Unit 2
Unit 2
Unit 2
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
o Read through the sentences below, which are missing vocabulary from the
lecture. As you read, try to imagine which words would fit in the blanks. Then
listen to the sentences and write the missing words in the blanks.
1. Although many social scientists are concerned about the decrease in marriage and
its possible negative effects on the family, others say it is wrong to assume that
marriage in the United States is "on the _
3. This was the period after World War II, a period by a very
strong economy, a rising of living, and a growing middle class.
o Check the spelling of the vocabulary words with your teacher. Discuss
the meanings of these words and any other unfamiliar words in
the sentences.
PREDICTIONS
Think about the questions in the Topic Preview on page 34 and the
sentences you heard in the Vocabulary Preview. Write three questions
that you think will be answered in the lecture. Share your questions
with your classmates.
Use key words to write down the essential information in a lecture. It is neither
possible nor necessary to write every word you hear. Here are some tips for choosing
key words .
• Concentrate on content words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
• Choose the most important words to convey the meaning in the fewest words
possible. For example, you hear
Culturally, three characteristics stand out in this period: conformity to social
norms, greater male domination of the family than in the later periods, and
very clear gender roles, that is, clear and separate roles for men and women at
home and at work.
You write
3 d1aYCl&teY'i~tiu;: ~oc..ialCAlnfoY'mitj- male clomination & vleaY' jencleY'
Y'ole~ e home & wOY'/:::.
• You may also choose to put some information in your own words. For example,
instead of writing CAlnfoY'mitj to ~oc..ialnOY'm~,you might write ~oc..ialCAlnfoY'mitj.
••'»
CD2.TR2
o Practice reducing information to key words as you listen to sentences from the
lecture. Then compare what you wrote with a classmate.
1. _
2. _
3. _
o Discourse Cues Number the following excerpts from the lecture from 1 to 5 in
the order that you think you will probably hear them. Discuss with a partner or
as a class the discourse cues that helped you figure out the order.
__ The third period is harder to see because we are living in this period now.
__ So, let's begin with the first period, the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s.
__ In addition to the cultural changes during this period of individualism, there were also
economic changes that affected families.
__ The second period that I want to talk about today, the period of individualism, lasted
from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.
__ Let me begin today's lecture by saying that many people today are concerned about the
decline in the number of people who are married in the United States.
LISTENING
FIRST LISTENING
o Listen to the beginning of the lecture. Circle the set of notes below that best
records the information you hear.
a. b.
-rewer- peopl mawied in US .J- mawia3e in US
19W toda~ 55-71% wh~
wh~ 71% 55% 1B-T2-% hi~p
hi~p. T2-% 1B% 31-h1% blk.~
blk.~ h1% 31% 15 -9%~out1J
1B-2.1 15% 9% Ne3~ impad- on fam'?
Cult c.hat1Je~- diff. idea~ maw & fam Diff. idea~ about maw & fam'?
eum -+- ~{t "" c.hat1Je C-hat1Jehappeni~ in US
vieW<;c.h over- -time Wa~ Am ~ee fam
3 -time per-i. (~oG-.5aror-a Dafoe Whitehead) /tow vieW<;have c.ha~ed
1. mid-1D~ to mid-W~: tr-ad. fam ex: rradt fam, indlvid, new fam
2.. mid-hD~ to mid-BD~: individuali~m
3. pr-e~ent: new fam
o Now listen to the whole lecture and take notes. Look at the lecturer's visual aids
as you listen. These may help you understand parts of the lecture.
Traditional Family
• Conformity to social roles
• Male domination
• Clear gender roles
Individualism
Cultural developments
• Focus on career and work
• Self-expression/fulfillment
Economic changes
• Women work outside the home
Age of Marriage
40
.1960
20
• Today
0
Male Female
THIRD LISTENING
I~'»
CD2,IR6
e You will hear part of the lecture again. Listen and complete the notes by adding
the information from the box.
o Compare your answers with a partner. Then compare the notes in A with the
notes you took for this part of the lecture.
ACCURACY CHECK
I.)~ o Listen to the following questions, and write short answers. Use your notes. You
CD2.TR7
will hear each question one time only.
1. _
2.
3.
4.
