Reading. Semester 2

Read the text and tick only true sentences.

Millions of Americans and people in other countries watched the Oprah Winfrey Show every day. Oprah is a very successful talk-show host, who has come a long way from her grandma’s farm without running water to the most influential woman in America.

Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. Oprah’s mother was an unwed teenage girl and named her after a Bible character “Orpah” from the Book of Ruth. However, her name was misspelled “Oprah” on the birth certificate and she has been called Oprah ever since.

As a toddler, the girl was left to live with her grandma on a farm. Her life was hard and she had many difficult chores. The little girl learned to read when she was only 3. At the age of 6 she went to live with her mother but was abused and mistreated there. Later, at the age of 14, Oprah was sent to live with her father, who greatly encouraged the daughter to read and study.

Since the time Oprah was a small child growing up with her grandmother, she was a gifted speaker. She often spoke at church, at women’s groups, and at school. When she was in high school, she won a speech contest and earned a full scholarship to college. She entered Tennessee State University and graduated with honour as an excellent student. In 1971, Oprah was encouraged to enter beauty contest and won first place. Then in her interview the girl mentioned that her

passion was to be a journalist, so right after the show she was offered a job as a newsreader on the local radio. She became the first female African-American news anchor in Nashville history.

She was only nineteen, but she knew then that her future was going to be in radio and TV.

In 1976, Oprah moved to a TV station in Baltimore, Maryland to work as a news presenter, but things were not working out very well. She was moved to a TV talk show called People are Talking. The first day on the job, Oprah knew she had found her calling. She said it was “like breathing.” Soon her show became very popular. She was then hired to host a morning TV show in Chicago called A.M. Chicago, which was last in the ratings. However, in just a few months, it had taken over first place. A few years later, in 1986, the show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and was broadcast all over the country.

Her “Oprah’s Book Club” made many people want to read more and many unknown authors very famous.

Although the show does not go on air anymore, Oprah still has a lot of power. She owns different talk shows, makes movies and programs for TV and the Internet, and runs her own magazine. Oprah has always been extremely encouraging personality and a role model for those being in difficulty and despair. With her story, she proved to be a living example of the American Dream.

Oprah gives a lot of money for charity; many of her projects are about women and

children. She once said: “I don’t think of myself as a poor, deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew she was responsible for herself – and I had to make good.” 

 Read the text and tick only true sentences.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22.

The event is held worldwide to celebrate support for protection of the environment. The first Earth Day actually consisted of two separate celebrations in 1970, one on March 21st and the other on April 22nd. Earth Day 1970 gave a voice to that appearing consciousness and put environmental concerns on the front page. It became the day when we celebrate nature, raise awareness about environmental issues, learn of ways to lighten our footprint on the planet, and send a message to the rest of the world that we care about our environment.

On April 22, 1990, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day celebrations across the globe. Today, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the destructive effects of climate change become clearer every day. It is absolutely critical that we take care of the Earth and its natural resources.

Earth Day is a great time to reflect. Are the decisions you make day-to-day in line with how you really want to live your life? If not, what steps will you take to make the two balance?

There are many things you can do to help the environment; which will you focus on for the next year? Reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Reducing nutrient or sediment runoff on your property? Participating in a citizen-science, conservation-minded project? Ask yourself which of your strengths you can use to help those around you make environmentally sound decisions.

Which issues do you know less about? Decide on important local or global issues you would like to learn more about and go for it. You may be a persuasive leader who can provide that little extra push that we often need, or you may be an introvert who can be successfully led by example. Use this day to commit to changes that will make a difference for the whole year.