Page 6 - Compass Publishing
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Track 1
In the Name of Beauty
Cosmetics have been used throughout history. The ancient Greeks, the Egyptians,
and the Romans all used various kinds of makeup. Some of these cosmetics were
used to improve one?셲 appearance. Others were used to protect one?셲 skin. However,
in some cases, things used for makeup were dangerous or even deadly!
5 Skin care treatments including perfumes, lotions, and cosmetic masks were used
in ancient Egypt by rich and poor alike. Egyptians also developed some of the earliest
sunscreens. They used oils and creams for protection against the sun and dry winds.
Egyptians, as well as other ancient cultures, used various powders on their skin for
beauty as well. Egyptians used black kohl around their eyes. Romans put white chalk
10 on their faces. And Indians painted red henna on their bodies.
Most of the ancient cosmetics were harmless. However, in the name of beauty, some
people applied dangerous chemicals and poisons to their skin. During the Italian
Renaissance, women wore white powder made of lead on their faces. Of course, doctors
today know lead is like a poison for our bodies. Also around the time of the Renaissance,
15 women in Italy put drops of belladonna in their eyes. These belladonna drops were made
from a plant whose poison affects the nerves in the body. By putting belladonna drops in
her eyes, a woman?셲 pupils would become very large. People thought this
made women more beautiful. Actually, this is where the plant?셲 name
comes from. In Italian, belladonna means ?쐀eautiful woman.?? 20 When Elizabeth I was queen in the late 1500s, some rather
dangerous cosmetics were also being used by women in England.
In particular, women were using special hair dye made with
lead and sulphur. The dye was designed to give people red hair,
the same color as the queen?셲 hair, but over time, the dye
25 made people?셲 hair fall out. Finally, women using this dye
ended up bald, like the queen, and had to wear wigs.
Reading Time _______ minutes _______ seconds 326 words
2 cosmetics: makeup 13 lead: a soft metal (Pb)
9 kohl: a powder made of antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) 15 belladonna: a poisonous plant with black berries
16 nerve: the part of the body that passes
used around the eyes
9 chalk: a soft white limestone composed mostly information to the brain
17 pupil: the hole in the middle of the eye that
of the shells of small marine organisms
10 henna: a red or orange dye made from the can become smaller or larger
22 dye: a liquid for coloring
henna plant 26 wig: an artificial covering for the head that
13 Renaissance: the 1300s through 1500s in
looks like hair
Europe, when great artistic and scientific
achievements were made
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