5. _
6. _
7.
8. _
9. _
10. _
o Check your answers with your teacher. If your score is less than 70 percent, you
may need to listen to the lecture again and rewrite some of your notes.
ORAL SUMMARY
Use your notes to create an oral summary of the lecture with your partner. As
you work together, add details to your notes that your partner included but you
had missed.
DISCUSSION
Discuss the following statements with a classmate or in a small group.
1. What similarities are there between what you've learned about typical U.S. families
and families in your culture?
2. What effects have economic and cultural changes in the last 20 years or so had on
the family in your culture?
3. Is divorce always a bad idea? Can it ever have positive consequences for the family?
EXPANSION
PRE-READING
The following Reading is about changes in family size in Brazil. Before you read,
answer the following questions. Share your answers with a classmate.
1. Was there a women's movement in your country? If so, how was that movement
similar to the women's movement in the 1970s in the United States?
2. Look at the title of the article. What does "female empowerment" mean? How do
you think changes in family size might be related to female empowerment?
READING
Now read the article.
Eighty-eight-year-old Brazilian Dona Maria family. However, what has happened in Brazil since
Ribeiro de Carvalho had just finished telling me the 1960s provides a fascinating case study.
about her 16 pregnancies. Then she looked at Jose "What took 120 years in England took 40 years
Alberto, her oldest son, who had come for a Sunday here:' Carvalho told me one day. "Something hap-
visit. "With the number of children 1 had," Dona pened:' At that moment he was talking about what
Maria said, "I should have more than a hundred happened in Siio Vicente de Minas, the town of his
grandchildren right now:' childhood, where nobody under 45 has large fam-
Dona Maria's son Jose Alberto Carvalho, one of ilies anymore. But he could have been describing
the most important Brazilian demographers of the the entire female population of Brazil. For although
past 50 years, smiled. He knew the total number of there are many reasons Brazil's fertility rate has
grandchildren, of course: 26. For much of his working dropped so far and so fast, central to them all are
life, he has been studying the remarkable Brazilian Brazil's women.
demographic phenomenon that is illustrated by Brazilian women's overall position in society was
his own family, which within two generations had deeply affected by the women's movement of the
crashed its fertility rate to 2.36 children per family, 1970s and '80s. Today, Brazil is led by its first female
close to the national average of 1.9.
That new Brazilian fertility rate is below replace-
president, Dilma Rousseff; during the campaign, one
of Rousseff's strongest competitors was a female sen-
:
ment level-the level at which a population replaces ator. Brazil has high-ranking female military officers, I
itself. It is lower than the two-children-per-woman special police stations run by and for women, and the
1
fertility rate in the United States. And it's not simply world's most famous female soccer player, the one-
wealthy and professional women who have stopped name-only Marta. JI
having multiple children in Brazil-every class and Anibal Faundes, a Chilean professor who l,
immigrated years ago to Brazil and has helped lead
region of Brazil has experienced a drop.
This sudden fertility drop is not just a Brazilian national studies of reproductive health, explains l
"I
phenomenon. Close to half the world's population what he regards as a primary reason for the changes
lives in countries where the fertility rates have fallen in birthrate in his adopted country. "The fertility
to below replacement rate, just over two children per rate dropped because women decided they didn't
1
40 Unit 2 • The American Character
J
L
want more children," he said. "Brazilian women are
tremendously strong:'
Keeping the family small is what Brazilian women
of all ages now seem to expect of themselves-and
what contemporary Brazil, in turn, appears to expect
from them. "Look at the apartments;' said a 31-year-
old Rio de Janeiro marketing executive named
Andiara Petterle. "They're designed for a maximum
of four people. Two bedrooms. In the supermar-
kets, even the labels on frozen foods-always for
four people:'
The company Petterle founded specializes in
sales research on Brazilian women, whose buying
habits and life priorities seem to have changed
completely in the years since Petterle was born. It
wasn't until 1977, she reminded me, that the nation
legalized divorce. "We've changed so fast," she said.
"We've found that for many young women, their
first priority now is their education. The second is
Brazilians are now having
their profession. And the third is children and a sta-
much smaller families.
ble relationship:'
DISCUSSION
Discuss these questions with a classmate.
