新标准大学英语综合教程4-unit5

Unit5

Active reading (1)

1 Work in pairs and decide who is gossiping.

In fact, anybody could be saying these things. As sterotypes, the first is said by a male football fan, the second

is a women gossiping about the weather as part of small talk, the third is a young man / women gossiping to

another man about other people’s personal relationships.

2 Check ( ) the statements about gossip which you think are true.

1 Men gossip just as much as women.

No, men seem to gossip less than women.

√2 Men talk more about politics than women.

Yes, this seems to be true.

√3 Men talk more about football than women.

Yes, surely this is the case.

√4 Women talk more about themselves than men.

No, I am not sure. Maybe men talk about themselves as much.

√5 Men don’t admit they gossip.

Yes, I think this is true.

6 Women don’t admit they gossip.

No, I don’t agree, I think they like gossiping and do admit it.

Sex differences in English gossip rules

Reading and understanding

3 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 What does the research quoted in the passage show?

(a) Men talk more about politics than about football.

(b) Women don’t like speaking about politics and art.

(c) Men gossip just as much as women.

(d) Men and women gossip in exactly the same way.

2 What do men do when women are present?

(a) They tend to talk about themselves.

(b) They change their tone of voice.

(c) They speak more about politics and art than usual.

(d) They let women do most of the speaking.

3 What is the main difference between male and female gossip?

(a) Women don’t realize they are gossiping.

(b) Men only gossip outdoors.

(c) Women speak more about themselves than men do.

(d) Men speak more about themselves than women do.

4 What is “the tone rule” in women’s gossip?

(a) Use a special tone of voice to show that you are gossiping.

(b) It is important to keep a flat unemotional tone.

(c) Don’t change your tone of voice when you start gossiping.

(d) Always start gossiping by using a low whisper.

5 What is “the detail rule”?

(a) You should avoid boring details when you gossip.

(b) When gossiping about people it’s important to quote what they actually

said.

(c) You should avoid talking about why people did something.

(d) It doesn’t matter if your gossip is vague.

6 What does “the feedback rule” say about listeners?

(a) They should keep quiet while someone is gossiping.

(b) They shouldn’t show surprise.

(c) They should believe everything they hear.

(d) They should show interest and enthusiasm.

4 Number the different parts of the passage in the order in which they occur.

1 Refer to recent research to dispel the myth about male gossip.

2 Reveal that men change topic of conversation when women are present.

3 Focus on the difference of content between male and female gossip.

4 Suggest that the myth about male gossip is really a problem of terminology.

5 Present a detailed, technical account of how women gossip.

6 Conclude that the vital difference between male and female gossip lies in the positive response of the audience.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

5 Match the words in the box with their definitions.