Short Reading Practice 25

The Difference Between Men And Women

Although there is a great deal of variation within each gender, on the average, men and women discuss a surprisingly different range of topics. According to some 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. The differences between men and women were more striking than 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, on the other hand, were more likely to discuss music, current events, sports and business. Women were more likely to gossip about close friends and family. By contrast, men spent more time gossiping about sports figures and media personalities. These differences can lead to frustration when men and women try to converse with one another.

1. It is stated in the passage that women ----.

A) are unwilling to discuss personal subjects
B) are more interested in discussing relationship problems than are men
C) never talk about other men and women
D) don't like gossiping about anything
E) discuss more important issues than men

2. According to the passage, men ----.

A) need to learn to communicate better
B) like talking about movies and television as much as women do
C) are not likely to gossip on anything
D) have no common topics with women
E) get frustrated more whenever they try to converse with women

3. The passage mainly discusses ----.

A) what women's conversational topics are
B) why men don't like conversing with women
C) the topics men like discussing
D) why women talk more than men
E) the conversational topics of men and women

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