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Thread: ...woman well socialized...

  1. #1
    Ook Choi's Avatar
    Ook Choi is offline Newbie
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    Default ...woman well socialized...

    Bernard concluded that there is no better assurance of long life, health, and happiness for a man than a woman well socialized to devote her life to taking care of him and providing the security of a well-ordered home.

    This is from my textbook, I would like to understand it in grammatical sense.

    What is the subject of the text in red? I mean i know it is woman, so is there omission before well?
    maybe "who is" ? if this is right, when can I omit like that?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Ook Choi View Post
    Bernard concluded that there is no better assurance of long life, health, and happiness for a man than a woman well socialized to devote her life to taking care of him and providing the security of a well-ordered home.

    This is from my textbook, I would like to understand it in grammatical sense.

    What is the subject of the text in red? I mean i know it is woman, so is there omission before well?
    maybe "who is" ? if this is right, when can I omit like that?
    That sentence is a complete mess I'm afraid.
    Tdol likes this.

  3. #3
    Gillnetter is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Ook Choi View Post
    Bernard concluded that there is no better assurance of long life, health, and happiness for a man than a woman well socialized to devote her life to taking care of him and providing the security of a well-ordered home.

    This is from my textbook, I would like to understand it in grammatical sense.

    What is the subject of the text in red? I mean i know it is woman, so is there omission before well?
    maybe "who is" ? if this is right, when can I omit like that?
    This form, "well something", seems to harken back to an earlier age. Some other examples are: You are advised to hire only those well trained - Teachers well schooled can teach anyone - A dog well taught will not bark at night.

    Aside from "well schooled", I don't believe that I have heard much of this form, though I have encountered it in reading books from the 19th Century.
    charliedeut, Tdol and bhaisahab like this.

  4. #4
    Tdol is offline Editor, UsingEnglish.com
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Gillnetter View Post
    I have encountered it in reading books from the 19th Century.
    Good point- when was this textbook written?
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  5. #5
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    BobK is offline Harmless drudge
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Tdol View Post
    Good point- when was this textbook written?
    Probably (my guess ) in the '60s-'70's, in the heyday of bra-burning feminism. The point of 'well-socialized' is that people behave in a way that reinforces their society; girls are given dolls to care for (the more dependent the better - if they can wet themselves that's a real plus). This sort of socialization was said at the time to have been compromised by a self-serving male-chauvinist-pig conspiracy. The text is saying that she had been brought up in such a way as to be the ideal handservant to an old man in his dotage. (Speaking as an old man in his dotage I regard this sort of socialization as a Jolly Good Thing. )

    b

    PS It's by no means unheard of for text books in ELT schools to be this dated. In one of my first posts I had to work from a textbook that held that such words as 'stenographer' were essential examples of 'current' business vocabulary.
    Last edited by Tdol; 24-Oct-2012 at 18:05. Reason: boos -> books
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  6. #6
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    One ESL book I was asked to use had a piece about UFOs which said that they had not only been seen by housewives and dogs, but also by professionals who should be taken seriously like lawyers and doctors. I couldn't bring myself to teach it. ;)

  7. #7
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    I'm curious now. How did the dogs convey that they had seen the UFOs? I can just about understand "Come quickly! Timmy fell down the well" but I've never yet been able to discern "Wow - I saw this amazing thing flying through the sky yesterday afternoon and I think it was from another planet!"
    bhaisahab and emsr2d2 like this.
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

  8. #8
    SoothingDave is offline VIP Member
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    I think the housewife told the tale and said "isn't that right, Sparky?" to which the dog replied enthusiastically "woof!"
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  9. #9
    Tdol is offline Editor, UsingEnglish.com
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    Default Re: ...woman well socialized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    I'm curious now. How did the dogs convey that they had seen the UFOs? I can just about understand "Come quickly! Timmy fell down the well" but I've never yet been able to discern "Wow - I saw this amazing thing flying through the sky yesterday afternoon and I think it was from another planet!"
    I have no idea how the writer worked this one out. But he did say it.

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