Pages 2 and 3 Changes in the UK

Activity B
Interview 1
Reporter: So do you think life in the UK is getting
better or worse?
Woman: Well ... I must say I do feel much less safe
than I used to. You know I always used to
leave my front door unlocked when I
went out during the day. I certainly
wouldn’t do that these days, and I don’t
know of anybody who would. But there’re
some things better nowadays. I think
youngsters have a far easier time,
particularly young women. There’s no
doubt about it – they do have more
choices. I know if I had my time over
again, I’d be a policewoman. But I got
married at 17 and had children straight
away. There just weren’t the same
opportunities for us then. As for better or
worse … well, a bit of both, I’d say.
Interview 2
Reporter: What about you? Do you feel life in the
UK’s getting better or worse?
Man: I came to live here ten years ago. For me,
the biggest change has to be in how we
use technology. I think we all know it‘s
had a real impact on how we live – and
that’s with our friends and family and not
just work. Mobile phones have become so
popular – lots more people have them.
And nearly everybody has a computer
these days. So it’s a lot easier to get hold
of information using the web, and then
there’s communication – it’s so much
faster – and this applies not only in the
UK but internationally. Take me, for
example – it’s almost as easy to get in
touch with my folks back home as if they
lived in the next town. That certainly
wasn’t the case when I first arrived. Yes, I
really think things like mobiles and the
Internet have changed our lives … and
for the better.
Interview 3
Reporter: So do you agree with that?
Woman: Not really. In lots of ways it seems to be
getting worse. You know, I think our
children are getting fatter and lazier. I’m
afraid mine watch about five hours of
television a day. That’s at least twice as
much as I did when I was a girl. And they
sit for hours on end playing these

dreadful computer games as well. I really
don’t think it’s very good for them. But I
must say it isn’t helped by the fact we all
worry about letting them play outside
these days. I don’t think our towns are
nearly as safe as they were when I was
young.
Interview 4
Reporter: Do you think life in the UK is getting
better or worse?
Man: Hmm, a bit of both, I think. Things that
are getting better, well … take medicine,
for example – it’s so much more advanced
now. They can do amazing things but if
I’d lived even 50 years ago, I might have
died of some very ordinary disease, like
TB. On the other hand, these days people
seem to be less caring than they used to
be. You know, helping older people with
their shopping, standing up to give your
seat to a pregnant woman on the bus,
that sort of thing – it seems that most
people don’t bother any more.
Interview 5
Reporter: Could you tell me, as far as you’re
concerned, is life in the UK getting better
or worse?
Man: Oh, better, definitely, yes, much better.
Take me, for example – my wife and I
both work part-time so we can both share
in looking after the kids. I get to spend so
much more time with them. Oh, we have
the usual ups and downs, but I’m sure I
have a good relationship with them and I
really enjoy being more involved. As a
rule, in my parents’ generation, women
looked after the children and men went
out to work. It’s very different now.
Society’s much less rigid than it was.
People have more of a chance to be
themselves these days. And I think society
will become even more tolerant of
differences in the future.
Reporter: Well, let’s hope so.
Page 4 How we spend our time
Activity B
a A quarter of us eat our main meal after 7 pm.
b Fifty per cent of us think people drive too fast.
c Three-quarters of the people we interviewed don’t

eat a big breakfast.

