boys today are receiving separate and unequal educations due to the gender socialization that takes place in our schools and due to the sexist hidden curriculum students are faced with every day. Unless teachers are made aware of the gender-role socialization and the biased messages they are unintentionally imparting to students everyday, and until teachers are provided with the methods and resources necessary to eliminate gender-bias in their classrooms, girls will continue to receive an inequitable education.

• Sadker, D., Sadker, M. (1994) "Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls". Toronto, ON: Simon & Schuster Inc.

(II). Background Information

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• II. While-reading: Text Analysis• I (1) The writer raises the issue to be

discussed: Is language the cause of the bias or is it reflective of the preexisting bias that the user holds?

• II (2-6) The writer provides quite a number of typical examples to illustrate gender bias in language.

• III (7) The writer gives some suggestions on the issue of gender bias in language.

While-reading: (I) Structure analysis

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• (II) Comprehension questions • 1. What does the writer think of

language?• The author thinks that language is

very powerful and the most common method of communication, but is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, for it is a very complicated system of symbols with plenty of subtle differences.

While-reading: (II) Comprehension questions

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• 2. What do you think of the two examples given in Paragraph 4? (Paragraph 4)

• The two examples, which are vivid and interesting, are closely related to the main idea that women are seen as passive while men are active and bring things into being.

• 3. Which sentence in Paragraph 5 shows that gender connotations in words affect people’s behavior? (Paragraph 5)

• It is the last sentence, “It is also commonplace not to scold little girls for being ‘tomboys’ but to scoff at little boys who play with dolls or ride girl’s bicycles.”


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• 4. Which sentences in Paragraph 6 denote the writer’s attitude? (Paragraph 6)

• The sentences that show the writer’s attitude towards the use of impolite terms in reference to women are “… but why use them when there are so many more to choose from?” and “It is also the most effective weapon of destruction.”


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• 5. What kind change has taken place in regard to gender bias in language?

• People have recognized gender bias in English and made necessary changes.

• 6. What is the writer’s opinion in reference to gender bias in language?

• The writer thinks it is necessary to make the proper adjustments internally to use appropriate language to effectively include both genders, and that it is up to our decision of the proper word used.


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• （ III ） Language points

While-reading: （ III ） Language points

prejudicial: adj. causing harm to sb’s rights, interests, etc.; having a bad effect on sth. ； damaging 引起偏见的 ; 有损害的prejudicial to his/her honor or reputationThese developments are prejudicial to the company’s future.

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• in/with regard to: in connection with; concerning

• I have nothing to say in regard to your complaints.

• She is very sensitive in regard to her family background.

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• Reflective: thoughtful; reflecting• A reflective look• These comments were reflective of

the general attitude.

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• In and of itself: of its own nature• Language…is biased in and of itself.

– Language itself is biased.– Language in itself is biased.

• The arts in and of itself is not crucial to our survival as a nation. – The arts in itself is…– The arts itself is…– 艺术本身不是国家生存的关键

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• identify sth. with sth. else: consider sth. to be; the same as sth. else ； be connected with

• One cannot identify happiness with wealth.

• In most cases, modernization is identified with westernization.

• That politician is too closely identified with the former government

• 那位政治家与前政府的关系过于密切。

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• Minister: "Who gives this woman in marriage?"

• Father: "I do." • However, some

people feel this tradition is old fashioned and sexist, and choose to forgo it.

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• Into being: into existence; into reality• When did the universe come into

being? 宇宙最初是何时形成的 ? • Bring ideal into being• The Second World War brought the

atomic bomb into being. • 第二次世界大战使原子弹出世。

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• come into play: (begin to) be active or have an influence 发生作用

• Personal feelings should not come into play when one has to make business decisions.

• 为公事作决策不应搀杂个人情感 . • All kinds of forces come into play when a

nation's vital interests are threatened. • 当一个国家的生死攸关的利益受到威胁时，各种

力量都开始发挥作用。

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• hold on to: keep; control• The company is trying to hold on to

experienced staff.• He has been trying hard to hold on to

his temper. • 他一直尽力控制自己不发脾气。 • You should hold on to your oil shares. • 你应该掌握住你的石油股份 , 不要放弃。

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• Claim: formally request or demand; ask for 索要，要求得到

• I claimed my reward. 我要求应得的报酬。• If no one claims the items, they will

become state property.• 如果无人认领这些物件，它们就将成为国有财

产。• You might be entitled to claim

compensation if you are injured at work. • 如果受工伤，你可能有权要求赔偿。

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• in/with reference to sb./sth.: about or concerning sb./sth.; referring to 关于，针对

• I am writing in reference to your job application.

