VOA · As It Is
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:322025-02-17public domain
As It Is is VOA Learning English's daily news magazine. Each report covers a current story in clear, learner-speed English with a controlled vocabulary — the closest thing to real news broadcasts that intermediate learners can fully digest, and ideal raw material for dictation.
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01Mary Kay Cosmetics is an international company that sells beauty products.
02One woman started the business in the 1960s with an investment of $5,000.
03Mary Catherine Wagner was born in the state of Texas in 1918.
04For much of her childhood, she cared for her sick father, while her mother worked long hours at a restaurant.
05Mary Kay married Ben Rogers when she was 17 years old.
06They had three children before he left home to serve in World War II.
07When he returned, their marriage ended.
08Mary Kay looked for a job so she could support her children.
09She began selling different kinds of products.
10One night, Mary Kay was showing products at the home of Ova Heath Spoonmore.
11Ms.
12Spoonmore began giving her guests some homemade skincare products.
13The products were developed by her father, J.W.
14Heath, in Arkansas.
15Mary Kay tried the skincare products and liked them.
16She bought the rights to Heath's skincare products and started her own company.
17She paid $500 for the legal rights to the products.
18And in 1963, the Mary Kay Cosmetics Company began operating in Dallas, Texas.
19The idea was to sell skincare products through demonstrations in homes and offices.
20Independent sales representatives bought beauty products from the company and sold them at higher prices.
21Mary Kay decided that each representative who brought other saleswomen into the company would receive part of the new person's earnings.
22By 1965, the company was selling almost $1 million in products.
23Mary Kay Cosmetics became one of the most successful direct sellers of skincare products in America.
24It continues to have sales offices and representatives in many different countries.
25Mary Kay aimed to grow sales based on the idea that it is best to compete against yourself.
26That means every individual is trying to beat their own sales records.
27Prizes for high sales marks included special paid holidays and jewelry.
28Until a few years ago, a pink Cadillac was a top prize.
29After her third husband, Mel Ash, died of cancer in 1980, she wanted to help find a cure for the disease.
30At first, she helped organizations raise money for research.
31Later, she started the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation, a non-profit group that provides money to support research on cancers affecting women.
32In 2001, the company and foundation expanded their goals to help prevent violence against women.
33Mary Kay Ash also wrote three books.
34She worked in her business until she suffered a stroke in 1996.
35She died in 2001.
36Sales representatives say Mary Kay developed a way for women to earn money and still spend time with their families.
37I'm Ana Mateo.
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