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unit8
Unit8
BackgroundInformation
1.Sex—Gender—GenderRoles—GenderIdentity
Mostchildrendevelopaclear-cutsenseofwhethertheyareboysorgirlsatayoungage.Thissenseofbeing“aboy”or“agirl”iscalledgenderidentity,atermthatcameintothemedicalliteratureinthe1950s.Formostchildren,theirgenderidentitydevelopssomewherebetween18and30monthsofage.Genderidentityisnotthesameasgender,whichiscommonlyusedtomeanthebiologicidentity.Asamatteroffact,therearemanydifferentdefinitionstothetermsmentionedinthetext.Thefollowingaredefinitionsofsometermsfromthenet:
Sexualidentity:
aperson'sphysiologicalstatusasmaleorfemale
Genderidentity:
acontinuousandpersistentsenseofoneselfasamaleorafemale
Genderroleorsexrole:
thebehaviours,attitudes,values,beliefsandsoonthataparticularculturalgroupconsidersappropriateformalesandfemalesonthebasisoftheirbiologicalsex
Genderroleidentity:
one'sunderstandingandacceptanceofgenderroles
Genderorsexrolebehaviour:
whatpeople'sbehavioursareactuallylike
Genderorsexrolestereotype:
thesociallydeterminedmodelwhichcontainstheculturalbeliefsaboutwhatthegenderrolesshouldbe
2.Contraception—familyplanning—birthcontrol
Controllingtheintroductionbybirthofanewmemberintoafamilyandintoacommunityinwhichthatfamilylives,isanemotionalandcontroversialissueinmanysocieties.Ontheonehand,thebirthofachildmayrepresentthejoyofanewmembertocarryonafamily’stradition,anation’smission,orareligion’smessage.Ontheotherhand,thebirthofachildmayrepresentonemoremouthtofeedandonemorebodytoclothefromanalreadylimitedsupply.Sofamilyplanning—birthcontrol—permitsschedulingnewmemberstoarriveatoptimumtimesandunderoptimumconditions.Reliablemechanicalandchemicalmethodsforpreventingconceptionhavebecomewidelyavailable.Witheffectivebirth-controldevices,medicinesandmethodsavailable,thechancesofbecomingpregnantaccidentallyhavebeenreduced,andthepossibleharmdonetowomen’shealthwasgreatlydiminished.
3.Bottle-feeding
Ifonewantstoknowsomethingaboutbottle-feeding,itisnecessarytotalkaboutbreast-feedingonthefirstplace.Breast-feedingwasthenormalsourceofnutritionforbabiesuntiltheIndustrialRevolution,whenwomenlefttheirhomestoworkinfactories,sparkinganeedforanalternativemethod.Thebabybottlewasgenerallyavailablebytheendof19thcentury,butwaswidelyusedonlybythepooruntilWorldWarII,whenitbecamefashionableamongthemiddleclass.Acontroversyaboutwhichmethod—bottleorbreast—waspreferablecontinuedfromthe1940suntilthebeginningofthe1980s,whentheAmericanAcademyofPediatricscameoutstronglyinfavorofbreast-feeding.Fordecades,manyphysicianswhobelievedbreast-feedingbenefitedthebabyhadnoturgedthemethod’suse.Theyfeltthemethodpresentedthenewmotherwithtoomanydifficulties.Thegrowthofthenaturalchildbirthmovementamongwomenself-educatedaboutbirthissues,combinedwithresearchintothevaluesforthebabyofbreastmilk,ledtoashiftamongmothersandprofessionalsinfavorofbreast-feeding.Accordingtostatistics,asmanyas95percentofthewomenwhogivebirthispotentiallyabletobreast-feed.Thefactthatmanydonotisrelatedtotheirownlevelofeducation,tolackofencouragementbyhealthprofessionals,andtopersistentmythsaboutbreast-feeding.Todaywomenwithhigherlevelsofeducationaremorelikelytochoosebreast-feeding.Inhospitalswherestaffsupportbreast-feeding,asmanyas80percentofthenewmothersarelikelytobreast-feed.InChina,manymajorhospitalshavelaunchedadriveforbreast-feeding,theinfluencesofbreast-feedingeducationwidespreadandfar-reaching.Despitetheefforts,manyworkingwomenarestillforcedtochoosebottle-feeding,whichmaybethereflectionoftheirdilemma.
