Transcript
Like most women in Afghanistan, Sara Bahayi does all the housework and brings up the children. She also looks after her mother.
But that’s where the similarities end. Sara is single and the family’s breadwinner. She works as a taxi driver in Mazar-e-Sharif – a job almost always done by men.
Sara breaks a cultural taboo behind the wheel but otherwise follows the tradition of taxi drivers around the world: she loves a good chat.
Vocabulary
housework
the activities which keep a home clean and tidy
looks after
takes care of
breadwinner
member of a family who earns the money which supports the family
taboo
an action or subject which a religion or society doesn’t accept
chat
informal conversation
To do
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports. Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
housework / looks after / breadwinner / taboo / chat
1. Mothers are increasingly the primary __________ in their families, a new report has found, marking a dramatic shift in US household finances.
A record 40% of US homes with children relied on mothers as their main or only source of income, a Pew survey found.
2. Almost all cultural __________ revolve around death, regardless of location. The number four is considered bad luck in China, because it tonally sounds like the word for death, while the number eight is good, because it sounds similar to the word for wealth.
3. More than a fifth of men wish they had __________ their children rather than returning to work, researchers say.
4. The Hello Barbie will be able to play interactive games and tell stories and jokes.
It will also listen to the child’s conversation and adapt to it over time – so, for instance, if a child mentions that they like to dance, the doll may refer to this in a future __________.
5. Prof Marie Murphy, from the University of Ulster, who led the study, said: “__________ is physical activity and any physical activity should theoretically increase the amount of calories expended”.
Answers
1. Mothers are increasingly the primary breadwinners in their families, a new report has found, marking a dramatic shift in US household finances.
A record 40% of US homes with children relied on mothers as their main or only source of income, a Pew survey found.
2. Almost all cultural taboos revolve around death, regardless of location. The number four is considered bad luck in China, because it tonally sounds like the word for death, while the number eight is good, because it sounds similar to the word for wealth.
3. More than a fifth of men wish they had looked after their children rather than returning to work, researchers say.
4. The Hello Barbie will be able to play interactive games and tell stories and jokes.
It will also listen to the child’s conversation and adapt to it over time – so, for instance, if a child mentions that they like to dance, the doll may refer to this in a future chat.
5. Prof Marie Murphy, from the University of Ulster, who led the study, said: “Housework is physical activity and any physical activity should theoretically increase the amount of calories expended”.