"Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later." Og Mandino

Complete the following quotations with men or women. The first one has been done for you.(*)

could never invent weapons that kill, only ones that make you feel really bad and guilty until you surrender For , 2am is time for sleep. For , 2am is time for a discussion about where our relationship is going. appreciate the importance of a 42 inch plasma screen. do not. have no opinions about curtains. enjoy planning a wedding. have an ability to make think they are in charge. On being told that someone has bought a new car usually ask what colour it is - ask what sort is it. understand colour. They seem to know what to wear all the time. just think red is nice, pink is nice, so why not have them together? cannot watch sports and talk to at the same time.

(*) El contexto de los ejercicios está basado en el artículo de BBC News "What are the 78 differences between women and men?".
 

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Transcription

Read the following article on the differences between men and women.
Do you think the article is biased against either men or women, or is it a balanced view of both?

Men and Women: the differences Have you ever heard a seemingly normal woman saying something like, ‘I don't know what I do to turn men off. I seem to push them away. Maybe I'm too demanding, or not demanding enough. Men are so confusing.’ And it could be that very same day that you hear a seemingly normal man, unrelated to the first woman, complaining: ‘I don't understand women. I must be doing something wrong. Women are so hard to understand.’ When men and women get together, there are, in effect, two worlds - his and hers. They have different values, priorities, and habits. They play by different rules. Scientists have come to accept that a few fundamental differences between men and women are biological. It turns out that men's and women's brains, for example, are not only different, but the way we use them differs too. Women have larger connections and more frequent interaction between their brain's left and right hemispheres. This accounts for women's ability to have better verbal skills and intuition. Men, on the other hand, have greater brain hemisphere separation, which explains their skills for abstract reasoning and visual-spatial intelligence. Poet Robert Bly describes women's brains as a ‘superhighway’ of connection while men’s brains connections are compared to a ‘little, bending country road.’ Different habits of men and women are explained by different roles in the process of evolution. Although life conditions have changed, both men and women tend to follow their biological programs. Men tend to retain a firm sense of direction - they need to hunt the animal, catch it, and find the way home, while women have a better peripheral vision that helps them to see what’s happening around the house, to spot an approaching danger, to notice changes in the children’s behaviour and appearance. Men’s brains are programmed to hunting, which explains their narrow range of vision, while women’s brains are able to decipher and understand a wider range of information When entering a room, men look for exits, estimating a possible threat, and ways of escape, while women pay attention to the guests’ faces to find out who they are and how they feel. Men are able to sort out information and archive it in their head. Women tend to ‘rewind’ the information over and over again. The only way to stop thinking of the problems is to talk it over. When a woman shares her problems with a man, she is not looking for solutions – she needs someone to listen to her. Men prefer loud noises, hard handshakes, and red colour. They are better at solving technical problems. Women have a sharper ear, they use more words while talking, and are better at completing tasks independently. Based on these biologically explained differences, some psychological distinctions between men and women can be established: - Men grasp a situation as a whole and think globally, while women think locally, relying on details and nuances. - Men are builders and creators. They take risks and experiment, while women select the most valuable knowledge and pass it on to the next generation. - Men are more independent in their thoughts and actions, while women are more willing to follow the ideas suggested by others. - Women’s self-appraisal is lower than that of men. Women tend to criticize themselves, while men are more satisfied with their own performance. - Men and women have different sources of satisfaction. For men it’s career and prosperity, while women value family and kids. - Men have a pronounced need to fulfil their goals, and women rank relationships with others first. - Men get sick twice as often as women, although women tend to be more concerned about their health. - Women endure pain and monotonous work better than men. All the above gets even more confusing, if we take into account that 15 to 20% of men happen to have a female type of brains, and about 10% of women have a male type of brains, which means that some percentage of men and women, no matter how small it seems, are partially programmed to the behaviour and way of thinking of the opposite gender. ‘Okay, I understand the problem’, you may be saying to yourself, but –‘what's the solution?’ Well, that depends on whether you are a woman or a man!

Decide if the following statements are true or false, according to the text. Check your answers by finding the relevant information in the text.

1. Women have larger brains than men. - ? - True False 2. Men are better at abstract reasoning. - ? - True False 3. Women’s brains are able to understand a wider range of information than men. - ? - True False 4. Women like to talk over their problems with men because men are good at finding solutions. - ? - True False 5. Men place a higher importance on relationships than women. - ? - True False 6. Women are more self-critical than men. - ? - True False 7. Women are generally healthier than men. - ? - True False 8. A man is more likely to put up with a boring job than a woman. - ? - True False

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Focus on language

Read the following phrasal verbs in context and match then with the definitions. Follow the example.

Example: I seem to push them away to push out of the way. 1. I don't know what I do to turn men off. - ? - a) b) c) d) e) f) 2. When men and women get together - ? - a) b) c) d) e) f) 3. It turns out that men's and women's brains, for example, are not only different,.. - ? - a) b) c) d) e) f) 4. This accounts for women's ability to have better verbal skills and intuition. - ? - a) b) c) d) e) f) 5. The only way to stop thinking of the problems is to talk it over. - ? - a) b) c) d) e) f) 6. women select the most valuable knowledge and pass it on to the next generation. - ? - a) b) c) d) e) f)

a) - to happen in a particular way or to have a particular result, especially an unexpected one b) - to discuss a problem or situation, especially before making a decision about it c) - to explain the reason for something or the cause of something d) - to tell someone something that someone else has told you e) - to stop someone feeling interested or excited, especially sexually (opposite = to turn (s.b.) on.) f) – to be in each other’s company or begin a romantic relationship.

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Now complete the following sentences with phrasal verbs from the previous exercise. Change the form of the verb if necessary

1. Why don’t we for a drink after work tomorrow? 2. That cake I made really well. Do you want the recipe? 3. Can you your absence from work last Friday? 4. Before I make a decision I’d like to it with my wife. 5. A lot of women say that explicit pornography actually them . 6. When you see David, could you my message about the meeting on Wednesday?

 

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