1. What are some of the similarities in how Brazilian and American attitudes toward
the family have changed over time?
2. How did the women's movement of the 1970sand 1980saffect Brazilian society?
Compare its impact to the impact of the women's movement on American culture
described in the lecture.
3. In what ways are Brazilian families today similar to American families? How are
they different?
www.census.gov/hhes/families/
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
o Read through the sentences below, which are missing vocabulary from the
lecture. As you read, try to imagine which words would fit in the blanks. Then
listen to the sentences and write the missing words in the blanks.
1. These churches generally represent the two major Christian traditions, Catholic and
Protestant, but often include several different Protestant _
2. Larger towns and big cities will also have other places of _
including synagogues, mosques, and temples representing other religious traditions.
6. Most writers and scholars agree that Europeans are generally more
________ than Americans.
o Check the spelling of the vocabulary words with your teacher. Discuss
the meanings of these words and any other unfamiliar words in
the sentences.
PREDICTIONS
Think about the questions in the Topic Preview on page 42 and the
sentences you heard in the Vocabulary Preview. Write three questions
that you think will be answered in the lecture. Share your questions
with your classmates.
Chapter 5 • Religion 43
NOTETAKING PREPARATION
U_si.."_9_1_"_d_e_"_t_at_io" _to_O_r9_a_"_i,z_e_N_otes ~1 _
Organizing your notes in a visual pattern will help you understand the relationship
between the main ideas and the details or examples that support those ideas,
One way to organize your notes visually is by writing a main idea and then indenting
the details and indicating them with bullets, Here are two examples,
() The following are lines of notes from a lecture titled "Effective Notetaking:' Find
three main ideas and circle them.
Q Now find three supporting details for each main idea. Draw lines from the
details to the main idea they support.
a Discourse Cues Number the following excerpts from the lecture from 1 to 5 in
the order that you think you will probably hear them. Discusswith a partner or
as a classthe discourse cues that helped you figure out the order.
Now let's look at two major ways that religion in the United States differs from religion
in other modernized Western nations.
Let's start today with facts and figures.
One major survey conducted in 2007 reported that 78 percent of Americans identified
themselves as Christians.
Finally, ]' d like to briefly focus on religious diversity in the States.
__ To sum up, then, the importance of religion and belonging to a church or religious
organization seem greater to Americans than to Europeans.
Chapter 5 • Religion 45
.- . _ .. - -
LISTENING
FIRST LISTENING
.4'» 0 Listen to the beginning of the lecture. Circle the set of notes below that best
CD2,TR9 records the information you hear.
a, b.
Reli3 in VS Ulmplic.- Reli3ion in VS
• not IAndeve;tood 0.1 peop other- WAnt • Compl topic.- mi~undeve;t bee.- otheY" £Al1~
- know Am £Al1t fY" ~ film, video expo~ed to Am £AlIt thY"W~ film video on
• don't ~how imp of Y"el'3 In VS 'nteY"l1et
• ~m toWl1~ manj dif c-huY"c-he~ • InteY"l1t vi~it to ~m town~ ~u7Y"i~ed bee.-
- C.yll'i~ian: Cath & PY"ot~t (~ev' dif) C-ath & PY"ote~t c-huY"c-h(diff denom) & 13
• Iq toWl1~ & e-itie~ ar~o ~jna3" m~~ue~, toWl1~ ~jna3" mo~~ue, temple~
femple~ ""otheY" Y"elrrad • P eapl manj diff Ulunrrle~ & Y"eI ba~
• people dif Ulunt & Y"eli3 immiy to VS immi3 not ~u7Y"i~ed man1 dif Y"eI VS
- ~ numb. dif Y"eli3 • Talk about todaj: 1~t hc.-~ and fi3' yaY"
1 rad~ & fi3uY"e~ yaY" Y"eli3 3Y"ou~ in VS Y"elyou~, 2-nd Ulmp VS-modeY"l1 We~t
2- Comp VS w otheY" mod W nation~ na1; 3Y"d import of Y"el inc.-Y"ea~ein VS poli1;
3 Imp of Y"ele~p l' Y"eliJ US po/it Y"eC--entjve; final inC--Y"ea~e diveY" Y"el in US
1- InC--Y"diveve;itj of Y"eI'3 in VS
'4'» 0 Now listen to the whole lecture and take notes. Look at the lecturer's visual aids
CD2,TR10 as you listen. These may help you understand parts of the lecture.
