 The Ascendancy of Bill Gates
i Did you know? [ Pre-Reading Activity ]Instructions: Answer the following True or False Questions. 1. Based on the latest statistics, Canada ranks number one in the world based on Internet usage. T F 2. In the past year (2001), Internet usage was on the increase for every age group except older adults (65 and older). T F 3. In Canada, the Internet is used more for personal banking than for job searches. T F 4. In April 2001, Canadians spent an average of 23 hours per week on line. T F 5. In Canada, more men than women use the Internet. T F 6. 40% of Canadian adults feel that the Internet is an “essential part of everyday life”. T F 7. More Albertans than Ontarians have access to a computer at home. T F 8. Now it’s your turn: v How often do you: (a) Use a computer? ___________ hours/week (b) Use the Internet? ___________ hours/week v Do you use any Microsoft software? ____________ [If yes, what products do you use?] v If you do use the Internet, what is the primary reason you use it? (a) e-mail (b) reading news (c) job searches (d) education (e) health information (f) culture information $ Reading/Writing Exercise top Instructions: Read the following text and answer the comprehension questions. As you are probably well aware, Bill Gates’ name is synonymous with software and personal computing; however, what you might not know is that this “giant” of the computer industry began his career as a shy and awkward teenager. For the fiscal year ending in June 2001, Microsoft had $25.3 billion (US) in revenues and employed more than 40,000 people in 60 countries. Bill Gates is a multitalented individual who has taken advantage of many opportunities in his life and become one of the most influential individuals in the world. Bill Gates was fortunate to be born into a loving and supportive family of high achievers. Born on October 28, 1955, Bill Gates and his sisters grew up in Seattle. The young Bill was referred to by the nickname “Trey” because he was actually Bill Gates III (named after his father and his grandfather). At a young age, it did not appear that Bill III would be able to duplicate his parents’ success. His towering father (over six-and-half feet tall) was a prominent attorney in Seattle. His mother Mary, a former teacher, served on many charitable Boards such as the United Way. When “Trey” was a child, he enjoyed rocking back and forth as a means of comforting himself. To this day, Bill still has the habit of rocking in his chair when he is thinking about something. Bill began his education at a public elementary school but he quickly grew bored of the unchallenging curriculum. At the age of 12, Bill was enrolled in the private Lakeside School. It was at Lakeside that Bill discovered his love of computers and software design. You have to remember that at this time, computers were still monstrous room-sized machines that only a few knowledgeable individuals knew how to operate. The Lakeside school had just purchased a new computer and for Bill, it was love at first sight (or should I say byte)! Within a week, Bill’s knowledge exceeded that of his computer teacher and with that, Bill’s path to computer innovation had begun. While at Lakefield, Bill met another “computer geek”, Paul Allen (his life-long business partner). The school requested that these two young men create a scheduling program for the school. Bill’s cunning was already apparent as he modified the school’s scheduling program so that all of the prettiest girls were in his classes. In 1973, Bill Gates III entered Harvard University where he met Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer, and established one of the most important relationships of his life. Bill quickly abandoned his initial plans to become a lawyer and instead devoted most of his time to playing computer games and designing computer software. In 1974, Allan showed Gates an article from Popular Mechanics that featured the Altair 8800, the newest model of the personal computer. The only thing that the Altair lacked was user-friendly software. It was this idea that sparked the creation of Micro-soft (the hyphen was later dropped from the company’s name). Shortly after designing software for the Altair 8800, Gates and Allen were approached by IBM to design an operating system for its latest home computer. Microsoft acquired the licence for a new operating system called MS-DOS and sold the license to IBM. The success of this new PC was phenomenal and with it, Microsoft was on its way to stardom. Microsoft continued flooding the market with software products and among their most successful have been: MS Word, MS Excel and MS Outlook. With the launching of Windows 95, Microsoft had secured its dominance of the software industry and Bill Gates quickly became one of the wealthiest men