• I have nothing to say in reference to that incident.

• 关于那次事件，我无可奉告。

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• be up to sb.: be required as a duty or obligation from sb.; be left to sb. to decide

• It is up to us to help those in need.• 我们有责任帮助那些有困难的人 . • It's up to you whether you take the

job or not.

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(IV) Difficult sentences

While-reading: (IV) Difficult sentences

• 1. ... language is a very complicated mechanism with a great deal of nuance. (Paragraph 1)

• Explanation: … language is a very complicated system of communication. Even slight variations in the pitch, tone, and intensity of the voice and in the choice of words, etc. can express a great deal of subtle shades of meaning.

• 2. … we must take into account the person’s linguistic genealogy. (Paragraph 1):

• Paraphrase: we must consider the person’s long-standing conventions in language use.

• Translation: 我们必须将这人的语言谱系学考虑在内。

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• 3. … the language that we use in day-to-day conversation is biased in and of itself. (Paragraph 1)

• Paraphrase: … the language we use in everyday conversation reflects in its own nature an unfavorable opinion about women.

• Translation: 我们日常对话中使用的语言本身就具有偏见。

• 4. The language is arranged so that men are identified with exalted positions, and women are identified with more service-oriented positions in which they are being dominated and instructed by men. (Paragraph 2)

• Paraphrase: The English language is male-oriented, so that men are identified with dominant positions and women are identified with positions in which they are viewed as subordinate to men and instructed by men.

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• 5. … was defined as “marked by clever discerning awareness” .(Paragraph 5)

• Paraphrase: …was defined as having a clever and sharp mind for judging people and situations.

• Translation: …… 被定义为“具有聪明的明辨意识”。

• 6. … making the necessary changes formally so that they will be implemented socially. (Paragraph 7)

• Paraphrase: … making the necessary changes officially so that they will take effect and be accepted by the general public.

• Translation: …… 正式制定一些必须的改变，这样它们可以在全社会执行。


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•III. Post-Reading• (I) Grammatical items:• 1. Use of the relative clause 2. The present and the future

III. Post-Reading: (I) Grammatical items

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• 1. Use of the relative clause:• A relative clause is a clause that is introduced

by a relative word — either by a relative pronoun or by a relative determiner, or by a relative adverb. Relative clauses may be restrictive or non-restrictive.

• 1) Restrictive clause: A restrictive relative clause gives essential information about the meaning of the antecedent. It forms an integral part of the noun phrase, without which the head can’t be identified as the specific object. A restrictive relative clause is usually introduced by relative pronouns who, whose, that, which, whom and relative adverbs when, where, why.

• e.g. He drives a car that can travel 150 miles an hour.

• James Russell is a man for whom I have the greatest respect.


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• a) The relative that is normally used as subject complement in an SVC construction or there be construction. In this use, "that" is usually omitted.

• e.g. When Mary was born, Dorothy decided her daughter would be the singer (that) she always wanted to be.

• The 9.15 is the fastest train (that) there has ever been.• b) When the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun such as

all, anything, something, or nothing, the following relative clause usually requires a relative that as subject, and that/zero as object.

• e.g. All that live must die.• All (that) I want is peace and quiet.• c) When the antecedent is composed of a personal head

with determiners as only, all, any, and when the antecedent takes a premodifier in the superlative degree, the following relative clause is normally introduced by that rather than who or which.

• e.g. Any man that wants to succeed must work hard.• Newton was one of the greatest men that ever lived.


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• 2) Non-restrictive clauses: A non-restrictive relative clause doesn’t restrict the referential meaning of the antecedent. If it is taken away, the antecedent still refers to the same person or thing. A non-restrictive relative clause is usually introduced by who, whom, whose, which. The antecedent of which may be a clause or part of a cause.

• e.g. This book, which only appeared a year ago, has already gone through several editions.

• He tried to stand on his hands for five minutes, which — as you know — is rather a difficult thing to do.


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1. The only thing matters is to find our way home.

2. The people he worked regarded him as eccentric.3. She cycled from London to Glasgow, is

pretty good for a woman of 75. 4. He wasn’t looking forward to the time

he would have to give evidence to the court.5. It has been found that the trees are being

destroyed by a moth, caterpillars tunnel under the bark.6. David is not the man he was ten years

ago.