Subtopic 1:
• Catholic
• Protestant
• Other Christian
• Jewish
• Buddhist
• Musiim
Hindu
Subtopic 3:
Chapter 5. Religion 47
Subtopic 4: _
Religious Diversity
• 1965: Immigration quotas
eliminated
More religious diversity
• Work of Harvard professor
Diana Eck
The Future
THIRD LISTENING
'4'~
C02,IR12
e You will hear part of the lecture again. Listen and complete the notes by adding
the information from the box.
Modm, nat
no ~ep of rei J0vt.
us
____ of rei - 1~t A-mendto Con~t
____ of e-hure-h & ~tate
____ reI not part of J0vt or PUD~e-hool~
ReI. Delie~, v'alue~ pof & ed,
DUt influ
o Compare your answers with a partner. Then compare the notes in A with the
notes you took for this part of the lecture.
J
48 Unit 2 • The American Character
AFTER LISTENING
ACCURACY CHECK
I.)~ o Listen to the following questions, and write short answers. Use your notes. You
CD 2, 'R 13
will hear each question one time only.
1. _
2. _
3. _
4. _
5. _
6. _
7. _
8. _
9. _
10. _
o Check your answers with your teacher. If your score is less than 70 percent, you
may need to listen to the lecture again and rewrite some of your notes.
ORAL SUMMARY
Use your notes to create an oral summary of the lecture with your partner. As
you work together, add details to your notes that your partner included but you
had missed.
DISCUSSION
Discuss the following statements with a classmate or in a small group.
3. Why might it be good for people learn about other people's religions?
Chapter 5 • Religion 49
f -- - - - - -- - -- -- -- -- ---
I
EXPANSION
PRE-READING
The following Reading is about religious beliefs around the world. Before you
read, answer the following questions. Share your answers with a classmate.
,. What are the major religions in your country of origin? Are most people in your
country religious?
2. Which areas of the world do you think have the highest number of people who are
nonreligious or do not believe in God? Do you think there is a difference between
someone who is nonreligious and an atheist who does not believe in God?
READING
Now read the article.
DISCUSSION
Discuss these questions with a classmate.
1. What ideas presented in the lecture are given some support by information in
the article?
2. Why is it difficult to collect exact data on people's religious beliefs, according to the
lecture and the article? Make a list.
3. Look at the list of countries by region in the article. Using information from the
lecture and your own ideas, can you think of reasons why these particular places
might have so many nonbelievers?
www. pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/april-26-2002/diana-eck-extended-
interview/11617/
Chapter 5 • Religion 51
TOPIC PREVIEW
Discuss the following questions with a
partner or your classmates.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
() Read through the sentences below, which are missing vocabulary from the
lecture. As you read, try to imagine which words would fit in the blanks. Then
listen to the sentences and write the missing words in the blanks.
1. Customs vary so much from culture to culture that it's often for
someone trying to understand the traditions and customs of a new place.
2. The birth of a baby is a occasion in most families and is
celebrated in some way or another.
3. Traditionally, Christian babies are in a ceremony involving
washing the baby's head with water.
6. All traditions and religions have to cope with one basic issue: how to
deal with the body of the person.
7. Some religions such as Judaism and Islam require that the body be very
quickly , or put into the ground.
o Check the spelling of the vocabulary words with your teacher. Discuss
the meanings of these words and any other unfamiliar words in
the sentences.
PREDICTIONS
Think about the questions in the Topic Preview on page 52 and the
sentences you heard in the Vocabulary Preview. Write three questions
that you think will be answered in the lecture. Share your questions
with your classmates.
Here are some additional tips to save writing time when you take notes.
