Whose lead should I follow?

全美说话最贵的女性——“脱口秀”节目主持人欧普拉

从美国密西西比河畔的一个黑人穷学生到当红的脱口秀女皇，直至今天的亿万富婆，欧普拉·温弗丽一举成为世界上最有影响力的女性之一。她的名字已经成为一种品牌，在网络、书籍、杂志等各类媒体中闪闪发光。正像有些人说的：如果格林斯潘一开口，整条华尔街都屏息凝神，那么欧普拉一开口，全美就都松了口气。是呀，欧普拉还在镜头前鲜灵活现，会有什么事难得住美国人呢？

As I ponder whom it might be that I would consider a role model, I realized thatthere are a lot of people I know personally that I could look to for inspiration.1 But I am sharing these thoughts with others who most likely do not know my friend or my sister-in-law or the gal2 I work with. Therefore I think I should write about someone famous. But, it seems that these days there are not a lot of good role models to choose from. At least not from the "typical" choices that we usual ly think of as role models. I realize celebrities' private lives should be just that; but when a person is in the limelight perhaps they should use that notoriety for some sort of good.3

There are some criteria that my role model must possess. First, she must be close to my age. She has to have overcome some obstacle, or maybe better said, did not have her "celebrity" status handed to her4. Finally, she must be helping others. Sharing the blessings5 she has received with others.

I believe that someone who fits those criteria quite well is Oprah Winfrey6.

Oprah Winfrey's life has had a very difficult and tumultuous7 beginning. She was born in 1954 to a poor, unmarried black girl living in the very racially segregated state of Mississippi. For a while, Oprah was raised by her Grandmother, after her mother moved north. She eventually went to live with her father in Nashville
, after having survived body abuse and the birth and death of baby of her own.

Oprah's rise to fame began in Baltimore8, then Chicago, with her hosting morning talk shows, such as A.M. Chicago. She became so popular that in 1986, she launched The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah began her own production company, Harpo, and obtained control of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was now in yndication.9

In 1994, Oprah did something that caught my attention and with which she gained my respect. She decided to break away from the mold of other daytime talk shows and pledged that her show would be free from "tabloid topics."10 Her viewers responded slowly, but very positively, and her popularity surged. The Oprah Winfrey Show was now centered on uplifting11, meaningful subjects, many of which are aimed towards women.

Oprah has used her gaining popularity, in my opinion, to launch many meaningful projects. She launched Oprah's Book Club12 in 1996. The Book Club is an on-air reading club intended to get the country excited about literature again. To date, all the book club selections have become instant bestsellers. Oprah's Angel Network13 was started in 1997, encouraging people to open their hearts to those in need. This includes a project to collect small change to send students to college and to sponsor Habitat for Humanity programs.

Oprah has been able to share her blessings with others while keeping her pledge to focus The Oprah Winfrey Show on subjects that will encourage her viewers. Each week her shows cover such topics as spirituality, wellness, fitness, relationships, steps towards financial freedom and more.

Winfrey's talent for public performance and spontaneity in answering questions helped her win fame.14 Winfrey talk show has an estimated audience of 14 million daily in the US and millions more in 132 other countries —predominantly women. She is also an accomplished actress and won an Academy Award nomination for her role in The Color Purple.15

Another reason that I admire Oprah is because she genuinely seems to be "just a regular gal." Her book, "Make the Connection" shows how Oprah is like any other woman. The painful revelations she shares about her struggle with weight loss really touched me. Even as she was given an Emmy Award16, her thoughts were on how heavy she must look in the dress she was wearing. Once, I went to a lecture given by one of Oprah's favorite authors. As we were sitting before the lecture began, acouple of black women walked in. My friend said, "Oh look, there's Oprah," I said, "no it's not", she said, "yes it is" and back and forth we went. Well, as it turns out, it was Oprah. She looked just like the rest of us; she did not come in amongst media frenzy as might be expected. When the speaker introduced her, she was almost embarrassed to stand.17

I feel Oprah is a genuinely nice person, someone who would be a great girl friend. She has a head on her shoulders18 and knows where she is going. She has made aname for herself19 and is not embarrassed by her wealth and knows the importance of sharing the blessings that have been bestowed upon her.

1. 当我考虑谁可以做我的行为榜样的时候，我意识到自己认识的很多人都能让我得到激励。role model：（供人效仿的）行为榜样，角色模型。

2. gal：女孩(=girl), 少女。

3. 名人的私生活也许本来就那样，但一个人倘若成了公众注意的中心，他／她就应该将自己的名声用于一些好的方面。

4. 她的“名人”地位并非别人给的。

5. blessing：上帝的赐福，神恩。

6. Oprah Winfrey：欧普拉·温弗丽，美国著名脱口秀主持人和图书俱乐部专家。她主持的节目和参演的电影都颇受欢迎；而她所选中的书通常会成为畅销书，能获邀参加她的节目的作家多成为畅销书作家。

7. tumultuous：混乱的。

8. Baltimore：巴尔的摩（美国马里兰州中北部港市）。

9. 此处指欧普拉主持的两个节目《芝加哥早晨》和《欧普拉节目》（目前正在组建企业集团）以及她创建的公司——哈普娱乐集团。

10. tabloid topics：趣味低俗的话题。

11. uplifting：使人振奋的、催人振作的。

12. Oprah's Book Club：1996年9月欧普拉在自己的节目里设立的 "读书俱乐部”， 她的做法是每个月选择一本书向电视观众作介绍，她和大家一同研读这些书籍，并请作者亲自来节目中与读者交流。她奉行的口号是“让美国重新开始读书”，这种独特的做法使她推荐过的所有书籍无一例外地在一夜之间成为全美畅销书。

13. Oprah's Angel Network：欧普拉天使网站。

14. 温弗丽在公众面前的表现才能和回答问题时的自然风格让她有了名气。spontaneity：（举止等的）自然。

15. 欧普拉在影片《紫色》中担任女配角，并获第五十八届奥斯卡最佳女配角提名。

16. Emmy Award：<美>埃米（金像）奖，每年一届，由美国电视艺术科学学会颁发，对象是在电视表演、摄制或节目安排上有卓越成就者。

17. 她并没有像我预想的那样，在一群疯狂的媒体记者的包围中走进来；而当发言人介绍她的时候，她似乎站在那里都有点不好意思。

18. have a head on one's shoulders：<口>有见识，有能力。

19. make a name (for oneself): 成名，出名。