Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Katie Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use words and phrases

especially written for people learning English.

On today's program, Anna Mateo tells the story of Mary Kay, an American business leader in the beauty products industry.

Andrew Smith and Dorothy Gundy have advice for improving vocabulary.

Andrew is back with a story about the aviation industry, followed by the lesson of the day.

But first, Mary Kay Cosmetics is an international company that sells beauty products.

One woman started the business in the 1960s with an investment of $5,000.

Mary Catherine Wagner was born in the state of Texas in 1918.

For much of her childhood, she cared for her sick father, while her mother worked long hours at a restaurant.

Mary Kay married Ben Rogers when she was 17 years old.

They had three children before he left home to serve in World War II.

When he returned, their marriage ended.

Mary Kay looked for a job so she could support her children.

She began selling different kinds of products.

One night, Mary Kay was showing products at the home of Ova Heath Spoonmore.

Ms. Spoonmore began giving her guests some homemade skin care products.

The products were developed by her father, J.W. Heath, in Arkansas.

Mary Kay tried the skincare products and liked them. She bought the rights to Heath's skin care products and

started her own company.

She paid $500 for the legal rights to the products,

...