Use as few vowels as possible Use these abbreviations
bewildering bewld~ someone <;10
ceremony mnj
e-e•.... something <;/t
cremated e.-YemtCl with wi
reassured •....
ea<;<;
•....
d without wiD
Omit the final letters of the word Use other conventional symbols
elaborate dab -7 causes, leads to
reception ee-ep
•.... ~ is the result of
significance <;i9nif
2. _
3. _
4. _
«) Discourse Cues Number the following excerpts from the lecture from 1 to 5 in
the order that you think you will probably hear them. Discuss with a partner or
as a class the discourse cues that helped you figure out the order.
__ After the baby is born, most families participate in some kind of spiritual ceremony ...
__ Today I want to talk about customs in the United States, not all customs of course, but
customs surrounding certain important events in almost everyone's life.
__ The last passage I'm going to talk about today is the passage from life to death.
__ As [ said before, in a society so large and diverse as the United States, customs can
vary greatly.
__ Today let's look at some widely accepted customs and traditions of most Americans
concerning three of life's most important events, or passages: birth, marriage,
and death.
I.)~
CD1,IR16
FIRST LISTENING
Listen to the lecture and take notes. Look at the lecturer's visual aids as you
listen. These may help you understand parts of the lecture.
InfYO<::Iudion
Subtopic 1: _
Birth
• Baby shower before
• Spiritual ceremony after
Subtopic 2: _
Marriage
• Engagement
• Shower
• Wedding ceremony
Death
• The deceased
• Funeral service / religious ceremony
• Memorial service
THIRD LISTENING
'4~ 0 You will hear part of the lecture again. Listen and complete the notes by adding
CD 2, TR 18 the information from the box.
o Compare your answers with a partner. Then compare the notes in A with the
notes you took for this part of the lecture.
AFTER LISTENING
ACCURACY CHECK
I.)~ e Listen to the following questions, and write short answers. Use your notes. You
CD2,1,19
will hear each question one time only.
1. _
2. _
3. _
4. _
5. _
6. _
7. _
8. _
9. _
10. _
o Check your answers with your teacher. If your score is less than 70 percent, you
may need to listen to the lecture again and rewrite some of your notes.
ORAL SUMMARY
Use your notes to create an oral summary of the lecture with your partner. As
you work together, add details to your notes that your partner included but you
had missed.
DISCUSSION
Discuss the following statements with a classmate or in a small group.
1. Is it surprising that people in the United States, with its great racial and ethnic
diversity, celebrate birth, marriage, and death in similar ways? Why?
2. Death is a topic that is very difficult for most Americans to talk about. What reasons
might there be for this?
3. It is considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before
the ceremony. What might be a reason for this superstition? Does your culture have
superstitions connected to weddings?
EXPANSION
PRE-READING
The following Reading is about traditional marriage customs in parts of rural
Africa. Before you read, answer the following questions. Share your answers with
a classmate.
1. Which of the marriage customs described in the lecture would be most likely to
exist in a variety of other countries, including traditional rural cultures in Africa?
2. What is a ritual? Describe one marriage ritual that is widely practiced in
your culture.
READING
Now read the article.
South Africa-Ndebele
Ndebele weddings are celebrated in three stages,
which can take years to conclude. They begin with
the negotiation of lohola, or bride price, which is
DISCUSSION
Discuss these questions with a classmate.
1. What similarities can you see between marriage customs in the United States and in
parts of rural Africa-courtship and engagement, the marriage ceremony, gift giving,
and so on?
2. Of the three cultures mentioned in the reading, which one has marriage customs
that are most different from those in the United States? Explain.
3. Which of the marriage customs mentioned in the lecture and the reading were the
most interesting or surprising to you?
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
o Read the definitions
the video.
of these key words and phrases that you will hear during
1. And then I felt a little bit for myself. It's like I'm
_______ so much.
2. So I was sitting down with a showing him this land iguana with
this Galapagos mockingbird, talking about this very interesting sort of collaborative
AFTER VIEWING
ORAL SUMMARY
Use your notes to create an oral summary of the video with your partner. As
you work together, add details to your notes that your partner included but you
had missed.
DISCUSSION
Discuss the following questions with a classmate or in a small group.
1. Why do you think Mattias Klum came home "feeling sorry" for himself?
2. What reaction do you think the father expected when Anskar first walked into the
kitchen and saw his Dad? What was Anskar interested in instead?
3. Why did the audience find the son's questions and comments so funny?
4. What does the title of the video mean?