Gloria Steinem, a Defining Voice of the Modern Women’s Movement, Dies at 92

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What happened before Steinem’s death is introduced?

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   1. She became a recognizable movement voice.
   2. She entered electoral office.
   3. She founded a political party.
   4. She abandoned journalism.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   She became a recognizable movement voice.

   The opening identifies her established public role before announcing her death.

   Gloria Steinem, the pioneering journalist and activist who became one of the most recognizable voices of the modern women’s movement, has died at the age of 92.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What social expectation did Steinem resist?

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   1. That women should prioritize private leisure
   2. That women’s ambitions belonged only in private life
   3. That women should avoid domestic responsibilities entirely
   4. That women should enter politics through journalism
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   Answer

   That women’s ambitions belonged only in private life

   The narration explicitly contrasts her work with confinement to domestic roles.

   At a time when women were largely limited to domestic roles, she challenged gender stereotypes and resisted the expectation that women’s identities and ambitions should be confined to the private sphere.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

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   What could no longer be dismissed as merely personal?

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   1. Questions about unequal expectations and social power
   2. Disagreements among journalists over style
   3. Campaigns focused on electoral procedure
   4. Personal decisions unrelated to social structures
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Questions about unequal expectations and social power

   The recording names unequal expectations, restricted choices, and social power.

   Questions about unequal expectations, restricted choices, and social power could no longer be dismissed as merely personal difficulties.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What did mainstream attention make possible?

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   1. Immediate agreement on feminist policy
   2. Wider attention and continuing public disagreement
   3. The end of debate over gender assumptions
   4. A retreat from political action into private life
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   Answer

   Wider attention and continuing public disagreement

   Wider attention also generated sustained disagreement, according to the recording.

   She helped bring the fight for women’s equality from the margins of American life into the mainstream, where it could command wider attention and provoke sustained disagreement.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What did Steinem’s ideals express collectively?

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   1. A rejection of collective political action
   2. A union of solidarity and personal decision-making rights
   3. A preference for private grievances over public debate
   4. A distinction between equality and reproductive freedom
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   Answer

   A union of solidarity and personal decision-making rights

   The ideals combined women’s solidarity with autonomy over consequential decisions.

   Taken together, they expressed a vision of feminism that joined solidarity among women with the right to make consequential decisions about their own lives.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How did Steinem use public storytelling?

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   1. To entertain audiences with personal anecdotes
   2. To investigate stereotypes affecting opportunity
   3. To promote a single political campaign
   4. To separate journalism from activism
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   Answer

   To investigate stereotypes affecting opportunity

   Her journalism examined stereotypes shaping women’s opportunities.

   As a journalist, Steinem used public storytelling to examine the stereotypes shaping women’s opportunities.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What did activism add to Steinem’s journalistic work?

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   1. It transformed concerns into collective demands.
   2. It replaced public storytelling with private reflection.
   3. It limited her work to professional audiences.
   4. It removed structural questions from public debate.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It transformed concerns into collective demands.

   Activism converted examined concerns into collective demands.

   As an activist, she helped translate those concerns into collective demands.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the final paragraph suggest about Steinem’s historical significance?

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   1. Her contribution was symbolic but politically negligible.
   2. Her influence was sustained and affected everyday and national understandings.
   3. Her work mattered only during one political moment.
   4. Her ideas changed journalism without affecting equality.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Her influence was sustained and affected everyday and national understandings.

   Her importance lies in both the duration and scale of her challenge.

   She spent decades challenging entrenched ideas about gender and power, helping alter what equality could mean in everyday life and in national debate.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.