Extract 4 Voice: The main argument against women succeeding in men’s events has always been physical strength. Women simply can’t hit the ball as far. When the ladies’ world number one, Annika Sorenstam, was invited to play in a major men’s event in 2003, she missed the cut by five shots. She later admitted that it had been much tougher than she had expected and that she was looking forward to going back to play where she belonged. Michelle Wie was one player that commentators predicted may challenge the sport’s male dominance. At six foot and one inch in height, she could hit the ball as far as almost any male, yet she only won one men’s tournament. That was in 2006, and she has since retired. No other female player has followed up on her win.


027


Unit 3 Listening 1


D Listen again and complete the sentences. There are two sentences for each extract. [Play


026 again] 028 Unit 3 Listening 1


F Listen again as you read the tapescript. Notice examples of paraphrased language as you read. [Play


026 again] 029 Unit 3 Listening 2


A You will hear a talk given to students studying gender studies about women in sport. Listen and answer the questions. Voice: … so I think we can say that despite some marvellous progress, it is still very difficult for women to succeed in the male-dominated world of sport. To actually compete against men in the same competitions is even more difficult, and women face an enormous amount of chauvinism and prejudice. Let me use horse racing as an example. For over 100 years women have been involved in horse racing as very successful owners and trainers, and for over 50 years as jockeys. It is still the case, though, that girls are used as exercise riders before the races and then snubbed when it comes to the racing. Even top female jockeys, who have done everything to prove that they are the equals of men, are not given the best rides and at meetings will regularly have two or three fewer rides than their male peers. The older generation of men who wield power still believe that woman jockeys cannot win the very biggest races, like the Derby or the Grand


198 Pathway to IELTS 6.0


National. Of course, Rachael Blackmore winning the Grand National in 2021 proved them totally wrong. Now, of course, it is true that men are generally physically bigger and stronger than women, and it’s understandable that people feel that women will never compete with men at the highest level in contact sports, like football or basketball. People are afraid that women are not as robust as men and will get injured, or that men will refrain from playing as aggressively as they might against other men and that that would compromise the game. There are others who feel that it is inappropriate for males and females to be in such close physical contact. My feeling is that at younger ages, girls should play against boys if they are good enough. Football, for example, isn’t only about strength and speed. There are many smaller players who rely on skill and positional awareness. If girls prove they are the equal of boys, they should continue playing as long as they are able to compete. I don’t think there should be archaic rules that prevent girls from competing with boys once they reach a particular age. Now, games like tennis and golf are interesting.


These are not contact sports and there are fewer arguments to support the theory that men and women should not compete together. As women’s tennis progresses, the difference between how hard players hit the ball becomes smaller and smaller. As long ago as the 1970s Billie Jean King, a former ladies’ Wimbledon champion, proved that women could beat men when she triumphed over a former male Wimbledon champion, Bobby Riggs, in a special showdown match. Not only did she win, but she won in straight sets. Riggs may have been past his best at the time, but it was a moment that women all over the world enjoyed. The world’s best lady golfer, Annika Sorenstam, had a less successful time when she was invited to play in a major men’s event in 2003. She found it all far more challenging than she had expected and failed to make it through to the main competition when she missed the cut by five strokes. When Michelle Wie burst onto the scene, everyone believed that we had found a woman who was tall and powerful enough to be the equal of any male golfer. Professional male golfers claimed that she was as good as any young male player that they had ever seen. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, and Wie didn’t fulfill that promise. She retired in 2022. Who knows how long we will have to wait for a true female champion in a male-dominated sport. One important thing we have to consider is whether it would always be an advantage for women to compete against men at the very highest level anyway. In tennis, for example, it is generally accepted that Serena Williams, the greatest female tennis player of all time, would be rated at around


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