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Historical stories are similar to narrative however, they mix fact and (sometimes) fiction. A historical story or program is where a story is told about a past event that has happened.
As this often involves memory, interviews and piecing together a variety of sources, the full 'truth' of the matter is not confirmed, rather the story is told from a perspective which can be a mix of fact and fiction.
It is different from autobiographies, as autobiographies are written from the perspective of the individual recounting 'factual' events, historical stories are written by someone other than the person in question. It's written by a third party, just as if they were narrating a story.
Because of this mix, the types of questions that are present in these texts are:
Let's look at these types of questions in the examples below. We'll also put into practice the approach to answering questions too learnt in previous checkpoints.
Watch video for explanation of the following question/s:
Coco Chanel
Throughout the 1920s, Chanel's social and professional progress continued, and her eminence as a fashion designer grew to the status of legend. Her growing fame made her one of the "in crowd." She befriended Stravinsky, Picasso and other members of Paris' exclusive art clique, and she designed costumes for Russian ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev and French filmmaker Jean Cocteau. (Known for her generosity to her friends, Chanel paid for Diaghilev's funeral when he died penniless in Venice.)
During this time, Chanel experimented with many different styles, including Gypsy skirts, over-the-top faux jewelry and glittering eveningwear made of crystal and jet beads. It was also during the '20s that Chanel introduced the product that would ensure her immortality. After the death of Chapel, Chanel became the mistress of Russian Grand Duke Dmitri. Through him, she met Ernest Beaux, a perfumer whose father had worked for the Czar. Beaux was working on an essence for French perfume maker Francois Coty. According to legend, after sampling the scent, Chanel made a few suggestions, then convinced Beaux to give it to her.
In 1924, she released it as Chanel No. 5-the first perfume ever to bear a designer's name. Boldly advertised as "A very improper perfume for nicely brought-up ladies," the dark, leathery, distinctly masculine blend in its Art Deco bottle proved to be liquid gold.
Source: Entrepreneur.com
What item ensured that the Chanel brand would live forever?
A Gypsy skirts
B Chanel bateau hats
C The original scent by Ernest Beaux.
D Chanel No. 5
What does the "in crowd" refer to?
A the artists and musicians of the time.
B the elite social group at the time.
C rich people.
D famous musicians, singers and dancers.
The words “liquid gold” is intended to mean that:
A the perfume looked like gold, if gold were to be melted.
B it was a tradable commodity.
C the perfume itself contained specks of gold.
D it was valuable.
The attitude of the writer of this piece towards Coco Chanel is that of:
A admiration.
B astonishment.
C fondness.
D infatuation.
Now, it's your turn to practice.
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Every question has two solutions videos after you complete the question. The first is a quick 60 second video that shows you how our expert answers the question quickly. The second video is a more in-depth 5-steps or less explainer video that shows you the steps to take to answer the question. It's really important that you review the second video because that's where you'll learn additional tips and tricks.
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