新视与野大学英语第二版 体验英语第四册听力原文(大二网教专用3-15单元).doc

3 A:This is Tina Lin from HTN news, and we are with Rachel Wu today, a student of Feminist Studies. Rachel, would you say that there is true equality in our society between men and women? B:That’s a good question. On the whole, in most areas, I believe we can speak about real equality between men and women, and that is a very clear sign of social progress. However, the wage gap is still a significant problem: women still earn a lot less money than men who have the same jobs A:Can you give us a specific example of discriminatory wage practices based on sex? B:Most certainly. Research shows that male health professionals, such as doctors and administrators, earn twice as much as female workers doing the same jobs full-time. A:Twice as much! That must be an extreme case. B:Yes, on average, the pay gap is just under 10%. An example of such a gap would be hotel management. Male hotel managers generally earn 9.8% more than their female counterparts. A:Is there any reason to believe things will improve? B:Yes, there is. In fact, the situation is getting better as we speak. 10 years ago, the pay gap was 16.2%. So in the last decade, there has been an improvement of over 6% -- this shows that our society is headed in the right direction. A:Rachel, thank you for speaking with us today. B:You’re very welcome. A:I am reading a compelling book right now. It’s called Fire with Fire. Never heard of her. A:Naomi Wolf. B:Really? In what way? A:She is a feminist writer. Female empowerment is one of the major themes of the book. B:How about you: are you a feminist? A:She wants all women to have a voice that is heard. Like most feminists, she believes in gender equality and equal opportunities for women. B:Language discriminates? B:What’s wrong with that? A:It suggests that women can’t do these jobs. Non-discriminatory language would be terms like: “businessperson”, “police officer” or “sales representative” B:Yes, I see. That language is much more gender neutral. 4 A:I just had a tiff