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Heels

Date: Jul 17 2007

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Whose idea was it to make high heel shoes? Wearing them can be pretty painful, and even dangerous. It’s hard to walk in them sometimes and you can call.

But, oh, they look so good! There’s nothing like a pair of high heel shoes to make a lady’s strut look confident and powerful. Listen to Marni and Amanda discuss the joys and dangers of heels.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Amanda

Marni

Amanda: So I’m rather short, or shorter, petite. I’m under 5’4”.

Marni: I’m 5’2”, I know.

Amanda: Oh, I thought we were the same height or you were taller, interesting.

Marni: Maybe it’s all those heels you wear.

Amanda: Maybe. I feel like I have to wear heels because I feel short, petite. Which is ridiculous because there’s that fad of wearing flats now which I so love but for whatever reason my insecurity of being shorter, I will put on the three-, four-, five-inch heels at work just to kind of compete or be at the same level as some of the taller women.

Marni: I love the heels. I love the way they look. But after a few hours in them I just want to chop my feet off.

Amanda: Well it’s amazing. Guys don’t even realize. Two hours you can go and then you’re feet are bleeding.

Marni: Yeah, it’s not good.

Amanda: But they do real wonders for the calves when you’re walking down the street, but I don’t know if that’s worth it.

Marni: But, man, they sure…You’re in the store and you’re like, “Those look so pretty. I want those.”

Amanda: Yeah, I know.

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Discussion

Amanda says that she’s relatively short, less than five feet and four inches tall. Marni says she’s even shorter. Amanda is surprised because she thought they were the same height. Marni suggests that perhaps she thought that because of all the high heels she wears. This doesn’t really make sense because it would make the taller of the two of them even taller. But no matter, Amanda and Marni start discussing high heels.

Even though it’s becoming fashionable to wear flat-soled shoes too, Amanda wears high heels to work so that she can seem as tall as some of the other women there. Marni notes how painful it can be to wear heels for any extended period of time and Amanda agrees, adding that men don’t realize how hard on the feet heels can be.

But Amanda also says that walking in heels strengthens her calves and Marni says that she always sees pretty heels in stores and wants to buy them.

Do you wear heels? Have you ever seen a man try on some heels? Could he walk any better than the model in the video?