Bill Gates: Unleashing YourCreativity

　　I’ve always been an optimist and I suppose it isrooted in1 my belief that the power of creativity and intelligencecan make the world a better place.
　　For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved learningnew things and solving problems. So when I sat down at a computer for the firsttime in seventh grade, I was hooked. It was a clunky old teletype machine andit could barely do anything compared to the computers we have today.2But it changed my life.
　　When my friend Paul Allen and I started Microsoft30 years ago，we had avision of “a computer on every desk and in every home”, which probably soundeda little too optimistic at a time when most computers were the size ofrefrigerators. But we believed that personal computers would change the world.And they have.
　　And after 30 years, I’m still as inspired bycomputers as I was back in seventh grade.
　　I believe that computers are the most incredibletool we can use to feed our curiosity and inventiveness — to help us solve problemsthat even the smartest people couldn’t solve on their own.
　　Computers have transformed how we learn，giving kids everywhere a windowinto all of the world’s knowledge. They’re helping us build communities aroundthe things we care about and to stay close to the people who are important tous, no matter where they are.3
　　Like my friend Warren Buffett, I feel particularlylucky to do something every day that I love to do. He calls it “tap-dancing towork”4. My job at Microsoft is as challenging as ever, but whatmakes me “tap-dancing to work” is when we show people something new, like acomputer that can recognize your handwriting or your speech, or one that canstore a lifetime’s worth of photos, and they say, “I didn’t know you could dothat with a PC5! ”
　　But for all the cool things that a person can dowith a PC，there arelots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work toimprove our world6. There are still far too many people in the worldwhose most basic needs go unmet7. Every year, for example, millionsof people die from diseases that are easy to prevent or treat in the developedworld.
　　I believe that my own good fortune brings with ita responsibility to give back to the world. My wife, Melinda, and I havecommitted to8 improving health and education in a way that can helpas many people as possible.
　　As a father, I believe that the death of a childin Africa is no less poignant or tragic than9 the death of a childanywhere else, and that it doesn’t take much to make an immense difference inthese children’s lives10.
　　I’m still very much an optimist, and I believethat progress on even the world’s toughest problems is possible — and it’shappening every day. We’re seeing new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostictools，and newattention paid to the health problems in the developing world.
　　I’m excited by the possibilities I see formedicine, for education and, of course, for technology. And I believe thatthrough our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve toughproblems, we're going to make some amazing achievements in all these areas inmy lifetime.
　　练习：
　　1．A computer was as big as an icebox when Bill Gates was a high schoolstudent.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　2．Bill Gates has been dreaming of the popularity of computers for hislifetime.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　3．Bill Gates compares his hard work on a PC to “tap-dancing to work”.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　4．To Bill Gates’ mind, there is a big difference between the death ofthe poor’s children and the death of the rich’s children.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　5．So far Bill Gates has contributed several dozen billion dollars tothe charities.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　6．Bill Gates and his wife consider it their duty to help the poorbetter their health and education as much as possible.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　7．Bill Gates will leave only a small portion of his wealth for hischildren.
　　A　Right　B　Wrong　C　Not mentioned
　　答案与题解：
　　1．A　文章第三段中比尔•盖茨说，当他念七年级时，电脑就是冰箱那么大小。
　　2．A　文章第三段比尔•盖茨说，他30年前与Paul Allen一起创办微软公司时就梦想一桌一机、一户一机，而且从其他各段也可以看到他对电脑有很多的期待。
　　3．B　从第七段第二句可以看到作这样比较的是他的朋友Warren Buffett，而不是他自己。
　　4．B　在倒数第三段，比尔•盖茨已经明确说，所有这些儿童的死亡都一样令人伤心和悲痛，没有什么区别。
　　5．C　文章没有提到他给慈善机构捐款的事。
　　6．A　倒数第四段比尔•盖茨认为他一生好运，就理应回报社会，所以他和他的妻子做出了承诺，要帮助尽可能多的人改善医疗和教育条件。
　　7．C　文章没有提到。