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Unit 7 Section A Bill GatesPart One: Objectives

1. To learn the stories of two influential figures; 2. To review the reading skill of identifying the writer’s purpose; 3. To learn to write a paragraph with a general statement supported by details;

4. To learn how to write a speech.

Part Two: Warming up

1. Who Are They ? Can you figure out who they are with the fewest hints given?

Celebrity 1

Hint 1: At the age of 71, he won a ￥ 5,000,000 State Supreme Science and Technology Award, known as the Nobel Prize in China, for his outstanding achievements.

Hint 2: His childhood dream was to cultivate rice as plump as peanuts, and farmers can relax in the cool shadow of big rice plants.

Hint 3: He is the most famous “farmer” in China and is termed as “father of hybrid rice” .

He is Yuan Longping, “father of hybrid rice”.

Celebrity 2

Hint 1: She is a British writer and the author of a world-famous fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived while she’s on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990.

Hint 2: Released in 1997, her first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone gained immense popularity and commercial success.

Hint 3: She was ranked by Forbes as the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007. She is J.K.Rowling, author of Harry Potter fantasy series. Celerity 3

Hint 1: She was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India in 1950.

Hint 2: For over forty years she ministered(服侍) to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.

Hint 3: She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. She passed away on 5

Sept., 1997. She is Mother Teresa. 2. How much do you know about Bill Gates? 1) The former chairman of… 2) The worldwide leader in… 3) He discovered his interest in… at the age of 13. 4) In his junior year, he left Harvard University, so as to… 5) Guided by a belief that…, he began developing… 6) According to Forbes magazine, he has been… 7) …

Bill Gates is the former chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people realize their full potential. He was born on Oct. 28, 1955. He discovered his interest in software and began programming computers at age 13. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University. In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had established in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier and more enjoyable for people to use computers. According to Forbes magazine, Gates has been the richest man in the world since 1995.

3. What challenges did Bill Gates meet? And what do you think of that? 1) The federal government claimed that … 2) This case started when …

3) Although Microsoft believed it’s logical, its competitors thought that …

4) As far as the case is concerned, I think that …

Our top story today is the case being brought against Microsoft by the federal government, accusing the software giant of unfair business practices. It claims the company is keeping a firm grip on the world’s operating system market to squeeze out the competition in other software application areas such as Internet software. Microsoft claims that it is only logical for its company to want to bundle and distribute its software with its operating systems, while its competitors claim that other companies’ Internet software deserves equal access to Microsoft’s operating systems. They say that if Microsoft’s operating systems are shipped with its software included, the software of other companies should be included as well.

The federal government claims that Microsoft practices unfair business practices, namely, monopoly power to gain advantage over its competitors. This case started when Microsoft bundled its Windows 95 operating system with its Internet Explorer software. Although Microsoft believes it’s logical for its company to bundle and distribute its software with its operating systems, its competitors hold their Internet software deserves equal access to Microsoft’s operating systems as Microsoft’s.

As far as the case is concerned, however, I think there is no point arguing about who is right or wrong, but the point is to ponder over why Bill Gates’ success is the focus of public attention.

4. What contributes to Bill Gates’ huge success? 1) His keen insights into… 2) His total commitment to… 3) His great skills in managing… 4) His competitive ability in… 5) …

In the first place, it is a return from his keen insights into his future. As he once put it, “At 19, I caught sight of the future … and I turned out to have been right.” In the second, it is a fruit of his total commitment to his pursuits. For example, it was not unusual for the dean of Microsoft to work

16 hours a day. In the third, it is a product of his great skills in managing his business. According

to his colleagues, he could deal efficiently with technical problems while handling routine affairs. And above all, it is a result of his competitive ability in development of sophisticated IT products. In more than 30 years since he dropped out of Harvard to conquer the world of computer operating systems and application software, in effect, he has been deadly for competitors trying to claw their way into the market.

5. From Bill Gates’ dropout of Harvard, can we tell that college education means nothing to one’s success?

My answer to this question is negative. Because his experience on Harvard campus, though unable to produce a direct effect on his success, helped keep his mind open to what was going on in the world of science and render him sharper at what future would hold for him. According to Bill Gates, his experience in Harvard was regarded as “an amazing privilege”. He once said, “Though

I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.” In fact, he learned a lot at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. And he got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences. So actually, the years in Harvard contributed a lot to his future success.

6. From his life, what conclusion can we draw as to the relationship between college degree and success?

It is widely believed that, the higher degree one earns, the better chance of success one stands. But Bill Gates’ case tells a different story. From his experience, therefore, we can conclude that the college degree is not a guarantee of one’s success in career but a symbol of one’s complete experience with college life or at most a witness to a person’s buildup of knowledge essential to his success in career. As is known to all, Bill Gates didn't finish his bachelor’s degree and dropped out of Harvard, let alone the master’s or doctor’s degree. However, he founded the biggest software company in the world—Microsoft Corporation and with more than fifty billion dollars wealth he has been the richest man in the world, for all of which, however, he didn't depend on his educational diploma! Thus it can be seen that one’s success is built not on the college degree but on his ability bettered by the college life. 7. What does the author want to tell us about Bill Gates? Let’s answer this question after we read the passage

Part Three: Related Information

1. Role model

The term role model was introduced by Robert K. Merton. Merton says that individuals compare themselves with \individual aspires. The term has passed into general use to mean any \example, whose behavior is emulated by others\ (1) Robert King Merton

Robert King Merton (July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was a distinguished American sociologist perhaps best known for having coined the phrase \prophecy\He also coined many other phrases that have gone into everyday use, such as \model\and \consequences\He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University.