创新国际英语教程 3 Unit 4 Unusual interests

　　[00:00.00]Unit 4 Unusual interests

[00:05.69]3 While you read

[00:11.94]It’s a man’s world?

[00:15.70]For the last thirty years,we’ve been told that the war of the sexes is over

[00:21.76]and that women now have equal rights with men.

[00:26.23]To try to prove this,

[00:29.57]some have pointed 1 to the way in which women have reached the highest offices.

[00:35.53]Mrs Thatcher,for example,led Britain for thirteen years,

[00:41.27]whilst many other countres have also recently elected their first female leaders.

[00:47.44]In the traditionally male-dominated world of sport,

[00:53.29]women have also made great progress.

[00:57.55]In kick-boxing,for instance,two young Scottish women

[01:03.32]have forced their way into the British team.

[01:07.58]Whilst many conservative commentators 2 may disapprove 3,

[01:13.04]kate Kearney and Teresa Dewan

[01:17.40]are proud of the fact that they can not only take on men,

[01:22.68]but can even beat them.’We usually give them a good fight,’said Teresa,

[01:29.52]’but a man never likes to be beaten buy a woman.

[01:33.78]They usually go off in huff afterwards.You should see their faces!’

[01:39.66]However,several recent news stories

[01:45.12]have highlighted the fact that women are still being discriminated 4

[01:50.37]against in all areas of life.

[01:54.00]A survey last year showed that on average

[01:59.33]women earn 30% less than men and that in many companies,

[02:03.90]there is still a glass ceiling,prevening women from getting the top jobs.

[02:11.06]As if this wasn’t bad enough,

[02:15.50]evidence also suggests

[02:19.65]that women do more than their fair there of the work in the home.

[02:25.21]Women today have the burden of having to go out

[02:30.49]and fight for their rights in the workplace-

[02:34.54]and are then still expected to come home and cook and clean.

[02:39.87]Sadly,despite the success of women like the Scottish kick-boxers 5,

[02:46.53]sexism is also still alive and well in sport.

[02:51.99]The unofficial world women’s lightweight boxing champion,Jane Crouch 6,

[02:58.47]is today waiting to hear whether the British Boxing Board of Control

[03:04.11](BBBC)will allow her to continue her career.

[03:09.68]The BBBC is deciding whether women boxers will be allowed to box officially

[03:16.91]or whether they will have to remain in the shadowy world of inofficial boxing.

[03:22.76]Miss Crouch could expect to earn around $100,000 a year if she is given a licence.

[03:30.42]However,there has been much opposition 7 to the spectacle of women in the boxing ring.

[03:37.78]There was laughter at the BBBC inquiry 8 this week

[03:43.43]when it was suggested that women should not be licensed 9 to box

[03:49.07]because they were biologically and emotionally unstable 10.

[03:54.53]To counter these arguments,Miss Crouch’s lawyer,Dinah Rose,

[04:00.48]said sarcastically:’We are all taking a hell of a risk allowing women to pilot aeroplanes,aren’t we?

[04:08.53]Perhaps all women airline pilots should be tested to see if they suffer from emotional instability.’

[04:15.48]’I would certainly want research on that,if I were responsible for them.’

[04:21.83]replied Adrian Blackson,the BBBC’s chief medical officer.

[04:28.17]’And perhaps we should also say that only men are stable enough to look after children.’

[04:34.70]Miss Rose asked,

[04:38.18]to which Mr Blackson could only respond by saying,’That’s an interesting question.’

[04:44.73]Miss Rose went on to suggest that it was men who were more likely to be unstable,

[04:51.89]to commit violent crimes or commit suicide.

[04:54.97]Mr Blackson told the inquiry that until further research had been done,

[05:01.92]the BBBC should not allow Miss Crouch to box.

[05:07.49]1 Boxing joke

[05:14.04]When I was a kid,we couldn’t afford a TV,so one day,

[05:19.82]my dad drilled a hole through the wall.

[05:23.58]which meant we could look into the house next door.

[05:27.94]After that,we used to watch the boxing and the wrestling every night...

[05:33.69]until we finally realised that the neighbours didn’t have a TV either.