in the world. In 1994, Bill married Melinda French, a Microsoft executive and began construction of a 40,000-square-foot mansion on Lake Washington. The couple now has two children: a daughter, Jennifer Katharine and a son, Rory John. In addition to Bill’s love of computers and software design, “Trey” is also interested in the field of biotechnology. Bill sits on the Board of Directors of a number of innovative biotech companies and is actively involved in funding biotech research. Philanthropy has become an important aspect of Bill’s approach to managing Microsoft. Bill and his wife Melinda have donated $21 billion (US) to support global health and learning initiatives. Included in this funding is the Gates’ initiative to bring computers and Internet access to all public libraries and low-income communities in America. Bill once told one of his Harvard professors that he would be a millionaire by the time he was 30. Ironically, this is one of the rare instances when Bill underestimated himself; by the age of 31 Bill Gates III was a billionaire! It has been reported that even with his immense wealth, Bill still drives himself to work every day in the family car and he often flies “coach” when he travels. Exercise One top 1. A synonym for the word “copy” can be found in: 2. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT: 3. The word “cunning” (in paragraph 3) is a: 4. Based on the context, the word “philanthropy” (in paragraph 6) probably means: 5. What event contributed to the founding of Micro-soft/Microsoft? ( Exercise Two: top 6. Provide a title for this reading passage. _______________________________________ 7. If you had to pick out one sentence in this text about Bill Gates that summarizes the main idea, which one would you choose? _________________________________________________________________________ 8. Underline the topic sentence in each paragraph. 9. In your opinion, how has Bill Gates III affected our daily lives? 10. What do you think the future has in store for Bill Gates III? F If you are interested in finding out more about Bill Gates III and Microsoft, you can consult the following resources:
ž Grammar Exercise: top English, like every language, is constantly evolving. Vocabulary and grammar structures that were once acceptable in the past fall out of fashion and are replaced with alternatives. The English language grew out of a male-centred, patriarchal society so it tends to reflect this male bias. Assigning masculine gender to neutral terms is a problem that confronts many modern writers who wish their writing to be more inclusive and reflect both women and men in our society. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) suggests the following guidelines to help eliminate the use of sexist language: RULE #1 Avoid the use of “man” in its generic use and substitute an alternative. (example) mankind humankind the best man for the job the best person for the job RULE #2 Avoid the use of “man” in occupational terms. (example) fireman firefighter businessman business executive (or) entrepreneur RULE #3 Find alternatives to using “man” as a generic pronoun. (a) Use the plural instead. (b) Reword to eliminate the problem. (c) Replace “man” with “one”, “you”, “he or she”, “he/she” or “(s)he”. Instructions: Provide gender-neutral alternatives for each of the following.
Instructions: Rewrite the following sentences to avoid any gender-specific language. 1. As for man, he is no different from the rest of the animal kingdom, he seeks to nurture and protect his young. 2. A teacher should address his students in a polite and respectful manner. 3. University freshmen often rely on academic advisors and faculty. 4. I was hoping that a doctor could look at my injury and give me his professional opinion. 5. I don’t believe you, that’s just an old wives’ tale. 6. If a student wants to receive full credit, then he should submit his paper prior to the deadline. 7. When someone crosses at an intersection, he should look both ways before crossing. U Tongue Twisters top[ A Group Speaking Activity ]A tongue twister is a group of words that is difficult to pronounce because they begin with the same letter or are similar sounding. For example: Sally sells seashells by the seashore. Instructions: Working with your partner(s) complete the following tongue twisters by providing an appropriate word. 1. Betty Barts baked _________ batches of blueberry pancakes. 2. Gayle Goodle grabbed a group of _____________ ______________. 3. ____________ Mitchel measured a _______________ mango. 4. Nathan Neville never needed new ______________. 5. Clever Cassey carefully _______________ the creaky closet. 6. A flea and a fly flew __________ to a faraway ____________ 7. Harry __________ held Hannah’s hand.
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