全新版大学英语综合教程2 第二版Unit6电子教案

Before Reading1. Enjoy the Song -- I Am WomanListen to the Song Questions and Answers

2. Background InformationFeminism

The Brooklyn Bridge Oklahoma The University of OklahomaU.S. Degrees John Milton

Listen to the Song

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Questions and Answers 1. Why can’t women be ignored? Because of the huge number of them. 2. Does the singer of this song agree with Mao Zedong that women hold up half the sky? Yes. Here she gives us the voice of women, which is as loud and brave as the roar of a lion. She sings of how she is determined not to go back to playing a traditional woman’s role and pretending to like it. And it is no good trying to persuade her otherwise, for she has heard all the old arguments too often. And I know too much to go back and pretend ’Cause I’ve heard it all before

Questions and Answers 3. What happened in the past? Women were held down in the past. And I’ve been down there on the floor But no one is going to hold them back any longer. No one’s ever gonna keep me down again 4. What happens to women if you try to break their will? You can bend them but you never break them. It only serves to make them more determined to achieve their final goal. Their suffering and struggle has made them wise and strong. You can bend but never break me ’Cause it only serves to make me More determined

Questions and Answers 5.What is the current situation of women’s liberation? Women are supporting one another, standing side by side, “toe to toe”, but they still have a long way to go. They are only in the early stages of their struggle to get what they want and to get men to change their ideas. But I’m still an embryo With a long, long way to go Until I make my brother understand

Feminism

In the 1960s feminism (=the belief that women and men are equal in abilities and should have equal rights and opportunities) became the subject of intense debate when the women’s liberation movement encouraged women to reject their traditional supporting role and to demand equal status and equal rights with men in areas such as employment and pay. Since then the gender gap between the sexes has been reduced. However, the battle between feminist and traditional views of a woman’s role continues. It is widely accepted by younger people that women should, if they wish, be allowed to develop their careers and not give up work when they have a family.II■

Feminism has brought about many changes in the English language. Many words for job titles that included “man” have been replaced, for example “police officer” is used instead of “policeman” and “chairperson” for “chairman”. “He” is now rarely used to refer to a person when the person could be either a man or a woman. The title “Ms” is used for women instead of “Miss” or “Mrs”, since it does not show whether a woman is married or not.

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, built in 1883, spans the East River in New York City. The

bridge connects the densely populated boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge was designed by the American engineer John Augustus Roebling, and construction was begun in 1869 by his son Washington Augustus Roebling. When the Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The main suspension span is 486m (1595ft) long; the average height above the river is 41m (133ft); and the overall length is 2065m (6775ft). Numerous techniques devised by Roebling made this bridge possible, including the use of caissons (watertight chambers) for building the bridge’s stone towers and of steel wire for the cables. To allow tall-masted sailing ships to pass underII■

bridge, Roebling positioned the road deck 36.6m (120ft) above the water. Stone towers, which rose to a height of 84.3m (276.5ft), made this high roadway possible and made the bridge the tallest structure in New York at its completion. The span from tower to tower of just over 486m (1,595ft) and the span between cable anchors of 1,054m (3,456ft) constituted a remarkable achievement. The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City perhaps best demonstrates the scale of building made possible by the rapid expansion of American industry and by American ambition. The expression selling the Brooklyn Bridge to somebody means tricking somebody in a deal.

Geographical Location It is in the western area of the south central United States and bordered by Colorado and Kansas on the north and Missouri and Arkansas on the east. South and west of Oklahoma is Texas, and on the western edge of Oklahoma’s Panhandle lies New Mexico.II■