新托福考试听力特训 CD1-Track12

CD1-track12

Discrimination

1. What is the lecture mainly about?

A The development of anti-discrimination regulations.

B The disadvantages of anti-discrimination laws.

C The advantages of anti-discrimination laws.

D The development of women’s right to equality.

(A)

2. According to the lecture, what are the main changes since the 1970s? (Click on 3

answers)

A Most jobs became open to ethnic¹ groups.

B The word used to refer to the fireman was changed.

C Women began to be trained together with men in the military.

D Individualism has been reflected in the hiring process.

E Women were allowed to flight in the battlefield like men did.

(A,B,C)

听力原文：

CD1-track12

Discrimination

Let's talk about the pros² and cons³ of discrimination in the USA. I'm sure you are

thinking to yourself why I have included pros and cons in my opening statement.

Aren't there only bad things that result in discrimination? Well, the answer in nost

cases is yes. When we discriminate⁴, a negative outcome usually results. However ,

let's say you are an employer of a business and the goverment has told you that you

must hire a certain number of women or a certain percentage of black and white

people. This would restrain you from hiring , promoting and firing your emplyees,

Okay, let's take a step back and discuss why in some cases individual freedome to

choose or discriminate who will work for you can be a good thing. During the past 40

years , the American goverment has put rules in place to increase the protection of the

environment and groups such minorities, women, workers and consumers. These new

rules have resulted in numerous regulations and new bodiew of law, which in some

cases have resulted in extreme policies like the one I described before about

an employer not being able to select an employee of his or her choice based on sex or

color. As a result, opponents argue that individualism had been lost with these new

laws. On the other side of the ccoin, some anti-discrimination proponents⁵ argued

against the traditional division of occupational roles between men and women, These

arguments led to major legal cases, which in turn led to stong requirements to recruit

women for jobs usually held by men such as skilled manual and mechanical work on

construction sites. The U.S. Congress also allowed the entry of women into the

military academies, In fact, a strong effort was made, particularly those directly involved in combat, but also to train women together with men. Another

anti-discriminatory example involves the Department of Justice, which began to

change the rraditional names of specfic jobas from firemen and policemen fo

firefighters and police officers and required local police and fire forces to hire women

police officers and fire fighters. Discriminatory exminations snd tests, in both the

public and private sextors, wer soon abolished and soon every business was toled to

avoid favoring one sexs over another for specific jobs. These new laws resulted in the

progress of equiliby, because most occupations were now open to women and noen

were closed to people of color.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

5 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句