High heels

The true price of fashion?...

Do you like shoes? Some people spend a fortune on them - even getting into
debt to get their hands on (or their feet into) the latest pair of designer shoes.
But when it comes to high-heeled shoes, the true cost might affect your health
as well as your bank account. Take a look at our article. While you read, look
out for the answer to this question:

Who were the first high-heeled shoes made for?

We'll bring you some more questions about the article later on. Happy reading!

How high is too high?

Part 1
Many people believe high heels make women look good. So much so, it seems,
that the organisers of the Cannes Film Festival reportedly barred women in flat
shoes from walking the red carpet. But all this glam comes at a cost: wearing
heels over 10cm high can damage your ankles.

Part 2
A study by Hanseo University in South Korea suggests that continuous wearing
exposes women to the risk of strains, and makes them prone to losing their
balance. A total of 40 women who wear high heels at least three times a week
took part in the study. The strength of their ankles was measured regularly:
researchers found that two of the four main muscles became dominant after a
period of between one and three years. This created an imbalance in their feet.

Dr Yong-Seok Jee from Hanseo University said that the habit of wearing heels
can result in deformed feet, back pain and unhealthy walking patterns. He
recommends that women limit the use of these kinds of shoes and exercise
their ankle muscles properly.

Part 3
High heels are considered by some people to be sexy and feminine, but in fact
the fashion started with men's feet. These shoes were a form of riding footwear,
and were seen on the feet of 17th Century Persian soldiers. Elizabeth
Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto says: "When the soldier
stood up in his stirrups, the heel helped him to secure his stance so that he
could shoot his bow and arrow more effectively."

Before becoming a staple of modern women's wardrobes, high heels were

used by Louis XIV of France. These shoes were status symbols. Let's face it –
nothing screams privilege like uncomfortable, luxurious and impractical clothing.
They say the wearer doesn't have to work in fields or walk very far.

What do you think: are high heels a symbol of women's elevation in society - or

should they be booted out of fashion?

This article was based on a BBC News story.

Vocabulary Reference
Session 1
Irregular verbs with three forms:

break, broke, broken

choose, chose, chosen
ring, rang, rung
see, saw, seen
take, took, taken
write, wrote, written

Irregular verbs with two forms:

find, found, found

have, had, had
lose, lost, lost
meet, met, met
say, said, said
tell, told, told

Irregular verbs with one form:

cut, cut, cut

let, let, let
put, put, put
shut, shut, shut

Session 3
glam
(short for glamorous) very attractive and exciting

strains
damage to something that is caused by stretching or pulling it

prone to
if you are prone to something, it often happens to you

dominant
stronger or more powerful than other similar things in the same group

deformed
mis-shapen; with a shape that has not developed correctly

stirrups
the metal parts of a horse's saddle that hang down on each side of the horse
and that the rider's feet rest in

stance
a particular way that a person stands
staple
a main or most important part of something

elevation
a position that is higher than normal

Session 4
charities
organisations that help people by providing food, money or things they need

clothing
clothes

charity shops
shops that sell things, often second-hand things, to make money for charities

textile
material made by people

textile banks
places where textiles are stored

retailed
sold

sorting plant
place where things are organised

garments
clothes

bales
large amounts of things tied together

shipping container
large metal box used for carrying goods on ships and lorries

overseas
abroad, across the sea

recipient
someone or something which receives something

head
go, travel

Grammar Reference
Active and passive

Meaning and use

In English, we can express sentences in two different ways: active
voice and passive voice.
 The active voice is used when the focus is on the subject (or agent) of the
main verb. This is the person or thing doing the verb.

 Millions of people use the internet every day.

 A strong storm destroyed many houses in the village.
 Only six students passed the test.

The passive voice is used when the person or the thing affected by the main
verb becomes the focus.

 The internet is used by millions of people every day.

 Many houses in the village were destroyed by a strong storm.
 The test was passed by only six students.

The passive is often used when the person or thing doing the verb is not
important, unknown, or obvious. In this case, we may leave them
out completely.

 The solution was heated to 100 degrees. (agent is unimportant)

 My bike was stolen last Thursday. (identity of agent is unknown)
 The president was voted into office. (agent is obvious)

Form
The active voice is made with subject + main verb + object.

 Bees make honey.

 James Cameron directed Titanic.
 Alex is repairing Bill's bicycle.

The passive voice is made with subject + to be + past participle + by +

object.

Note that the active voice object becomes the passive voice subject. In
the passive, the main verb is always the past participle.

Positive

 Honey is made by bees.

 Titanic was directed by James Cameron.
 Bill's bicycle is being repaired by Alex.

Negative

We make the negative passive with subject + negative of to be + past

participle + by + object.

 Honey is not made by wasps.

 Titanic wasn’t directed by George Lucas.
 Bill's bicycle is not being repaired by Alex.

Question
 Is honey made by bees?
 Was Titanic directed by James Cameron?
 Is Bill's bicycle being repaired by Alex?

Take note: describing a process

We can use the passive voice to describe processes in which the action is

more important than the person performing it.

 The metal sheeting was heated and bent into shape before

being cooled, polished, and finally painted.

Spoken English

When using the passive voice, get is sometimes used in place of the verb to
be. This is especially common in informal, spoken English.

 I got fired for being late!

 These letters get delivered first.
 Your bike will get stolen if you don’t lock it up.