Reading

Work in pairs and discuss. When you were a child, what were your favourite books?

Read the article.

Work in pairs. Match the sections (1-3) with three of the ideas (a-d).
a a library in every town
b a plan is important
c together we are stronger
d books for every child

Dolly Parton, ‘The Book Lady’

Dolly Parton is a world-famous country singer and performer, but she also does a lot to help students get a better education.

1. The Imagination Library

Parton was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the USA, the fourth of twelve children. Her father never learnt to read or write and many children in the county didn’t do well at school. Children everywhere have to learn to read before they can learn to study, but in Sevier County there was a problem. Many children didn’t learn to read well because they didn’t have any books.

Parton saw the problem and decided to help. In 1995 she started the Imagination Library. The library gives one book every month to every child in the programme, from birth to the age of five. Families don’t have to pay for the books — they’re free. Parents say their children love it when a book arrives each month.

The Imagination Library programme started in Parton’s home county and is now in five different countries — the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Between 1995 and 2020, the library gave 150 million books to children.

2. The ‘Buddy Program’

Parton discovered that over thirty percent of students in Sevier County didn’t finish high school. She wanted to do something about this problem and searched for an answer. In the end, she developed her ‘Buddy Program’.

In 1991, Parton spoke to all the 13- to 14-year-old students in the county and told them about her programme. First, each student needed to choose a partner, or ‘buddy’. Then Parton promised to give each student $500 when they finished high school at the age of eighteen.

Then Parton explained one important rule — the Buddy needed to finish high school, too. Parton expected a change, but nothing so amazing. The thirty percent went down to six percent — about ninety-four percent of students finished high school.

3. The Dolly Parton Scholarship

Every year Parton’s foundation, the Dollywood Foundation, gives five students $15,000 each. The five are students who finish high school in Sevier County. The rules say that students who don’t finish high school can’t win the money.

To win the money, the Foundation tells students that they have to have a dream, and they have to plan the steps to make that dream come true. Finally, they have to describe their plan to the Foundation in a clear way.

Thanks to the scholarship, many students can take a big first step towards living their dream.

* scholarship: money that an organisation gives to someone to help pay for their education

Read the article again. Are the statements True (T) or False (F)?

1 Dolly Parton has twelve brothers and sisters.
2 Her father didn’t learn to read.
3 Every child in the programme gets one free book every year.
4 The Imagination Library gave away 150 million books in 2020.
5 More than half of the students in Parton’s home county didn’t finish
high school.
6 In the ‘Buddy Program’, if one buddy didn’t finish high school, both buddies
lost their money.
7 The ‘Buddy Program’ changed things a lot.
8 Winners of the Dolly Parton Scholarship get $3,000.

Which of the three ideas in the article do you like the best? Why?

Vocabulary

Work in pairs and look at the sentences in Ex. Change the sentences so that they are true for you.

Work in pairs and answer the questions.
1 What school and university subjects can you find in Ex 2A?
2 What other school and university subjects do you know?

Check your ideas!

Practice!

Grammar

Rule