It has always been considered rude to ask a lady her age. But it seems it's also a step too far to inquire of her shoe size.
Women are becoming increasingly touchy about the length of their feet. Many are embarrassed because they think having large feet is masculine.
The result is that half of women fib to their friends and partners about the size of their shoes.
Women's feet have increased by an average size from a 4½ in 1990 to a six in 2011,according to a report.
And 82 percent of those with size eight or nine feet say their large footprint makes them feel particularly ashamed.
This could be because it puts them on a par with men - the average British male is a size nine.
Women said the worst thing was shoe shopping. Almost two thirds hated asking sales assistants for help. A further third were uncomfortabletaking their shoes off in public.
Debenhams, which carried out the report, said: "Buying shoes online can be a tricky feat which is why we decided to ask women shopping behind closed doors."


据英国《每日邮报》8月4日报道，询问女性年龄通常被认为是种冒犯，而询问其鞋子码数似乎也只离雷池一步之遥。

女性越来越在意自己脚的大小。很多人会因为有一双大脚而感到尴尬，因为在她们看来，脚大没有女人味。

正因为这个原因，有一半女性会对自己的朋友和另一半撒谎，隐瞒其真实鞋码数。

据一项报告显示，女性的平均脚码从1990年的4.5码增长到2011年的6码。
鞋号为8或9码的女性中，有82%表示自己的大脚印让她们感到特别羞愧。

这或许是因为大脚会让她们觉得自己与男人没什么差别，英国男性的平均脚长为9码。

女性称，最糟糕的事莫过于买鞋。近2/3的女性讨厌向售货员求助。还有1/3的女性会对当众脱鞋感到不适。

发布此项报告的英国德本汉姆公司称："在网上买鞋或许是个不错的技巧，这也是我们建议女士们'关起门来'买鞋的原因。"

• uncomfortable [ʌn´kʌmftəbəl] a.不舒服的，不自在的 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• increasingly [in´kri:siŋli] ad.日益，愈加 (英语四级单词)
• footprint [´fut,print] n.脚印，足迹 (英语六级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)