Listening exercise
New York Times video: Women at Arms
A record number of women are coming home from war with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Four years after leaving Iraq, Shalimar Bien explains her continuing struggle.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/31/us/1247465449453/women-at-arms.html

Vocabulary:
to have no idea
how good they have it
to take for granted
everyday things
Shalimar Bien
war veteran
post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
to spend her days
to distract oneself
college courses
to lose her temper
unsuspecting
Arab cashier
was enough to
to set her off
to get smart with s.o.
to trigger
to come across the desk
partner
to drag
"something snapped in me"
to be on the receiving end of
sleepwalk
to be up
not to realize you're doing s.t.
to kick
to punch
Iraq (note pronunciation)
for the most part
society
the road home
to take on a role
female vets
psychological wound
the hardest part
to feel ashamed about
guilty
aren't supposed to
to get aggressive with
spouse
to hurt
to tend to
to not come in
National Guard
brigade surgeon
unit
medic
to be exposed to
mortar attack
risk
roadside bombs
violence
suicide car bomber
convoy
to come begging for
accidentally
chaos 		Coalition
raid
gate
to scream in pain
third-degree burns
to be in pain
boiling hot water
dumped
and stuff like that
soldiers
Iraqis
to be trained to
to treat
injuries
resources
not enough to go around
unfortunately
to struggle with
to receive the recognition they deserve
to see combat
conception
designated
front line
post
secure
veterans
Afghanistan
to be diagnosed with
VA hospital
Tampa, Florida
to project
to double in the next...years
to serve as
Vietnam War
to acknowledge
typically
built for
occupational therapy (OT)
shoulder
injuries
vest
weight
Dr. Gibson
to figure out
combination
psychological therapy
majority
emotionally engaged
to feel comfortable Ving
to share emotions
to reconcile
the...she once was...
to put up with a lot of crap
to go through changes
nightmares
never-ending cycle

Listening comprehension questions:
1. What is, and what causes, PTSD?
2. Why does Shalimar try to "distract herself"?
3. Why did an Arab cashier set off Shalimar's temper?
4. What is Shalimar's fiancé's experience of Shalimar's PTSD?
5. What is the "Coalition"?
6. How did the children referred to in this video get burned?
7. Why weren't Shalimar and her colleagues able to help all of them?
8. Give two reasons why less attention has been paid to women with PTSD.
9. What kind of medical care, for what problems, is Shalimar now receiving from the VA in Tampa, Florida?
10. How do you feel about women in the military engaging in active combat duty? Does it go against the nature of women, or do you think women should be able to do almost anything men can do?

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