The Big O

  When Oprah talks, people listen. Known as the queen of daytime television, Oprah Winfrey has captured the hearts of millions of people all over the world. Oprah was born in a small town in Mississippi on January 29, 1954. Taught to read by her grandmother, she was already making speeches at the age of three. She got her big break in Chicago in 1985 when she was asked to host her own one-hour talk show1 from Monday to Friday, called "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

  Broadcasting2 was in Oprah's blood, so her talk show rose to number one in less than a year. Not surprisingly, the show has remained the most popular talk show for 23 straight seasons. Oprah did not limit herself just to talking. She also made her mark in acting. She received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations3 for her character Sofia in Steven Spielberg's film "The Color Purple." Through her love of acting and quality entertainment4, Oprah started her own production5 company Harpo Studios6 in 1986. Two years later, Oprah bought the rights of her show, making her the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show.




  歐普拉一開口,人們便專注傾聽。歐普拉‧溫佛瑞不但以日間電視節目女王的頭銜著稱,她更深深擄獲了全世界數百萬人的心。歐普拉於1954年一月二十九日出生在密西西比州的一個小鎮上。她自幼是由祖母教她讀書識字,而且年僅三歲便已經在發表演說了。1985年,她在芝加哥得到一個嶄露頭角的機會,當時她受邀主持一個週一到週五、每集一小時的脫口秀節目,名稱就叫做《歐普拉秀》。

  歐普拉的身上流著電視廣播人的血,所以她的脫口秀在不到一年的時間內就登上第一名寶座。毫無意外地,此節目連續二十三季都一直是最受歡迎的脫口秀。歐普拉並不把自己侷限在脫口秀的框框裡。她在演戲方面也大有成就。她在導演史蒂芬史匹柏的電影《紫色姊妹花》裡飾演了蘇菲亞一角,因而獲得了奧斯卡和金球獎提名。憑藉著她對演戲和優質娛樂節目的熱愛,歐普拉於1986年創辦了自己的製作公司Harpo Studios。兩年後,歐普拉買下了自己節目的所有權,使得她成為史上第一位擁有並自行製作個人脫口秀的女性。

《Building Your Vocabulary》
1. remain vi. 仍是,保持(同樣狀態)
Oil prices have remained steady.
油價依然保持穩定。
2. straight a. 連續的
Five straight days of rain caused flooding.
連續五天的雨勢釀成了水患。
3. quality a. 優質的,非常好的
The shop sells only quality seafood.
那間店只販售品質優良的海鮮。

《Phrases for Learning》
1. capture the heart of...  贏得……的好感
Greg tried hard to capture the hearts of his girlfriend's parents.
格雷努力試圖贏得他女友父母的歡心。
2. big/lucky break  良機,好運
Eddie got a lucky break with his solo show.
艾迪以他的個人表演得到了一炮而紅的機會。
3. be in + 所有格 + blood  (是某人)天賦的
Dancing has always been in Jane's blood.
小珍一直都有跳舞的天賦。
4. limit A to B  使 A 受限於 B
Al was asked to limit his speech to an hour.
艾爾被要求將他的演講限制在一小時內結束。
5. make + 所有格 + mark  (某人)成功∕留名
The Godfather series had made its mark in movie history.
《教父》三部曲在影史上留下了青名。

《Extra Words》
1. talk show n. 名人訪談節目,脫口秀
2. broadcasting n.(電視或電台的)廣播事業
3. nomination n. 提名
4. entertainment n. 娛樂(節目)
5. production n.(電視、電影等的)製作(本文中作形容詞用)
6. studio n. 製片公司(亦作studios)

《TIPS IN USE》
...she was already making speeches at the age of three.
(……而且年僅三歲便已經在發表演說了。)
  凡是表『年紀、速度、價格』或與『數字』有關之名詞,如:age(年齡)、speed(速度)、cost(價格、代價)、price(價格)、altitude(高度)等,均與介詞 at 並用。
Gina bought the piano at a low price.
(吉娜以低價買了這台鋼琴。)
The plane was flying at an altitude of 7,000 feet.
(這架飛機在七千英呎的高空飛行。)
Henry lives at 125 Lexington Road.
(亨利住在萊辛頓路一百二十五號。)


本期其他文章
前期其他文章