d Most people in the group work from 9.30 to 6 pm.
e Twenty-five out of a hundred people we spoke to
think more should be spent on health.
f On average, between ten and fifty children are
absent from school each day.
g In our survey, only one in fifteen were satisfied
with local services.
Page 6 How we live
Activity A
Margaret
I come from a very large family. I’m one of eleven
children. I was born in 1915 and people had larger
families then. Sadly, three of my brothers and sisters
didn’t make it to adulthood, and my older brother
died in the First World War. Anyway, of the seven of
us surviving children, six of us got married. We had
nineteen children between us. You can imagine what
it was like in my mother’s little terrace with all those
children. And my grandparents were living with
them for a while! My three youngsters moved away
to work when they were old enough and they all got
married quite young. My husband, Frank, died soon
after that so I was living on my own for a bit, but it
didn’t really work. That was before I moved into a
residential home. I’ve got six great-grandchildren
now. They all come to see me a couple of times a
year, but none of them live round here. I’m quite
happy in this home. I’m a bit too frail to manage on
my own. What’s good is the other residents are nice
and friendly, but I really don’t like being so far from
town and I’d like to see more of my family.
Rachel
I live with my son Thomas in a flat quite near here.
Thomas’s dad left us five years ago when Thomas was
two – now he’s married again. Thomas sees him twice
a week. It’s hard work bringing up a child on my
own, but other people do it and you do manage,
with a bit of planning. And I’m a lot happier now
than when I was married. It just didn’t work out and
we were always rowing, and that wasn’t a good
atmosphere for Thomas to grow up in. It’s better
now, but it’s tough being a single parent and having
to do everything. My dad lives nearby and he helps,
but he works, so I can’t rely on him too much. Even
so it’s nice to know he’s there in an emergency. I’m
seeing someone at the moment, but I’m not ready to
settle down yet. He’s got two kids a bit older than
Thomas. Their mum died three years ago, so he’s a
single parent too. If we do get together, we’ll

definitely have to get somewhere bigger because
you’d never get five people in my flat.
Mavis
I was born in the UK, but both my parents come
from Nigeria. They came here – in fact, they met here
– in about 1965 and got married and had us lot.
There were four of us altogether – all girls. I think my
sisters and I had a pretty normal kind of life, really. I
lived at home till I was about 18 and then after my
A-levels I got a job and then I wanted a bit more
freedom, so I found a little bed-sit and moved in. But
I got lonely to tell the truth and I missed my family a
lot, so I lived with my sister for a while and then
shared a flat with some friends. Then I met Marcus.
After we’d been going out for a while, we decided we
should get our own place. We lived together for
about a year and then got married. And then last
year, Emma was born. I still see a lot of my family –
we still have regular family get-togethers and they all
make a big fuss of Emma.
Rob
I had a funny sort of early childhood. I was in care
from the age of three and I lived in a children’s home
for about six months. Then I went to live with foster
parents, Ken and Sarah. They ended up adopting me.
We all lived in this tiny little council house with
their two kids, three cats and a dog. I was pretty
happy there, really felt they were my real family as I
never saw my natural parents. I lived at home until I
married. My wife and I were together for 12 years,
but sadly we split up about eight years ago –
although we’ve never divorced. I quite enjoy living
on my own.
Page 8 Marriage and divorce
Activity B
Liz
As I see it, the divorce rate is increasing simply
because it’s a lot easier to get a divorce nowadays. I
mean, the divorce laws have changed so much over
the years and that’s made it easier – and a lot
cheaper. In the past, when a couple wanted to get
divorced, there had to be a guilty party, and you had
to prove that your partner was guilty, you know,
perhaps of having a relationship with another
person. And you had to go to court, and there was a
court battle and it could cost hundreds or thousands
of pounds, even. And then, your partner had to agree
to a divorce or you’d have to wait years. But today,
it’s nothing like that. It can all be done in a much
shorter time.

Joel
It seems to me it’s got a lot more to do with people’s
expectations. I think people today expect a lot more
out of their marriage and their partner than they did,
say, 30 or 40 years ago. I think women’s expectations
especially are a lot higher today. And they’re not
prepared to put up with unhappy, you know, what
do they call them – ‘empty-shell’ marriages – you
know, a marriage where there’s no love or intimacy.
No, the point is, I think people – women – want
compatibility, you know, emotional and sexual – and
equality. And I think today that lots of people, if they
don’t find those things in their partner, they’re
prepared to get divorced. And I think they’re
prepared to keep going until they do find the right
person.
Connie
Personally, I think you have to look back into history
a bit to get the answer. I mean, I think it’s true that
women’s expectations have changed, but I think the
thing is that it’s because their roles have changed. I
mean if you compare now with 50 or 60 years ago,
women today are educated and qualified, and they
can get to the top in their careers. Not all of them,
but it’s getting better. And in the past, a lot of
women just expected that their role in life was to get
married, and be a good housewife and have kids and
be a good mother. And they had no money or job, so
they depended on their husband. But today, women
don’t need men for financial security.
Terry
I think there’s some truth in everything everyone’s
said but, if you ask me, I think the main thing is that
society’s changed – attitudes have changed. If you
think back only 30 or 40 years, how many people did
you know who were divorced? Not many, I shouldn’t
think. I know I didn’t. In those days, people were a
lot more religious and there was a lot of shame that
came with being divorced. And having a child
without being married? That was about the worst
thing that could ever happen to a woman – and the
child. But today, that’s all changed. Today it’s
perfectly normal to say you’re divorced or a single
parent, or if you’re pregnant and not married or
living with someone. In the past, they called that
‘living in sin’. I mean, just look at all the pop stars
and film stars who are single but have babies. And

we just accept that now as normal.