PracticeComplete the following sentences using the appropriate relative words, adding a preposition where necessary.

that_____

with whom____________

which_______

when/at which_________________

whose_______

that / who____________


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• 2. The present and the future:• Future time is expressed by means of model

auxiliaries, by semi-auxiliaries, or by the simple present and present progressive forms.

• 1) will/shall +verb• e.g. The next train to Shanghai will leave at 8 a.m.• We shall know the result next week.• 2) be going to +verb• e.g. He’s going to be a doctor, when he grows up.• 3) be +-ing (present participle): Verbs of movement

from one place to another such as go, come, leave, start, arrive, etc. can be used in this structure.

• e.g. The plane is taking off at 6.30.• 4) be to +(infinitive)• e.g. I’m to have tea with Betty this afternoon.• 5) simple present • e.g. I’ll give it to you after I return..


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PracticePut the verbs into the most appropriate form.1. Unless we (hear) from you by Monday at the

latest, we (suppose) that you (no longer wish) to rent the house.2. I assure you that the matter

(attend to) as quickly as possible. Have a little patience.

3. A: Why are you turning on the television? B: I (watch) the news.4. Mary and Tom (come) to our party this

evening.5. I will give him the letter if I (see) him.6. The Prime Minister (visit)

China next month.

no longer wish________________

hear_____

will suppose

______________

will be attended to_____________________

am going to watch____________________

are coming ____________

see____

will visit or is to visit _______________________


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• （ II ） Translation Exercises• 1 那位诗人能将不同情感的细微差别表达出来，我惊叹不

已。 (nuance)• I marvel at the poet’s ability to express nuances

of different feelings.

• 2 尽管你有优秀的教师和良好的环境，要学好英语起作用的还是你自己的努力。（ come into play)

• Although you have good teachers and a favorable environment, it is your personal effort that comes into play in the success of your English studies.

• • 3. 作为英语专业的学生，我们应该对单词词义之间的细微

差别有敏锐的意识。• As English majors, we need to have a keen

awareness of the subtle differences between word meanings.

III. Post-Reading: （ II ） Translation Exercises

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• 4 ．教育制度的一些新政策从明年起开始实施。(implement)

• Some new policies in the educational system will be implemented next year.

• • 5. 把大众文化和低俗文化混为一谈有失公允。 (identify

with)• It is unfair to indentify popular culture with vulgar

culture. • 6. 他认为一个人应该有崇高的思想，不能一味“向钱看”

。 (oriented)• He believes that a person should be noble-minded,

but not money-oriented all the time.


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• 7. 中东地区有着丰富的石油资源。（ endow)• The Middle East is generously endowed with petroleum.• • 8. 学校领导正在就新建一个体操房开会商讨。 (in reference to)• The school authorities are holding a meeting in reference to the

construction of a new gymnasium.• • 9. 要不是他亲自前往第三世界国家，他绝不会相信贫富生活水平相差如此悬殊。 (disparity)

• But for his personal visits to the third-world countries, he would not have believed such disparity in the living standards between the rich and the poor.

• • 10. 直到最后一天也没有人来认领福利彩票的五百万元奖金。 (claim)• No one came to claim the welfare lottery bonus of 5 million

yuan RMB, not even to the last day.


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• (III) Oral activities• Having a discussion• Have a discussion with four or five of your fellow students about

the tentative change in the use of the English language to do away with gender bias. For example, instead of actor or actress, stage performer is used; instead of waiter or waitress, attendant is used; instead of airhostess, flight attendant is employed; instead of chamber maid, room attendant is used; instead of chairman or chairwoman, chairperson is employed. Try to find more examples to further illustrate such a trend.

• Also, take a look at your own language. Do you find some similar changes in contemporary Chinese? Or does Chinese remain stubbornly gender-biased?

III. Post-Reading: （ III ） Oral activities

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• For your reference:• You could probably find more examples as follows:• —Instead of mankind, humanity is used.• —Instead of man-made, artificial is used.• —Instead of housewife, homemaker is used.• —Instead of saleslady, customer’s representative is used.• You could probably find cases of gender bias in Chinese

language as follows:• —When men and women are presented together, usually

words denoting male sex are put in front of female sex, such as “男女”，“夫妻”，“子女” and so on.

• —In most cases, “ 人” can refer to both sex of the people in Chinese, as in “ 人们” . But in some phrases such as “人老珠黄”， here“ 人” especially refers to women. In the context of derogative meaning, “ 人” refers to the woman.

• —When the possibility for the referent to be a man or a woman is for half, people usually use “ 他” . For a group of people consisting both men and women, even most of them are women, people still use “ 他们” .


