英语听力—环球英语 640 World Business Leaders: Bill Gates

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I am Steve Myersco. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
This sound is well known² to millions of people around the world. It is the sound of Windows XP. All computers need an operating system - a basic set of programs that all other programs depend on. And Windows is the most common operating system in the world. All together about ninety percent of the computers in the world use a Windows operating system. This has helped to make the creator³ of Windows a very rich man.
Voice 2
This programme is one of several about business leaders of the world. Today’s Spotlight looks at the life of Bill Gates. His computer and business skills have helped make him one of the richest men in the world. However today he has a very different job.
Voice 1
Bill Gates’ interest in computers began at an early age. When he was thirteen, his school decided⁴ it would give its students the chance to learn about computers. However, the school could not buy a computer. In 1968 computers were still big and costly⁵. Instead, the school paid for some time on a local company’s computer. The chance to use a computer was a special gift. Bill Gates and his friends made full use of it. They learned⁶ how to make the computer do what they wanted to. Soon Bill Gates was offered a job by a local computer company. They paid him to find things that were wrong with their computer’s program and to fix it.
Voice 2
Bill Gates also did very well at many other subjects at school. He got one of the best ever results on the national school test. His mark was 1590 out of 1600 - almost a perfect score. Later he got a place at one of the United⁷ States’ best universities - Harvard. However, he never finished his studies there. He left the university to start work. He was asked to create some computer programs for a company. To do this Gates and his friend Paul Allen created Microsoft. That was in 1975. Today this company is famous around the world.
Voice 1
One of the reasons for Bill Gates’ great success is that he thought about the future. He correctly thought that one day millions of people would own computers. He said that he wanted to help put a computer in every home and in every work place. Gates knew that if millions of people owned computers, then he could make a lot of money. This was a strange idea thirty [30] years ago. At that time, computers were difficult to use and very costly.
Voice 2
Much of Bill Gates’ great wealth comes from the computer system ‘Windows’. Most of the home computers in the world use this operating system. It was first created by Microsoft in 1985. Since then Microsoft has developed Windows to do more and more things. Other companies find it very hard to compete with Bill Gates’ company.
Voice 1
However, in the late 1990s Microsoft faced trouble. Bill Gates had to go to court to defend his business. Many people said that the company was unfair in the way it worked. They said that it stopped other companies from having any chance of success. At first, the judge ruled against Microsoft. However the case continued for years in the US courts, and finally Microsoft escaped any serious punishment.
Voice 2
At this time, Bill Gates was the richest man in the world. He had more money than many people could even imagine. He earned about 250 dollars every second. If he was a country he would have been the 37th richest country on earth.
Voice 1
But Gates found that being the richest man on earth did create problems. Many people thought that it was wrong for one man to have so much money. People thought that he should give more of his money away. Gates read about important business leaders before him. He learned about Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had been one of the richest men in the world, but had given much of his money away. And so in the year 2000, Gates created a new organisation⁸ with his wife. The organisation is called the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation⁹. It gives away over a billion dollars every year. Most of the money goes towards fighting health problems around the world. In particular the Foundation gives money towards fighting diseases¹⁰ such as malaria¹¹, AIDS, polio and pneumonia¹². Bill Gates said,
Voice 3
‘We started our foundation because we believe that all lives have equal value. The poorest child in the poorest country is just as important as your child, and ours. We wanted to do our part to give every person the chance to live a healthy and productive¹³ life.’
Voice 2
The organisation also gives money to help with education in the United States. Some of this money helps poorer children learn better at school and give them the chance to go to university.
Voice 1
In 2008 Bill Gates stopped working for Microsoft. Now he spends all his time working for the Gates Foundation. Bill Gates says his new job is very different to the job that brought him success. But he finds it just as satisfying¹⁴.
Voice 3
‘I love the work at the Foundation. There are many differences to my work at Microsoft. But it has the same three amazing elements¹⁵. First, there are the opportunities to make great advances. These may be anything from discovering a new medicine to developing¹⁶ new seeds for better crops. Second I feel like my experience in building teams of intelligent people with different skills can be a real help. The common sense of the business world can be used in the work of helping¹⁷ needy¹⁸ people. Finally, I find that the intelligence¹⁹ and hardworking nature of the people involved in these issues²⁰ is just as great as I have seen in the business world.’
Voice 2
Bill Gates is this generation’s most famous business person. To many he is an example of how unbalanced the world’s economy²¹ is. He is still hugely wealthy. But over the next few decades²² his money will be spent on trying to solve some of the world’s most important problems. Even after his death Bill Gates’ money will continue doing good. He may yet be remembered for his generosity²³ more than for his wealth.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

3 creator   

n.创造者，创作者，缔造者；造物主，神

参考例句：

• He was without doubt the creator of the Roman Empire.毫无疑问,他是罗马帝国的创始人。
• One creator cannot have two procedures with the same name.一个创建者不能有两个同名过程。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

10 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

11 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

12 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

13 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

14 satisfying   

adj.令人满意的，令人满足的v.使满意，满足( satisfy的现在分词)

参考例句：

• It's satisfying to play a game really well. 一种游戏玩得特别好是一桩惬意的事。
• The book is more satisfying if you read each chapter in sequence. 这本书依次读各章会更好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 elements   

原理，基础； 要素（旧时认为土、空气、火和水是构成一切物质的四大要素）( element的名词复数 )； （化学）元素； 基础； 成分

参考例句：

• Oxygen is one of the basic elements of substance. 氧是物质的基本元素之一。
• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar. 语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。

16 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

19 intelligence   

n.智力，聪明，智能；情报

参考例句：

• He was a man of intelligence and of firmness of will.他是个聪明而又意志坚定的人。
• He equals me in strength but not in intelligence.他和我力气相等，但智力不同。

20 issues   

（水等的）流出( issue的名词复数 )； 出口； 放出； （特别重要或大众关注的）问题

参考例句：

• Let's start with the more easily addressable issues. 我们先从较容易处理的问题着手。
• Employment and taxation are the bread-and-butter issues of politics. 就业和征税是很重要的政治问题。

21 economy   

n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体

参考例句：

• We must do our best to develop the national economy.我们必须努力发展国民经济。
• The country's economy is not very healthy.国家的经济不很景气。

22 decades   

十年，十年间( decade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The middle decades of the 19th century marked a watershed in Russia's history. 19世纪中叶标志着俄国历史的转折点。
• The Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty attended to state affairs for several decades. 清朝慈禧太后垂帘听政几十年。

23 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。