L.+Discrimination


 * Men and Women - [[image:imagesCAIPWL4E.jpg]]Equal at Last? **


 * 1) What do you know about Kuwait?
 * 2) Would you like to visit or live in Kuwait?
 * 3) Some Islamists say a woman’s right is to stay at home. What do you think of this?
 * 4) Western countries often criticize Islamic countries’ systems of democracy. What do you think about this?


 * Read the text and do the exercises that follow **

=Kuwaiti women get the vote= = = BNE: Kuwaiti women have won the right to vote and stand in local and parliamentary elections. An amendment to the Gulf emirate's election law was passed on Monday (May 16) in parliament. It followed a marathon ten-hour session of political wrangling and maneuvering. The all-male legislators passed the bill with a majority of 35 in favour, 23 against, and one abstention. It ends years of struggle by Kuwait’s women to achieve political equality. The news was greeted with “thunderous applause” from the amendment’s backers in the public gallery, according to AlJazeera news service. Kuwait’s women now join their counterparts from neighbouring Qatar, Oman and Bahrain in having the vote. Islamist and tribal legislators opposed the amendment on the grounds that Islamic teachings bar women from participating in political life and from assuming positions of leadership. However, this was deemed out of synch with the Kuwaiti constitution, which stipulates equality between the sexes. Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who had campaigned for women’s suffrage since 1999, immediately told reporters: “I congratulate the women of Kuwait for having achieved their political rights.” Women may not actually get to use their new political powers until 2009. Loose ends from Monday’s law making may not be tied up in time for women to cast their votes in this year’s municipal elections. 
 * 1. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article: **
 * a. || stand || argument ||
 * b. || amendment || viewed ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">marathon || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">roaring ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">wrangling || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">modification ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">e. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">thunderous || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">specifies ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">f. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">legislators || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">never-ending ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">g. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">bar || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">unfinished business ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">h. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">deemed || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">run ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">i. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">stipulates || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">prevent ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">j. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">loose ends || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">lawmakers ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">2. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible): **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">a. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">stand in local and || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">wrangling and maneuvering ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">marathon || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">rights ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">political || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">ten-hour session ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">greeted with thunderous || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">the amendment ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">e. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">public || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">ends ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">f. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">opposed || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">parliamentary elections ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">g. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">this was deemed || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">gallery ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">h. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">women’s || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">out of synch ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">i. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">achieved their political || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">applause ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">j. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">loose || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">suffrage ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Opinions, Preferences: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see it..., As far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., I'm pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,...,
 * <span style="background-color: #10b710; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Such a topic can cause a huge debate: Try to use the appropriate expressions when supporting your view. **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Disagreeing: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I don't think that..., Don't you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd prefer..., Shouldn't we consider..., But what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree..., Frankly, I doubt if..., Let's face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is that...

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Giving Reasons and offering explanations: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">To start with, The reason why..., That's why..., For this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that...

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Let's talk about the " Gender roles" click on the above image

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">let's talk about "battle of sexes" click on image



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">click on the picture for more demanding questions

__**<span style="background-color: #e6ffc2; color: #008000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Vocabulary **__

Listen and fill in the spaces.
Men are naturally funnier than women. This 1_ UK male professor, Sam Shuster. He conducted research on 400 different people as he unicycled around his town. He observed 2_ and discovered that men made more jokes _3, and that men’s jokes were more aggressive. He said three-quarters of male “jokers” mocked __4___ comments, while most women tended to tease him with a smile. He said: "The difference between the men and women _5. and consistent." Professor Shuster believes the male hormone testosterone __6.___ being funnier. He found that teenage boys were aggressive in their humor and this aggression changed with older _7. of joking. Earlier research suggests women and men 8._. One study said women _9. jokes than men and male comedians outnumber female ones. Another showed men look more for a punch line. Men also use people they _10. their jokes, often in a negative way. Married men seem to like hearing and making jokes 11._. British comedian John Moloney disagreed with Professor Shuster’s findings. He said that in his _12., he had never noticed that men were funnier than women. He stated: "The difference is that if a group of women were together _13., they don't automatically start telling jokes, which men do. It then becomes a bit of a competition, but __14.___ men are funnier." media type="file" key="071223-humor men vs women.mp3" width="240" height="20"