Describtion-罗丽-英专三班.docVIP

Oprah Winfrey　　　　Since 2004, Time magazine has six times conducted a poll to name the 100 most influential people in the world. Only one person has appeared on all six lists, Oprah Winfrey. 　　Born in 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, she was originally named Orpah after a character in the bible. This subtle alteration has been explained away a number of different ways. Oprah herself claims it was down to pronunciation difficulties by her relatives. In the light of her difficult childhood, however you cant help but ponder if she didnt choose to alter it herself. A woman who has so thoroughly embraced self-help and the importance of a positive mental attitude, would no doubt see a delightful symmetry in slightly changing her own name, signifying turning her life around, taking control and re-defining herself. 　　Her early years were spent living in abject poverty with a religious birch wielding grandmother, followed by years of sexual abuse from male relatives whilst living with her mostly absent mother, before finally being sent to live with her strict disciplinarian father in Tennessee. Taken all together, her life did not seem destined for a bright future. Living a rebellious lifestyle dabbling on and off with drugs, she hit her lowest point when at the young age of fourteen, she gave birth to a premature baby, who sadly didnt survive the pregnancy. Amazingly though, her fathers rules did insure that his daughters education didnt falter and it was the escape offered through books and her own natural intelligence that helped her to finally overcome her problems. I knew there was a way out. I knew there was another kind of life because I had read about it. I knew there were other places, and there was another way of being, she said. 　　Having gained a scholarship to Tennessee State University, she left as an honours student with a degree in Speech and Performing Arts and set out to further her interests in media, nurtured by working at the universitys r