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Most shoes have an interesting tale to tell. 14 th Century shoes had long, comically pointed toes and were all the rage (fashion), until the king issued a decree (law) that commoners wear shoes with toes no longer than 15 cm, gentlemen wear shoes with toes no longer than 30 cm and nobility wear shoes with toes no longer than 60 cm. In 17 th Century France, aristocrats wore red heels. In the 1600’s wealthy Venetian men and women wore platform shoes. Sometimes the platform was so high that the wearer had to have the assistance of two servants in order to balance!

Also displayed is a pair of beautifully embroidered silk slippers, just 8 – 15 cm long, an example of foot mutilation. Slippers such as these were worn by women whose feet were crippled by the Chinese custom of foot binding.

Celebrity footwear is displayed along with photographs of the wearers; Robert Redford’s cowboy boots; Marilyn Monroe’s saucy red stilettos; Elton John’s rhinestone-studded platform shoes; Ghandi’s black pumps and those belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales. Even Madonna’s pink platform pumps!

Sonia Bata is passionate about shoes and has promised never to stop collecting them.

(Revised from an article in Reader’s Digest , by A Frampton – August 2001)

Read the extract well before attempting to answer the questions that follow IN FULL SENTENCES.

  1. Who is the lady who married the “shoe man”?

____________(1)

  1. What is so remarkable about her shoe collection?

___________________________________________________ (1)

  1. Where is this collection stored?

________________________________________________(1)

  1. Complete the sentence: Primitive foot wrappings were

made from ________ (2)

  1. What did the Iceman use to insulate his shoe?

_____________________________________________ (1)

Review the article and think carefully before answering the following questions (You may use a dictionary):

  1. Why would the Iceman need to have insulation in his shoe?

__________ (1)

  1. Why do you think the building, which houses the collection, is an appropriate shape?

___________ (1)

  1. Why would you not want to be a Chinese girl wearing the Chinese shoe?

___________ (2)

  1. In Venice, how would you be able to tell whether someone was a commoner?

____________ (2)

  1. In Vienna, the gentlemen wearing platform shoes needed two servants. Why? ___________ (2)
  2. WWhat is meant by “the museum is ‘wacky’”?____________ ___________________ (1)
  3. WWhat kind of shoe did Marilyn Monroe wear?

___________________ (1)

  1. FFind a word in the passage which has the same meaning as:
  1. aid / help _____________
  2. pictures _____________ (2)

(c) protection from the cold _________________

(d) proof ____________ (2)

SOMETHING TO PONDER!

How would you walk if your shoes had toes 60 cm in length?

Measure the length of an adult’s foot and compare it to a foot of between 8 - 15 cm in length.

Assessment

LO 3

READING AND VIEWING The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and to respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.

We know this when the learner:

3.6 reads for pleasure:

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Source:  OpenStax, English first additional language grade 5. OpenStax CNX. Sep 22, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10992/1.2
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