Famous People Oprah Winfrey Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀ Oprah Winfrey 1. What is a talk-show? 2. Have you ever seen the Oprah Winfrey Show? Oprah Winfrey is a very successful talk-show host. Millions of Americans and millions of people in other countries watched the Oprah Winfrey Show every day. The show ran for 25 seasons. On May 25, 2011, millions of people tuned in to watch the last Oprah show. Oprah asked her viewers to follow their dreams. 3. Why do you think Oprah Winfrey is so famous? Oprah was born in Mississippi in 1954. She lived with her grandmother on a farm until she was about 6 years old. She could read when she was 3. She then went to live with her mother, but she was mistreated and abused. When she was 13, she went to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. She loved to read and her father encouraged her. In 1971, Oprah went to Tennessee State University. She was also hired by a local radio station and TV station to read the news. After she finished college, she moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1976 to be the host of a TV talk show. She was very good at it. Eight years later, she moved to Chicago to host another TV talk show called A.M. Chicago. The show was not doing well, but after she came, people loved the show and they loved her especially. The show was so popular that, in 1986, it became the Oprah Winfrey Show. She was now famous and had the chance to act in movies. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1985 for her role in the movie The Color Purple. The Oprah Show was one of the most popular shows on TV for many years. One part of her show, called “Oprah’s Book Club,” made many people want to read more books. It also made many unknown authors very famous. Oprah now has a lot of power. She owns her own network, she makes movies and programs for TV and the Internet, and she has her own magazine called O: The Oprah Magazine. Many of her projects are about women and children. COMPREHENSION ✍ A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F. If it is false, correct the information. 1. As a child, Oprah Winfrey lived in several different homes. 2. She had a happy life when she lived with her mother. Oprah is also one of the richest women in the world. She gives money to support many things. One of her special projects is keeping children safe from abuse. She has won many awards for her work. 3. Oprah worked as a news announcer before she became a talk-show host. 4. Her show was only broadcast in the United States. 5. Oprah won an Academy Award for her TV show. 1 Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details. Famous People Oprah Winfrey B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences. 1. When and where was Oprah Winfrey born? 2. What kind of a childhood did Oprah have? 3. What kind of work did she do when she was in Tennessee? 4. What was the name of the show that later became the Oprah Winfrey Show? 5. Why does Oprah Winfrey have a lot of power? 6. How has Oprah helped many unknown authors? 7. What kind of projects does Oprah like to support? VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍ A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right. _____ 1. host a. employ, give someone a job _____ 2. abuse _____ 3. encourage _____ 4. hire b. plan or activity c. liked by many people d. help, give money to _____ 5. local _____ 6. popular e. suggest someone’s name for an election or award f. prize _____ 7. famous _____ 8. nominate _____ 9. author g. give hope or confidence h turn TV’s (or radios) on to a certain channel i. mistreat, be cruel _____ 10. support _____ 11. award j. known by many people k. person who entertains guests _____ 12. project _____13. tune in l. writer m. in the area B. Choose the correct word(s) from the left column above to complete the following sentences. DISCUSS 1. Do you watch talk-shows? If so, which ones do you watch? 2. What characteristics should a good talk-show host have? 3. Do you like to read? If so, what kind of books do you like? 4. Oprah Winfrey’s production company is called Harpo Productions. Where do you think this name came from? 5. Have you ever seen or heard of the movie The Color Purple? What is it about? 6. Why do you think Oprah supports many projects for women and children? 1. Mary loves to write stories and hopes to be a famous __________________________ one day. 2. Ben goes to a __________________________ university, so he can live at home. 3. Robert’s parents are going to __________________________ him when he goes to university, so he probably won’t have to find a part-time job. 4. Pat has a little difficulty in school, but her parents always __________________________ her to work hard and keep trying to do her best. 5. If parents __________________________ their children, the government may decide to remove the children from the home. 6. If you are looking for a job, you should apply to the new restaurant in town. They are planning to __________________________ twenty employees this month. 2 Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details. Famous People Oprah Winfrey ANSWER KEY Please note: The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4). PRE-READING QUESTIONS 1-3. Individual answer READING COMPREHENSION A. True or False 1. T 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. F B. Written Answers 1. Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi in 1954. 2. Oprah had a difficult childhood. She moved around quite a bit and was abused by her mother. 3. When she was in Tennessee, Oprah worked for local radio and television stations, reading the news. 4. The show was first called A.M. Chicago. 5. Oprah has a lot of power because she now owns her TV talk show, makes movies and programs for TV and the internet and has her own magazine. 6. Oprah has made many authors famous because of a segment on her television show called “Oprah’s Book Club”. 7. Oprah likes to support projects that help keep children safe from abuse. VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT A. Matching 1. k 2. i 3. g 4. a 5. m 6. c 8. e 9. l 10. d 11. f 12. b 13. h 7. j B. Complete the sentences 1. author 2. local 3. support 4. encourage 5. abuse 3 Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details. 6. hire Famous People Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey is a very successful talk-show host. Millions of Americans and millions of people in other countries watched the Oprah Winfrey Show every day. The show ran for 25 seasons. On May 25, 2011, millions of people tuned in to watch the last Oprah show. Oprah asked her viewers to follow their dreams. Oprah was born in Mississippi in 1954. She lived with her grandmother on a farm until she was about 6 years old. She could read when she was 3. She then went to live with her mother, but she was mistreated and abused. When she was 13, she went to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. She loved to read and her father encouraged her. In 1971, Oprah went to Tennessee State University. She was also hired by a local radio station and TV station to read the news. After she finished college, she moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1976 to be the host of a TV talk show. She was very good at it. Eight years later, she moved to Chicago to host another TV talk show called A.M. Chicago. The show was not doing well, but after she came, people loved the show and they loved her especially. The show was so popular that, in 1986, it became the Oprah Winfrey Show. She was now famous and had the chance to act in movies. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1985 for her role in the movie The Color Purple. The Oprah Show was one of the most popular shows on TV for many years. One part of her show, called “Oprah’s Book Club,” made many people want to read more books. It also made many unknown authors very famous. Oprah now has a lot of power. She owns her own network, she makes movies and programs for TV and the Internet, and she has her own magazine called O: The Oprah Magazine. Many of her projects are about women and children. Oprah is also one of the richest women in the world. She gives money to support many things. One of her special projects is keeping children safe from abuse. She has won many awards for her work. 4 Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.
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