4.Daycare
Theoldestday-carecenterinNorthAmerica,theLeilaDayNursery,startedin1878inNewHaven,Connecticut.InLowell,Massachusetts—thesiteofthesecond-oldestdaynursery,foundedin1885.Nurseriesflourishedinthelastquarterofthe19thcenturyinresponsetonewemploymentopportunitiesbroughtaboutbyindustrialinventions.Generally,thenurseriesbeganinmillorfactorycities.ThenurseryfounderstendedtobewealthyandinfluentialmenandwomenmotivatedbyVictorianinterestincharityandgoodworks.Asideforminformalarrangementsmadewithfriends,relatives,orneighborstocareforachild,childdaycarecomesintwoforms:
center-basedchildcareandfamilydaycare.Center-basedchildcarereferstoday-carefacilities,nurseryschools,etc.Familydaycare,bycontrast,isinahomesetting,withonetosixchildrenunderthecareofa“provider.”IntheUnitedStates,womenwithpreschoolchildrenarethefastest-growingsegmentofthelaborforce.Althoughmanywomenmayenjoytheirjobs,themostmajoritywithsmallchildrenworkbecausetheirincomeisneededtosupporttheirfamilies.Someexpertspredictthatby2003,75percentmotherswithyoungchildrenwillworkoutsidethehome.Recognizingthatallayingtheiremployee’sfearsabouttheirchildrenenhancedworkerproductivityandmadethecompanyamoredesirableplacetowork,manycompanieswereinvolvedinsomeformofdaycarearrangements.Somechild-careexpertspointoutthatdaycareisgoodforchildrenifthequalityoftheday-carestaffisgood.Mostparentsarepayingasmuchastheycanaffordfordaycare.ForU.S.workingfamiliesinthelastquarterofthe20thcentury,childcarehasbecometheirfourthlargestexpenditureafterfood,housing,andtaxes.NearlyhalfofallAmericanfamiliesrelyoncarepurchasedincenter-basedchildcareorinfamilyday-carehomes.Familieswithtwochildrenmaybepayingasmuchas$10,000peryear.
Unit8
Introduction
ManyEnglishlearnersinChinamayhavedifficultiesdistinguishing“sex”from“gender.”So,tointroducethetopic,abasicdefinition,ifitcanberegardedasadefinition,wasgivenattheverybeginningofthetext.Peopletendtothinkthatgenderrolesarenaturalandstereotyped(para.1).Differentpeoplecanplaydifferentpartsinacertainsocialgroup.Therolesmaybeassignedtothemonthebasisoftheirsex,theirpositioninthefamily,theireconomicandsocialstatus,ortheirage.Theauthorapproachesgenderrolesthroughacross-culturalandcomparativeanalysisbyprovidingacasestudybyMead(para.2)andemphasizesherconclusionthatgenderrolesareculturallypatterned(para.3).Besides,therearemanyimportantsocialinfluencesthathelpshapeourgenderidentities.AccordingtoD.KimOpenshawfromtheDepartmentofFamilyandHumanDevelopment,theyareparentsandpeers,media(genderandthebodyinmassmedia,genderandageinthemedia),ethnicity,theschoolandreligion,amongwhichinfluencesfromtheschoolandthefamilyaregivengreateremphasisinthetext(para.4,5,6and7).Inthepast,onlyexceptionalwomen,suchasformerslaveHarrietTubman,whofoughtwithNortherntroopsandledmanyslavestofreedomduringtheAmericanCivilWar,brokeawayfromtraditionalwomen’sroles.Despitemanyefforts,evenuntiltodaytheunfavorablesituationforwomenisstilltoohardtochangebecauseofmanybiologicalorsocialorculturalreasons.Andmoreimportantly,whatweneedtodoisnottothinkofsomewaystochangebuttounderstandhoworwhyitissopatterned(para.8,9).
Unit8
LanguagePoints
1.biological(para.1):
connectedwithbiology;of,relatingto,causedby,oraffectinglifeorlivingorganisms;relatedbybloodratherthanbyadoption
e.g.——Thebiologicalcycleofaplantisaffectedbylightandheat.
——Yourbiologicalclockisyourbody’snaturalhabitofsleeping,eating,growing,etc.
——Anadoptedchildmaywanttofindoutaboutitsbiologicalparents.
2.gender(para.1):
sexualidentity,especiallyinrelationtosocietyorculture;thefactofbeingmaleorfemale
e.g.——Discriminationongroundsofrace,gender,ageordisabilityisforbidden.
——Ithinksbothgendersareequallycapableoflookingafterchildren.
3.masculine(para.1):
oforrelatingtomenorboys;havingthequalitiesorappearancetraditionallythoughttobetypicalofmen
e.g.——Theoperasingerhasadeep,booming,masculinevoice.
——Itwasamovielikelytoappealtoamasculineaudience.
4.feminine(para.1):
oforrelatingtowomenorgirls;havingthequalitiesorappearancetraditionallythoughttobetypicalofwomen
e.g.——Societyhasn’tregardedscienceandengineeringasfeminineoccupations.
——Peoplewouldbemuchbetterbalancedifwecouldbringoutthemasculinesideof
womenandthefemininesideofmen.
5.initiate(para.1):
setgoingbytakingthefirststep;causetobegin;put(ascheme,etc)intooperation
e.g.——Ourchurchinitiatedaprojecttosendreliefaidoverseas.
——Thisinitiatedafurtherreorganizationofthecompany.
6.altruistic(para.1):
unselfish;willingtodothingswhichbenefitotherpeople,evenifitresultsindisadvantage
e.g.——Idoubtwhetherhermotivesfordonatingthemoneyarealtruistic—she’sprobably
lookingforpublicity.
——HewasnomorealtruisticthantheotherSenators.
7.associatesb/sthwith(para.1):
makeaconnectioninone’smindbetweenonethingorpersonandanother
e.g.——WenaturallyassociatethenameofDarwinwiththedoctrineofevolution.
——I’veneverassociatedyouwiththisplace.
——PeopleusuallyassociateJapanwithhightechconsumerproducts.
8.distort(para.1):
giveafalseormisleadingaccountof;misrepresent
e.g.——Thejournalistwas