The show was a great success. In a very short time，the managers and Oprah all knew what she was born to do. She was funny，witty，charming，warm，and compassionate. She was everything a talk show host should be. She was so successful that she got a show with a bigger station in Chicago. It was called A. M. Chicago. Within one month the show’s ratings were the best in years. Twice she left the show to make movies，The Color Purple and Native Son. In 1985 the show was changed to The Oprah Winfrey Show. It was broadcast nationally and soon became the most popular talk show on television . By the age of 35，Oprah Winfrey was one of the most famous celebrities in America.
逆风飞扬
特 里
奥普拉·温弗瑞是美国最令人激动的、薪水最高的和最受喜爱的知名人士之一，她还是美国顶级脱口秀节目主持人、非常优秀的女演员和成功的制片人。（要问）才华、勤奋和决心能成就什么，她就是一个鲜活的例子。
奥普拉·温弗瑞来自遥远的密西西比一个小镇贫穷的家庭。她是父母的非婚生子，在外婆的农场里长大成人，发财和成名的可能性都非常之小。
奥普拉·温弗瑞的妈妈把自己的孩子交给妈妈看管，这样，她就能去威斯康星的米尔瓦基工作。生活对奥普拉·温弗瑞来说既严格又艰难，但这引领她走向了属于她的未来。她是个非常聪明的孩子。三岁时，已经学会了读书认字，并第一次在舞台上公开演出。奥普拉·温弗瑞在教堂的讲话，给人们留下了很好的印象，人们都说她“这孩子很有天赋”。
奥普拉·温弗瑞的聪明遭到了同龄孩子的嫉恨。他们辱骂她，排斥她。奥普拉·温弗瑞感到孤独无助。不能和爸爸妈妈住在一起使她心情更糟，她感到没人喜欢她。这一切造就了她愤怒、怨恨和反叛的性格。随着年龄的增长，这给她带来了很多麻烦。她经常不守规矩，招来外婆的惩罚。七岁时，外婆再也管不了她了。后来，奥普拉就去和在米尔瓦基的妈妈——沃尼塔一起生活。
给人做女管家，沃尼塔干得非常卖力。既要工作又要照顾她那聪明而又常惹事生非的孩子使她很作难，奥普拉也感觉到自己是妈妈的负担。她们住在市里的一个小公寓里，日子过得很清贫。奥普拉将所有的火气都发到了妈妈的身上，孩子成了沃尼塔的一大麻烦。奥普拉八岁时，妈妈把她送到了田纳西州的那斯维尔（Nashville）的生父和继母那里。后来，沃尼塔又和一个带有两个孩子的男人结了婚，又把奥普拉接了回来，因为沃尼塔想要奥普拉与她和她的新家在一起。
不幸的是，奥普拉感到自己不属于这个家，她觉得谁也不爱她。她的愤恨与挫折感越发强烈，就用不守规矩和离家出走来进行反击。她的爸爸妈妈觉得无望管教好他们的女儿，14岁那年试图把她送到麻烦女孩的特别中心。但那里已经没有地方了，于是沃尼塔又把她送到她爸爸那里去。佛蒙·温弗瑞当时已经再婚，并且是一位成功的商人。他观察了他的女儿，了解到她需要引导、爱和管教。她需要的，他都给予了，这成了奥普拉人生的转折点。佛蒙·温弗瑞对女儿的教育要求非常严格，除学校的作业外，他还给她布置家庭作业，一天只允许她看一个小时的电视。奥普拉成了班上最优秀的学生，成了班里受欢迎的女孩。
奥普拉看到了著名的新闻记者和采访人芭芭拉·瓦尔特丝，决心成为像她那样的人。上高中时，就兼职在广播电台播新闻。高年级时，她在一次选美大赛中胜出，赢取了田纳西州立大学四年的助学金。到了大学时期，她在当地一家电视台播报新闻。她是那斯维尔市获取这种工作的第一位女性和第一位美国黑人。大学四年级时，奥普拉晋升为新闻播报负责人，这是新闻组最重要的位置。
大学毕业后，奥普拉在巴尔的摩电视台谋得工作。她很快不满足于播报新闻，想要充分展示自己的个性，满怀激情的讲述而非简单地播送。与此同时，电视台的经理也在琢磨这个问题。他们无法阻拦她播送新闻时的评论。他们将她调离新闻负责人的职位，但不知道她干什么好。最后安排她主持早晨脱口秀——《大家谈》，没人知道结果会是什么。
节目取得了极大的成功！经理认为奥普拉天生就是干这个的，奥普拉也这么认为。风趣、机智、热情、魅力四射、富有同情心，她具有了脱口秀主持人所应具备的全部素质。她非常成功，在芝加哥一家更大的电视台主持脱口秀——《早安芝加哥》。一个月内这档节目的收视率就创下了历年的新高。她第二次离开脱口秀主持人位置，转而去拍电影《紫色与本土人》。1985年，她主持的节目更名为《奥普拉秀》，在全美国播放，《奥普拉秀》一跃成为最富人气的电视脱口秀。到了奥普拉·温弗瑞35岁时，她成了是全美国知名度最高的人士之一。
实战提升篇
核心单词
possibility [7pCsi5biliti] n. 可能性；可能的事
intelligent [in5telidVEnt] adj. 有才智的；聪明的；明智的
isolated [5aisEleitid] adj. (被)孤立的，(被)分离的，(被)隔离的
behave [bi5heiv] v. 表现，行为举止
stepmother [5step7mQTE] n. 继母，后母
frustration [frQs5treiFEn] n. 挫折，失败，挫败
remove [ri5mu：v] v. 移动，搬开；调动
witty [5witi] adj. 机智的；诙谐
实用句型
She was so successful that she got a show with a bigger station in Chicago.
她非常成功，在芝加哥更大的一家电视台主持脱口秀。
①so...that在这里引导结果状语从句。
②successful成功的，-ful这个形容词后缀表示“富有……的”，“充满……的”类似的词还有powerful有力的，peaceful和平的；helpful有帮助的；forgetful易忘的等。
翻译行不行
1.这些问题你应该在可行性的报告中提出。（bring up）
2.约翰医生强调不仅要改变饮食还要锻炼身体。（in addition to）
3.他的残忍与犯罪仅距一步之遥。（remove from）
第一章 If the Dream Is Big Enough
·Jack Gates ·
I used to watch her from my kitchen window； she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children，and yet to me，she stood out from them all.
I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.
I began to notice her at other times，basketball in hand，playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again，sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said，“I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough，I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough，the facts don’t count. ”Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again.
Well，I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week，she led her varsity team to victory.
One day in her senior year，I saw her sitting in the grass，head cradled in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong.“Oh，nothing，”came a soft reply，“I am just too short. ”The coach told her that at 5. 5，she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team much less offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college.
She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet.
