Đọc hiểu lớp 7 · Tổng hợp Đọc hiểu 14

Yellowstone National Park in the western United States was the world’s first national park. Established in 1872, it is famous for its geothermal activity and wild animals. It includes beautiful mountains, deep canyons, lakes and rivers. Yellowstone is still one of the largest national parks in the U.S. It takes up almost 9,000 square kilometers. Most of the park lies within the western state of Wyoming. The park is unusual because of what lies underneath it. It sits on top of an ancient super volcano, known as the Yellowstone Caldera. The caldera remains an active volcano. A lake of hot liquid rock is about six kilometers under the park. Experts say this lake is under huge amounts of pressure. The pressure and heat cause geysers to shoot hot water out of the ground and mud to boil at Yellowstone. The park is home to more than 300 geysers. There are more geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone than any other place on Earth. “Old Faithful” is the name of the park’s most famous geyser because it erupts about every 90 minutes. Yellowstone is on a high plateau with an average height of 2,400 meters above sea level. This makes the weather very cold in winter, with January temperatures averaging between -18 degrees and -7 degrees Celsius. However, some areas of the park remain open to visitors throughout the year. Yellowstone Canyon is about 365 meters deep. The Yellowstone River runs through it and drops 93 meters in the Lower Falls. Visitors can walk on a path that brings them very close to the top of the falls. There, they can see and hear the powerful falls. In summer of 1988, forest fires burned large areas of the park. Most of those areas are now covered with plants and young trees. Home to wildlife Yellowstone is home to the largest group of wild animals in the lower 48 United States. These include bison, grizzly bear, elk, deer, moose, fox, beaver, coyote and wolves. In 2024, park officials estimated the bison population to be about 4,500 animals. That makes it the largest group of wild bison in the world. There is still a wild west in America…and its name is Yellowstone.

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 Kathlyn 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 Two. 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 Spoonemore. Ms. Spoonemore 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 skin care 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. And in 1963, The Mary Kay Cosmetics company began operating in Dallas, Texas. The idea was to sell skin care products through demonstrations in homes and offices. Independent sales representatives bought beauty products from the company and sold them at higher prices. Mary Kay decided that each representative who brought other saleswomen into the company would receive part of the new person’s earnings. That way, experienced sales representatives would be willing to train new ones. By 1965, the company was selling almost one million dollars in products. Mary Kay Cosmetics became one of the most successful direct sellers of skin care products in America. It continues to have sales offices and representatives in many different countries. Mary Kay aimed to grow sales based on the idea that it is best to compete against yourself. That means every individual is trying to beat their own sales records. Prizes for high sales marks included special paid holidays and jewelry. Until a few years ago, a pink Cadillac was a top prize. After her third husband, Mel Ash, died of cancer in 1980, she wanted to help find a cure for the disease. At first, she helped organizations raise money for research.