Although there is a great deal of variation within each gender, on the average men and women discuss a surprisingly different range of topics. The first research on conversational topics was conducted over seventy years ago. Despite the changes in male and female roles since then, the results of several studies are remarkably similar. In these studies, women and men ranging in age from seventeen
to eighty described the range of topics each discussed with friends of the same sex. Certain topics were common to both men and women: work, movies, and television proved to be frequent topics for both groups. Both men and women reserved discussions of sex and sexuality for members of the same sex. The differences between men and women were more striking then the similarities. Female friends spent much more time discussing personal and domestic subjects, relationship problems, family, health and reproductive matters, weight, food and clothing, men, and other women. Men, on the other hand, were more likely to discuss music, current events, sports, business, and other men. Both men and women were equally likely to discuss personal appearance, sex, and dating in same-sex conversations. True to one common stereotype, women were more likely to gossip about close friends and family. By contrast, men spent more time gossiping about sports figures and media personalities. Women's gossip was no more derogatory than men's. These differences can lead to frustration when men and women try to converse with one another. Researchers report that "trivial" is the word often used by both men and women to describe topics discussed by the opposite sex. "I want to talk about important things," a woman might say, "like how we're getting along. All he wants to do is talk about the news or what we'll do this weekend." In the second paragraph, the word trivial means
a. vital.
b. unimportant.
c. interesting.
d. unusual.
B
You might also like to view...
Circle the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.
Voy a cocinar las papas al (abrelatas, horno, lavaplatos).
Write the correct pronoun in the blank. Nevertheless, we were just as careful as (they, them)
What will be an ideal response?
A LEER: Rigoberta Menchú.Read this short article about Rigoberta Menchú, a Guatemalan activist. Then, answer the questions. If you don't understand a given word, try to figure out the meaning based on its context.
? ? Rigoberta Menchú Rigoberta Menchú nació en Guatemala en 1959, en un pueblo pequeño llamado Laj Chimel, en la provincia de El Quiché. Menchú es una mujer indígena de familia muy pobre (poor). Desde niña, Menchú fue testigo (witness) y víctima del sufrimiento de los indígenas y de la desigualdad de las clases sociales en Guatemala. Por eso, Menchú trabajó a favor de los indígenas para promover sus derechos (rights). En su biografía Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia, Menchú describe las condiciones tan malas en las que viven los indígenas guatemaltecos. Gracias a su trabajo activista, Menchú ganó (won) el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1998 y el Premio Príncipe de Asturias en el mismo año. Menchú es también Embajadora de Buena Voluntad (Goodwill Ambassador) de la UNESCO. En años recientes, Menchú formó parte de los partidos (parties) políticos indigenistas y en 2007 y 2011 fue candidata a la presidencia de Guatemala. ? ? ¿Cuál es uno de los premios que ganó Menchú? ? A. ?Premio Nobel de Literatura. B. ?Premio Nobel de la Paz. C. ?Premio Príncipe Felipe. D. ?Premio Unesco a la Mejor Embajadora.
_____________________________ es el ritmo más asociado con la Argentina y el Uruguay.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).