高英语上册第课.doc

Id Rather Be Black than Female Being the first black woman elected to Congress has made me some kind of phenomenon. There are nine other blacks in Congress; there are ten other women. I was the first to overcome both handicaps at once. Of the two handicaps, being black is much less of a drawback than being female. If I said that being black is a greater handicap than being a woman, probably no one would question me. Why? Because “we all know” there is prejudice against black people in America. That there is prejudice against women is an idea that still strikes nearly all men -- and, I am afraid, most women -- as bizarre. Prejudice against blacks was invisible to most white Americans for many years. When blacks finally started to “mention” it, with sit-ins, boycotts, and freedom rides, Americans were incredulous. “Who, us?” they asked in injured tones. “Were prejudiced?” It was the start of a long, painful reeducation for white America. It will take years for whites -- including those who think of themselves as liberals -- to discover and eliminate the racist attitudes they all actually have. How much harder will it be to eliminate the prejudice against women? I am sure it will be a longer struggle. Part of the problem is that women in America are much more brainwashed and content with their roles as second - class citizens than blacks ever were. Let me explain. I have been active in politics for more than twenty years. For all but the last six, I have done the work -- all the tedious details that make the difference between victory and defeat on Election Day - while men reaped the rewards, which is almost invariably the lot of women in politics. It is still women-about three million volunteers -- who do most of this work in the American political world. The best any of them can hope for is the honor of being district or county vice-chairman, a kind of separate-but-equal position with which a woman is rewarded for years of faithful envelope stuffing and card-party o