2017.11.25 Academic Task 2

In many countries, women are now able to join the armed forces on an equal basis. However, some people think only men should be members of the army, navy or air force. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Some people doubt the capabilities of women in the armed forces and believe that only men should be able to form the army, navy or air force. I, however, completely disagree with this belief and trust that women should be able to participate in the military service.

Firstly, in terms of capabilities and talents, women are as able as men to partake in defending their nation as men. In fact, women hold not only analytical, critical thinking and communication skills which are essential in the army, navy or air force, but also physical skills to undergo strenuous training and combat situations, which put them at par with men for joining the defence academy. For instance, many female officers of the army have excelled at both theoretical and practical exams, and have graduated at the top of their class, establishing their intellectual and physical capabilities.

Moreover, the great emotional strength, compassion and understanding that females possess, may in turn make them well-suited for certain challenging roles in the military. Women’s innate ability to understand others and empathise with them make them approachable and easy to talk to. For example, women are often chosen as interrogators, negotiators and care-givers because their kind and sympathetic nature is able to persuade individuals to confide in them as well as listen to them.

In conclusion, I fully disagree with the belief that only men should join the army, navy or air force as in my opinion, women are equally capable of fulfilling the responsibilities involved in any role of the armed forces, and are in fact well-suited for certain positions based on their natural characteristics.

[Vocabulary]

• military service

兵役，军役

e.g.: More and more men are refusing to do military service.

• partake in

参加，分享

e.g.: They all partook in each other’s joys and sorrows in the fighting.

• undergo strenuous training

undergo: 经历，经受

strenuous: adj. 紧张的，艰苦的

e.g.: The doctor advised him to avoid strenuous exercise.

• at par with

不相上下

e.g.: Top 20 cities of china are at par with European standards.

• excel at

突出，擅长于

e.g.: The ethnic minorities along the Silk Road excel at dancing and singing.

• emotional strength

情感的力量

e.g.: It can be a delicate balance to build up the emotional strength to handle the ups and downs of your work without shutting yourself down.

• well-suited for

适合于

e.g.: It is well-suited for sites with tons of content, which are difficult to navigate otherwise.

• innate ability

天生能力，天赋才能

e.g.: On top of these two factors we also have to take into account people’s innate ability.

• empathise with

与…产生共鸣，感同身受

e.g.: How can we empathise with them if we don’t have an emotional vocabulary to draw on?

• interrogator

n. 询问者，审判官

• negotiator

n. 谈判者，交涉者

e.g.: The negotiator acted as liaison between labour and management.

• caregiver

n. 照料者，护理者

• confide in

信任，信赖，对…讲真心话

e.g.: We all need someone to confide in.

• fulfil the responsibility

履行责任

e.g.: To secure a steady oil and gas supply is the first task for us to fulfil the social responsibility.