Use of English

Oprah's Rise

Few media figures have managed to turn personal adversity into cultural influence quite as effectively as Oprah Winfrey. What began as a career in local broadcasting eventually (0) BLOSSOMED into a media empire that has shaped television, publishing and philanthropy in equal measure. Early on, she stood (1) .......... from other presenters by combining journalistic instinct with an unusual degree of warmth, a quality that helped viewers feel she was speaking to them rather than performing at them. Her talk show quickly (2) .......... momentum, and before long it had become required viewing for millions, as if missing an episode might somehow leave one morally underdressed. Beyond television, she also (3) .......... her influence to literature through her book club, which could send a novel from quiet obscurity to the top of bestseller lists almost overnight. Her success was not merely commercial; it also (4) .......... from a capacity to discuss difficult subjects without sounding either preachy or detached. Over the years, she has (5) .......... up a reputation for generosity, business acumen and resilience, while also becoming a symbol of self-invention. Critics occasionally accused her of sentimentality, but such objections rarely (6) .......... much weight with audiences. In fact, her achievements are so extensive that any attempt to summarise them briefly is bound to (7) .......... short. Even so, it is fair to say that she has left an (8) .......... mark on modern popular culture.