Ready for C1 p 22. The Secret Life of the National Grid- 2. Switching On. Listening


 


Link:

https://youtu.be/ABOyEFDYY7U?si=Leli5N_812NhDqCg&t=559

'9''20

 

Fill in the gaps with a word or phrase:

Not only did the promotion of appliances help balance (1)_____________, but they also had much wider social consequences.

In the 1930s, between 20 and 30 % of women’s (2)__________________ was in domestic service. However, by the (3)___________ ‘50s, that had virtually disappeared. While all households (4)_______________ domestic equipment so middle class households were losing their servants. As a consequence, middle class women ended up doing a lot more domestic work than they (5)__________________. For example there were stairs (6) _________, a hall (7)_______________ clothes to wash, and all that without a  (8)_______________.

Using a (9)_________________ became more strenuous than never (10)_______________. Nevertheless, for working class women it  beat (11)_____________________ hands down.

People were helped to avoid (12)______________ in the home and to (13)_____________ a career.

By the 1960s the society was much more (14)_____________. That is to say, working class women and middle class women were doing pretty much the same amount of (15)_____________________.

And by the 1990s, thanks to technological improvements in domestic equipment, the time spent on (16)____________________ by women of all classes had halved.

Bob didn't learn to use the washing machine or to (17)_________________.

Even though things have improved, women still bear the lion's share of the housework. There seem to be universal norms that prohibit (18)_________________.

Although some men were (19)_____________ domestic appliances, they found the (20)_______________ enormously appealing.

The fact that there was an increase in home ownership coupled with a (21)_________________ tradesmen kick-started a DIY epidemic.

When an electric wire was damaged by a power drill on Christmas Eve it caused (22)________________.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY



1. the load

The Grid: a system of electric wires or pipes carrying gas, for sending power over a large area:
the national grid (= the electricity supply in a country)

















2. employment

 





 

  1. mid to late

 






  1. were acquiring

 





 

  1. had done previously

 





  1. to sweep

 





 

  1. to polish

 





  1. daily

 Daily: (also daily help) (old-fashioned, BrE) a person employed to come to sb’s house each day to clean it and do other jobs




 



9. Hoover,





10. lifting a finger






11. a dustpan and brush


Beat beat, beaten: defeat

Dustpan: a small flat container with a handle into which dust is brushed from the floor.

Win (sth) hands down(informal): to win sth very easily.






 12. drudgery

Drudgery: hard boring work (Sp. trabajo pesado)




 

13.   pursue

Pursue: try to achieve sth




14. egalitarian





15.  core domestic work

 Core: most important; main or essential




16. household chores






 17. iron (either)

 

 



18. male laundry

 




19. wary of

 Wary: /ˈweəri/ cautious. Careful when dealing with sb/sth because you think that there may be a danger or problem. (Sp. cauteloso)

 




20. electric/power drill

Appeal: a quality that makes sb/sth attractive or interesting (Sp. atractivo, encanto)

 





21. scarcity of /ˈskeəsəti/

 

Scarcity: if there is a scarcity of sth, there is not enough of it and it is difficult to obtain it. Shortage (Sp. escasez)

Tradesman: shopkeeper (Sp. comerciante). A skilled person (Sp. artesano).

Kick-start: to do sth to help a process or project start more quickly. E.g. The government’s attempt to kick-start the economy has failed (Activar)

About: (place)  is anyone about?  Sp. ¿hay alguien?
is Mr Brown about?  Sp. ¿está por aquí el Sr. Brown?





22. mayhem

 Mayhem: confusion and fear (Sp. caos)






Transcript:

Fill in the gaps with a word or phrase:



The Grid’s promotion of appliances helped balance ____the load________ but they also had much wider social consequences


In the 1930s, you _
might have had______ something between 20 and 30 % of women’s employment actually in domestic service essentially,


and by the __
mid to late_________ ‘50s, that had virtually disappeared,


so what actually happened over this period was that at the same time as all households ___
were acquiring____________ domestic equipment so middle class households were losing their servants


Middle class women ended up doing a lot more domestic work than they __
had done previously___


“Have any idea the work there is to do in this house? Stairs
to sweep,


hall __to polish_____________


clothes to wash, and not even a __daily_____________”


Pushing the __hoover_______________ was harder than never _lifting a finger_________


but for working class women it beat __
a dustpan and brush______ hands down.


“I was very keen to help other people to lead a different type of life, not so involved in ___
Drudgery_______ in the home but rather giving them more freedom to choose whether they wanted to have leisure activities


or whether they wanted to go out and ___
pursue a career____ and they could do if they actually cut some of the jobs that they’d had to do in the past”.


“By the 1960s it was a much much more egalitarian society. Working class women and middle class women were doing pretty much the same amount of __
core domestic work_______, that’s cooking and cleaning and laundry”


And by the 1990s, improvements in domestic equipment had helped halve the time spent on ___
household chores____ by women of all classes.


“The washing machine too is a great saving and I wouldn’t be without it now. Bob’s never learnt to switch on and he’s never learnt to _
iron either__”


“Gender equality happens much slower than class equality. The difference between men’s and women’s unpaid work has probably halved over the last 40 years and we’re probably 40 years off -you know, two generations- of full equality still. There seem to be universal norms that prohibit __
male laundry_____”.


But if some men were ___
wary of__ domestic appliances then there was one electrical gadget that did hold an irresistible appeal.


“I even had an ___
electric drill_______ thanks to my wife’s insistence on home improvements”.


Rising home ownership and a __
scarcity of______ tradesmen kick-started a DIY epidemic. Do It Yourself magazine, “For the practical man about the house” was born in 1957 and the premier work tool was the electric drill.


“On one occasion I actually did use a power drill and go straight through an electric wire which _
caused mayhem_____ because it happened on Christmas Eve and led to a whole series of domestic problems which we hadn’t anticipated”.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.