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• You may want to express your viewpoint concerning whether the Chinese language remains stubbornly gender-biased as follows:

• —I can not find some similar changes in contemporary Chinese. Chinese characters consist of various strokes or radiacals which are very fixed since they were created. Personally speaking, it is almost impossible to change the combinations of the strokes or radiacals, while in English, new words can be created by adding a bound morpheme.

• —I am afraid the Chinese language still remains stubbornly gender-biased. In China, the traditional idea that men are superior to women still exists. In some parts, it is still very deep-rooted in people's mind. That’s why there is still sexism in Chinese language and it is not easy to challenge the idea.


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(IV) WritingWrite a short essay on the following

topic in about 150 words.Do you agree or disagree with the

following statement? Boys and girls should attend separate schools. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

III. Post-Reading: (IV) Writing

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• An example• Nowadays, some may hold the opinion that boys and

girls should attend separate schools, others have a negative attitude. As far as I am concerned, I agree that boys and girls should go to separate schools. My arguments for this point are listed as follows.

• I agree with the statement since single-sex education provide a environment for boys and girls to concentrate on their study. Research shows that a single-sex school environment can eliminate the distraction from members of the opposite sex, and therefore is academically beneficial to students. Girls in an all-female school can establish self-esteem, and avoid the situation faced by young women in co-ed schools such as struggle to survive emotionally. They will be able to focus more on their academic curriculum, sometimes specifically designed, and prepare for their future education and career. The single-sex setting eliminates social distractions and allows for better concentration on academics.


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• Another reason why I agree with the above statement is that traditional gender stereotypes are often reinforced in single-sex academies. Boys tended to be taught in more regimented, traditional and individualistic fashion and girls in more nurturing, cooperative and open environments. This will develop their virtue and prepare them for their future roles in the society.

• Taking into account of all these factors, we may reach the conclusion that boys and girls should attend separate schools. Of course, there are also disadvantages of single-gender education, and simply separating boys and girls does not always improve the quality of education. A lot of efforts should be made to ensure that a single-gender education system be successful implemented.


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B. Text two• (I) Questions for text comprehension• 1. What is the difference between sex and

gender?• Many people use the terms sex and gender

interchangeably. However, two terms have different meanings. Sex refers to the physical characteristics that make a person male or female. It is also used to describe the sexual activities that occur between intimate individuals Gender refers to a sense of being male or female or having the recognizable traits of one’s sex. It carries a more social tone, concerning a society’s expectations for males and females, including values, attitudes, and behavior.

Text two: (I) Questions for text comprehension

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• 2. What does the word “feminine” in the second paragraph mean? What is the opposite of the word?

• It refers to characteristics and behavior that are generally associated with being a female such as body shape, voice, hairstyle, clothing, body movements, and display of emotions. Characteristics and behavior generally associated with being a male are called masculine.


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• 3. According to the author how does sexual identity develop?

• Each person must decide how he or she wants to express sexuality. Sexual identity develops partly from biological influences, and partly from cultural influences. Most people are influenced in their decision by values learned from their family, culture or peer group.


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• 4. What prompts the author to suggest that sex be substituted for gender?

• Women historically have endured prejudice because of social and sexual taboos. But the author feels that in the process of pursuit gender equality, there is confusion about the definition of gender because it consists of social classifications which undermine women’s sense of their human identity. Sex would include both sexes, eliminating the differences that society has imposed.


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• 5. What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

• It encourages a society’s respect for human rights and fundamental freedom for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.


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• (II) Language points

• 1.They normally walk with a switch and speak with soft voices. (Paragraph 2): Women usually walk swaying from side to side and speak with gentle voices.

• 2. These descriptions may not apply to all men and women, … (Paragraph 2): These oversimplified characteristics may not be applied as a generalization to all men and women.

Text two: (II) Language points

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• 3. Certain traits may get mixed up when dealing with people who like to cross-dress. (Paragraph 4) : Certain features of the two sexes may be found mixed in the case of those who like to wear the clothes of the opposite sex.

• 4. Back then this would have been a pretty good hypothesis. (Paragraph 5): Years ago one’s occupation would have provided a sound, though tentative, clue to one’s sexual identity.


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• 5. grade school (Paragraph 6): In the United States, a grade school is an elementary school or grammar school. Elementary school is a school for children from age 5 or 6 to age 12 or 14.

• 6. They juggle home life and work … (Paragraph 7): They manage to fit their work into homemaking ……


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