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 Oprahs 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
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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 someones name for an election or award

f. prize

_____ 7. famous
_____ 8. nominate
_____ 9. author

g. give hope or confidence

h turn TVs (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 Winfreys 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. Roberts parents are going to __________________________ him when he goes to university, so he probably wont 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
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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 Oprahs 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
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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
Oprahs 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 info@esl-library.com for complete details.