Pages 12 and 13 Male and female roles
Activity A
Connie
I suppose I’ve become a bit of a weekend mum,
really. I don’t see much of the kids in the week. I
usually drop Laura off at school on my way to work,
but I’m often not home till after six. I don’t do
anything for work at the weekend, even if we’re
really busy. I’m very strict about that because I like to
spend as much time as I can with the kids at the
weekend. I guess I’m pretty lucky. Joel does all the
cooking and cleaning and he takes Luke to
playschool every afternoon. It’s tough for him
because he’s doing an evening course at college to
become a computer programmer. He’s got a lot of
work to do for the course and I know how tough it is
when you’re looking after an energetic eighteenmonth-
old. I don’t know what I’d do if my mother
didn’t live nearby. She picks Laura up from school in
the afternoons and sometimes helps out with the
kids in the evening when Joel’s got his course and
I’m late home from work. A lot of people think it’s a
bit odd that Joel stays at home, but it makes much
more sense. He was in a dead-end job and wanted to
be more involved with the kids, and I was the one
with the good job and the salary. I’m not sure what
will happen when Joel qualifies. Maybe it’ll be my
turn to stay home.
Activity C
Joel
More women than ever are trying to combine a
career and a family. Today just over 50% of women
with children under five are now in paid work, and
about 25% of non-working mothers say they would
like to have a job.
However, in Britain today balancing a job and
small children is still very difficult, so in my talk I’d
like to talk about some of the barriers that prevent
women from having a satisfying job at the same time
as bringing up a young family.
My first point is low level of pay. As I said before,
there are now more women than ever in
employment, but on average women still earn
between 20% and 40% less than men for the same
work. For every pound that a man in full-time work
earns, a women earns just 80p. The situation is even
worse for the 40% of women who have part-time
jobs. Here women typically earn just 60p for every pound a man earns.

Another important obstacle that women face in
the workplace is the lack of career opportunities. The
reality of work for most women is not only poor pay,
but also low-status jobs. Even though many women
are now better qualified, only a few reach more
senior levels – for example, only one in five of all
managers are women. Even in female-dominated
careers like nursing, men are still much more likely
to be promoted into management jobs. It seems that
everywhere in the business world there is a glass
ceiling – a point beyond which women find it very
difficult to progress in their careers. So what are the
reasons for this? First, UK business culture still
expects work to be the main focus of attention for its
managers and expects them to work long hours.
Obviously, this is a situation that is incompatible
with young children, particularly as women are still
expected to be on call for emergencies at home.
Another reason is that most decision makers are in
fact men and, unfortunately, they often have very
fixed ideas about what women can and can’t do.
My next point is the lack of affordable childcare.
We’ve already seen that the lower rate of pay for
women is one of the main reasons why women often
stay at home to look after children. Another
important factor is the provision of affordable
childcare. According to a recent report, there are only
eight day nursery places for every 100 children under
the age of five, and six out-of-school club places for
every 100 children aged five to seven. For many
women, having a job simply does not make financial
sense because the cost of childcare often takes up
most of her pay.
So now to my final point – the lack of support
women receive from their partners in bringing up
children. Even though many more women with
children have jobs, men’s contribution to childcare
and household tasks has changed very little. A study
last year showed that four out of five women with
families still did all or most of the housework. Even
when both partners have full-time jobs, the woman
does most of the housework in seven out of ten
cases. The result is that woman are often working a
thirteen-hour day with little or no leisure time.
In conclusion, we have seen that a lot still needs
to be done to close the pay gap and finally shatter
the glass ceiling at work, but also to create equality at
home. Until these changes are made it will continue
to be difficult for women to combine work and a
family. Thank you. If you have any questions, I’ll
be happy to try to answer them