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CURSO DE ACREDITACIÓN DE LOS APRENDIZAJES DE INGLÉS

ENGLISH MID-TERM TEST – NOVEMBER 2008

LISTENING COMPREHENSION –

- The Gender Gap -

1. Listen to the following modern couple called Tracey and Jack and do the following

task.- Who mentions each activity?

Making dinner _____________

Seeing the match _____________

Doing the washing _____________

Working at the office _____________

/ 4

2. Now, listen again and say if these statements are true (T) or

false (F)

Tracey enjoys watching football on the telly ____

Jack works at home ____

They end up going out together ____

/

/ 3

Name:

MARK

CLE / HIGHSCHOOL:

WRITTEN TEST: / 50

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Now, read the following passage and do the exercises that follow

Two People, One Breadwinner

When one partner works and the other stays home, resentments may fester. Here's how to find an equitable solution.

By: Deborah Siegel Ph.D.

When Lisa Allen and her family moved to Kenya, she stayed

home with her two young children while her husband, John,

guided safaris. Five years later, they moved back to the

States, and she returned to work while John—who'd lost his

job - stayed home with the kids.

While dual-career couples are the norm today, professional

couples who can afford to have one partner stay home,

usually after the children are born, no longer automatically

assume that person will be Mom. This can lead to multiple

formulas for resentment. Breadwinner wives - still often expected by their mates to act as social

director, housekeeper, and meal planner - resent husbands who are lax about household upkeep.

Meanwhile, househusbands adjusting to their new domestic roles often resent wives who tell them

what to do.

3. Choose the right alternative and circle the appropriate letter (a , b, c) to these ideas.

Lisa Allen and her husband a) have always lived in Kenya, b) have lived in the USA for five

years, c) moved to Kenya for work reasons.

While living in the States Lisa a) worked at home , b) stayed home, c) was the breadwinner.

In modern couples nowadays a) both men and women work , b) only men work , c) only

women work .

Moms nowadays are a) considered the right person to stay home with the children, b) no

longer considered responsible for doing the housework, c) expected to work and take care of

the children . / 4

4. Complete with one word

In Kenya, Lisa took care of her __________________.

Back in the USA John lost his _________________.

________________expect their wives to perform different tasks.

/ 6

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Now, continue reading …

Anger, jealousy, and even resentment are natural in any relationship—and at times even helpful. But

feelings are signals that convey important information. At-home partners who envy working spouses

may be feeling insecure about their own loss of professional identity. Meanwhile, breadwinners may

feel resentful of at-home partners because they hate their jobs. In some cases, the negativity you feel

toward your partner is not as much about your partner as it is about your own choices…

5. a) Find the opposites of these words

helpless ______________________

at work ______________________

secure ______________________

love ______________________

little ______________________ / 5

b) Next, find words or expressions which correspond to these definitions

a feeling of wishing you had something others have _________________

the members of the couple who do not work _________________

formal for husbands / wives _________________

the ones who bring home the money _________________

in the direction of _________________

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6. a) To continue the article, fill the blanks with the appropriate words

Self-esteem _______________ (can be affected-can affect–can be affecting) by societal

expectations, infecting even in __________ (this-those-that) couples who consider themselves the

__________ (less-little-least) susceptible. When breadwinner wives envy or resent stay-at-home

husbands, experts say that they ___________ (are often projected- is often projecting – are often

projecting) deep-seated feelings of guilt about ____________ (his-her-their) own absence from

their ___________ (child´s-children´s-childrens´) daily lives.

/ 6

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b. To finish the article, match the beginnings of these sentences with their ends

1. No one had ever before acknowledged that ___

2. Conversely, if dads stayed home, they ___

3. We are in a society that draws a line between ___

4. Couples must learn to recognize ___

a) that the two arenas are interconnected.

b) working women could be good moms,

taking care of their children, by working.

c) professional contributions and domestic ones.

d) would envy or resent their breadwinning wives.

/ 4

Adapted from Psychology Today Magazine, Jul/Aug 2007 Last Reviewed 5 Sep 2007 Article ID: 4372

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7. Finally, write your reaction to ONE of the following entries to the blog in no more than a 100 words:

Blog´s name: ―Women in the 21st Century”

a. ― Not many people accept that working women can be good mothers‖

b. ― When the man in a couple is not the breadwinner, he feels less masculine‖ / 13