Famous People Sam Walton Sam Walton Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀ 1. Do you shop at Wal-Mart? If so, what do you like about it? Sam Walton started Wal-Mart, a chain of stores that is now the largest in the world. Walton was born on March 29, 1918, in rural Oklahoma. His father farmed but, in 1923, he moved the family to Missouri to work as a mortgage man. As a boy, Walton was the youngest Eagle Scout in America. In high school, he played sports, was an honor student, and sold milk and newspapers to make extra money for his family. He worked all through college, where he studied economics. After graduating, he If not, why don’t you shop there? 2. Do you know when and where Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store? 3. What is the meaning of a chain of stores? Besides WalMart, give several other examples. 4. Have you ever heard of a “five and dime store”? What do you think it means? 5. How many Wal-Mart stores do you think there are worldwide? worked in a store and a munitions plant, before serving in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. After the war, he managed a five-and-dime store and, by 1962, he had 15 stores in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. He also introduced some new business practices. He bought large quantities of goods at low prices and then sold them at lower prices than other stores. He put stores where people could get to them easily, kept them open longer, especially at Christmas, and offered his managers part of the store’s profits to gain their loyalty. In 1962, he used these ideas when he and his brother opened the first Wal-Mart store, in Rogers, Arkansas. He also put check-out tills near exits so customers could buy everything at once and, in 1966, began using computers to run his business. To keep his prices low, he had to sell more. To do this, he opened a chain of Wal-Marts across rural America and always supported local charities, which made his COMPREHENSION ✍ stores very popular. 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. By 1985, Walton was the richest man in the United States. When he died on April 6, 1992, the company went to his wife and four 1. Sam Walton was a poor student. children. In 1998, he was named one of the 20th century’s most important people and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 2. Sam Walton tried many new ideas in his stores. Wal-Mart is often criticized for putting small-town retailers out of business, but this has not stopped its growth. Today, there are more than 4,500 Wal-Marts (some of them in other countries), which 4. Small-town stores were always happy when Wal-Mart employ at least 1.5 million people. 3. Sam Walton was a generous person. opened in their towns. 5. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer. 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-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details. Famous People Sam Walton B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences. 1. Why did the Walton family move from Oklahoma to Missouri? 2. How did Sam Walton help out his family when he was a teenager? 3. What did Walton do when he finished college? 4. What new practices did Walton introduce in his stores to make his customers happy? 5. Why did Walton decide to open a chain of stores across rural America? DISCUSS 6. Who inherited the Wal-Mart stores when Sam Walton died? 1. What kind of a person do you think 7. Why is Wal-Mart often criticized? Sam Walton was? Give several adjectives to describe him and examples VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍ from the story to support your opinion. A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right. 2. Why do you think Wal-Mart became such a successful retail chain? _____ 1. rural _____ 2. graduate _____ 3. practices a) methods b) in the area c) hire, give work to 3. Why do you think so many smalltown retailers went out of business _____ 4. quantities _____ 5. profits d) complete school or university e) seller when Wal-Mart opened in their towns? What can small retailers do to compete with big chains like Wal-Mart? _____ 6. local _____ 7. charities _____ 8. criticize f) in or of the country g) amounts h) organizations that help children, poor people, sick people, etc. 4. What kind of stores do you like to shop in? Is price most important to you _____ 9. retailer _____ 10. employ i) give a bad opinion; find fault with j) money gained in business or do you care more about good customer service? B. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words in the following sentences. 1. Sam Walton’s father moved the family to Missouri to work as a mortgage man. a) farmer b) teacher c) person who gives loans to people to buy houses 2. As a child, Sam Walton was the youngest Eagle Scout in America. a) pilot b) member of a particular organization of boys c) newspaper seller 3. In high school, Sam Walton was an honor student. a) poor student b) very good student c) teacher’s assistant 4. Before serving in the army, Sam Walton worked in a munitions plant. a) factory that makes weapons b) flower store c) farm 5. Walton put the check-out tills in his stores near the exits so the customers could buy everything at once. a) sales people b) bags c) cash registers 6. He offered his store managers part of the store’s profits to gain their loyalty. a) make them work hard b) make them trust him and be faithful to him c) get their money 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-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details. Famous People Sam Walton 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 1-5. Individual answers & 2. Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962. 3. A chain of stores refers to a number of retail stores under the same ownership and dealing in the same merchandise. 4. A five and dime store was a common nickname in the United States for five-and-ten-cent stores (also called 5 and 10s), popular in the early to mid-20th century. These stores sold a wide variety of inexpensive items. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS A. True or False 1. F 2. T 3. T 4. F 5. T B. Written Answers 1. The Waltons moved from Oklahoma to Missouri so Sam Walton’s father could work as a mortgage man. 2. As a teenager, Sam Walton helped his family by selling milk and newspapers for extra money. 3. When he finished college, Walton worked in a store and a munitions plant before serving in the army from 1943 to 1945. 4. Walton bought large quantities of goods at low prices and sold them at lower prices than other stores; he put stores where people could get to them easily, kept them open longer, and offered his managers part of the store’s profits to gain their loyalty. He also placed check-out tills near exits so customers could buy everything at once. 5. Walton decided to open a chain of stores across rural America to sell more so that he could continue to keep his prices low. 6. When Walton died, the company went to his wife and four children. 7. Wal-Mart is often criticized for putting small-town retailers out of business. VOCABULARY REVIEW A. Choose the correct meaning 1. f 2. d 3. a 9. e 4. g 5. j 6. b 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. h 10. c B. Matching 1. c 2. b 3. b 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-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details. 8. i Famous People Sam Walton Sam Walton Sam Walton started Wal-Mart, a chain of stores that is now the largest in the world. Walton was born on March 29, 1918, in rural Oklahoma. His father farmed but, in 1923, he moved the family to Missouri to work as a mortgage man. As a boy, Walton was the youngest Eagle Scout in America. In high school, he played sports, was an honor student, and sold milk and newspapers to make extra money for his family. He worked all through college, where he studied economics. After graduating, he worked in a store and a munitions plant, before serving in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. After the war, he managed a five-and-dime store and, by 1962, he had 15 stores in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. He also introduced some new business practices. He bought large quantities of goods at low prices and then sold them at lower prices than other stores. He put stores where people could get to them easily, kept them open longer, especially at Christmas, and offered his managers part of the store’s profits to gain their loyalty. In 1962, he used these ideas when he and his brother opened the first Wal-Mart store, in Rogers, Arkansas. He also put check-out tills near exits so customers could buy everything at once and, in 1966, began using computers to run his business. To keep his prices low, he had to sell more. To do this, he opened a chain of Wal-Marts across rural America and always supported local charities, which made his stores very popular. By 1985, Walton was the richest man in the United States. When he died on April 6, 1992, the company went to his wife and four children. In 1998, he was named one of the 20th century’s most important people and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Wal-Mart is often criticized for putting small-town retailers out of business, but this has not stopped its growth. Today, there are more than 4,500 Wal-Marts (some of them in other countries), which employ at least 1.5 million people. 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-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.