Unit 7
I’d Rather Be Black than Female
Consolidation Activities
I. Text Comprehension
1. Decide which of the following best states the author's purpo
A. To prent a picture of American women who are prejudiced against in politics and employment.
B. To reveal the difficulties she encountered when running for Congress as a black female.
C. To call for the removal of prejudice against women by relating her own experiences and some common social phenomena.
Key: [ C ]
2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or fal.
1). The author implies that American people, both men and women, are not so readily aware of the existence of prejudice against women as that against blacks. [ T ]
2). The long, tedious and faithful political work can guarantee a woman a dominant position in politics. [ F ]
3). The author’s experiences of running for office indicate that her every attempt to go upward in politics was met with men’s strong disapproval. [ T ]
4). Although women suffer prejudice in job recruitment, they still enjoy the same opportunities as men in career development. [ F ]
5). According to the author, her major responsibility in politics is to affirm the role of women in the country. [ T ]
II. Writing Strategies
The title of the passage ems to suggest that the article is mainly about the author’s personal experiences in politics. But careful readers will find that the author integrates such experiences into the general situation of women, which is more poignant than the racial problem, thus intensifying and broadening the theme.
The author mainly employs three devices: comparison, rhetorical questions and parallelism. Comparison is ud between blacks and females, both of whom suffer prejudices, and between men and women for their respective roles in politics and for their career opportunities; rhetorical questions and parallelism are ud to highlight the emotive force of the passage.
Now you are required:
1. to differentiate the author’s personal experiences from the general situation of women;
2. to identify and study the rhetorical questions and parallelisms ud in the passage.
Key:
1. The author’s personal experiences: Paragraphs 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13.
The common situation of women: Paragraphs 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 15.
2. Rhetorical questions: Paragraphs 2, 4, 10, 12.
Parallelisms: Paragraph 15.
III. Language Work
1. Explain the underlined part(s) in each ntence in your own words.
1). Being the first black woman elected to Congress has made me some kind of phenomenon.
a successful person
2). If I said that being black is a greater handicap than being a woman, probably no one would question me.
express doubt about the truth of what I have said
3). That there is prejudice against women is an idea that still strikes nearly all men — and, I am afraid, most women — as bizarre.
gives ... the impression of being
4). Prejudice against blacks was invisible to most white Americans for many years.
unen
5). From the start of that campaign, I faced undisguid hostility becau of my x.
obvious
6). Among members of my own party, clod meetings were held to discuss ways of stopping me.
meetings kept cret from other people (such as the public)
7). My opponent, the famous civil-rights leader James Farmer, tried to project a black, masculine image
prent
8). Mr. Farmer still doesn’t quite know what hit him.
beat/defeated
9). A few years ago, I was talking with a political leader about a promising young woman as a candidate.
talented/likely to succeed
10). I love teaching, and I am ready to go back to it as soon as I am convinced that this country no longer needs a woman’s contribution.
am sure
2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.
1). He felt a n of incredulity (incredulous), anger and pain at the accusation made against him.
2). A move towards healthy eating could help eliminate (elimination) heart dia.
