Maya Angelou: She Didn't Speak for Five Years… Then Her Voice Reached the World

After something terrible happened, a little girl stopped speaking.

For about five years, she said almost nothing.

Then a neighbour lent her books.

This is the story of Maya Angelou.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Library. A library is a place where you can borrow books.

She read the books in her school library.

Aloud. If you read aloud, you read so that other people can hear you.

Mrs Flowers asked her to read aloud.

Poem. A poem is a short piece of writing with a special rhythm.

Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a poem by heart.

Cage. A cage is a box made of metal bars, for keeping birds or animals.

The title was about a bird in a cage that still sings.

Poet. A poet is a person who writes poems.

She became a poet and a writer.

Now, one pattern: stop and start, plus a verb with -ing.

She stopped speaking for five years.

That means she didn't speak.

Later, she started speaking again.

She stopped speaking for five years.

Ready? Let's begin.

Maya Angelou was born in St Louis, in the USA, in 1928.

Her real name was Marguerite Johnson.

When she was three, she and her brother Bailey went to live with their grandmother, who had a small shop in Stamps, Arkansas.

When she was about seven, something terrible happened to her.

Afterwards, she believed that her voice was dangerous.

So she stopped speaking for five years.

But she never stopped learning.

She read the books in her school library, and she memorized many poems.

Her family loved her, and they worried.

Would she ever speak again?

Then a neighbour, Mrs Bertha Flowers, invited her home and lent her books.

Mrs Flowers asked her to read aloud.

She told her that "words mean more than what is set down on paper".

Then Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a poem by heart.

Little by little, Maya started speaking again.

At 16, in San Francisco, she wanted a job on the streetcars, because she loved the uniforms.

She is often called the first Black woman to work on the city's streetcars.

Later, she was a dancer, a singer and a journalist in Africa.

She also worked for equal rights in America.

In 1969, she wrote about her childhood in her first book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings".

The title was about a bird in a cage that still sings.

The book made her famous.

She became a poet and a writer.

In 1993, she read a poem at the President's inauguration.

Only one poet had done that before her.

She died in 2014, aged 86.

The girl who once stopped speaking had a voice that reached the world.

Let's review. She read the books in her school library.

Mrs Flowers asked her to read aloud.

Mrs Flowers asked her to learn a poem by heart.

The title was about a bird in a cage that still sings.

She became a poet and a writer.

And remember: she stopped speaking for five years.

Maya Angelou's story teaches us: your voice matters, even if it takes time to find it.

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