Last week，Bill Gates retired from full-time work at the world’s biggest computer software company, Microsoft．He will remain chairman of the company he established with Paul Allen in nineteen seventy-five．

Mister Gates leaves Microsoft at a time of change in the computing industry．Microsoft grew at a time when personal computers，or PCs，were replacing big mainframe computers as the main computing tools．He showed that huge profits could be made in software as PCs increasingly were found “on every desk and in every home．”

Early on，Microsoft understood the importance of the “network effect．” That is, software is the kind of product that increases in value as more people buy and use it．

Now，free Internet software threatens to replace PC-based software．Devices like “smart phones” connect people to the Internet．Google has become a 1eader in Internet Web searching and advertising．Microsoft has struggled to change with the new computer environment．Its efforts to sell music and its latest operating system，Vista，have not been big successes．And an attempt this year to buy Yahoo for over forty-seven billion dollars failed．

In the last several years，Bill Gates has slowly given control of Microsoft to others．In two thousand，he gave the job of chief executive officer to Steve Ballmer, a friend of his since their years at Harvard University．Mister Ballmer has been with Microsoft since nineteen eighty．Still，it is hard to overestimate(过高估计) the influence of Bill Gates on computing．He developed the business model that put the Windows operating system on about ninety percent of the world’s one billion PCs．Microsoft now has almost ninety thousand employees．

At fifty―two years old，Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world．He is worth about fifty-eight billion dollars．He remains Microsoft’s biggest shareholder．

Mister Gates will now spend most of his time working at his charity organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation．The foundation is the world's largest charity with over thirty-seven billion dollars．It provides money for health, education and other projects，mostly in developing countries．

60．Bill Gates retired from full-time work in Microsoft because           

A．he had earned enough money

B．Google threatened Microsoft’s leading place

C．PCs were out of fashion

D．of a reason that was not mentioned

61．Which of the following statements is true about Bill Gates?

A．Bill Gates set up Microsoft on his own in 1975．

B．Bill Gates failed to buy Yahoo．

C．Bill Gates was the chief executive officer when he retired．

D．Bill Gates is the richest man in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation．

62．Microsoft grew at a time when              ．

A．‘smart phones’ connect people to Internet

B．Vista was put into market

C．Personal Computers were on every desk and in every home

D．Computers became the main computing tools

63．Microsoft’s “network effect” probably means                ．

A．the more people use PCs，the more software they will buy

B．the more people use Internet，the more money Microsoft can make

C．the better product, the more value

D．the later operating system，the better software

Last week，Bill Gates retired from full-tine．rime work at the world’s biggest computer software company, Microsoft．He will remain chairman of the company he established with Paul Allen in nineteen seventy-five．

Mister Gates leaves Microsoft at a time of change in the computing industry．Microsoft grew at a time when personal computers，or PCs，were replacing big mainframe computers as the main computing tools．He showed that huge profits could be made in software as PCs increasingly were found “on every desk and in every home．”

Early on，Microsoft understood the importance of the “network effect．” That is．software is the kind of product that increases in value as more people buy and use it．

Now，free Internet software threatens to replace PC-based software．Devices like “smart phones” connect people to the Internet．Google has become a 1eader in Internet Web searching and advertising．Microsoft has struggled to change with the new computer environment．Its efforts to sell music and its latest operating system，Vista，have not been big successes．And an attempt this year to buy Yahoo for over forty-seven billion dollars failed．

In the last several years，Bill Gates has slowly given control of Microsoft to others．In two thousand，he gave the job of chief executive officer to Steve Ballmer, a friend of his since their years at Harvard University．Mister Ballmer has been with Microsoft since nineteen eighty．Still，it is hard to overestimate the influence of Bill Gates on computing．He developed the business model that put the Windows operating system on about ninety percent of the world’s one billion PCs．Microsoft now has almost ninety thousand employees．

At fifty—two years old，Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world．He is worth about fifty-eight billion dollars．He remains Microsoft’s biggest shareholder．

Mister Gates will now spend most of his time working at his charity organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation．The foundation is the world's largest charity with over thirty-seven billion dollars．It provides money for health, education and other projects，mostly in developing countries．

1．Bill Gates retired from full-time work in Microsoft because              ．

A．he had earned enough money

B．Google threatened Microsoft’s leading place

C．PCs were out of fashion

D．of a reason that was not mentioned

2．Which of the following statements is true about Bill Gates?

A．Bill Gates set up Microsoft on his own in 1975．

B．Bill Gates failed to buy Yahoo．

C．Bill Gates was the chief executive officer when he retired．

D．Bill Gates is the richest mall in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation．

3．Microsoft grew at a time when                       ．

A．‘smart phones’ connect people to Internet

B．Vista was put into market

C．Personal Computers were on every desk and in every home

D．Computers became the main computing tools

4．Microsoft’s ‘network effect’ probably means                ．

A．the more people use PCs，the more software they will buy

B．the more people use Internet，the more money Microsoft can make

C．the better product, the more value

D．the later operating system，the better software

（湖北省部分重点中学2009届高三第一次联考）

A

Last week，Bill Gates retired from full-tine．rime work at the world’s biggest computer software company, Microsoft．He will remain chairman of the company he established with Paul Allen in nineteen seventy-five．

Mister Gates leaves Microsoft at a time of change in the computing industry．Microsoft grew at a time when personal computers，or PCs，were replacing big mainframe computers as the main computing tools．He showed that huge profits could be made in software as PCs increasingly were found “on every desk and in every home．”

Early on，Microsoft understood the importance of the “network effect．” That is．software is the kind of product that increases in value as more people buy and use it．

Now，free Internet software threatens to replace PC-based software．Devices like “smart phones” connect people to the Internet．Google has become a 1eader in Internet Web searching and advertising．Microsoft has struggled to change with the new computer environment．Its efforts to sell music and its latest operating system，Vista，have not been big successes．And an attempt this year to buy Yahoo for over forty-seven billion dollars failed．

In the last several years，Bill Gates has slowly given control of Microsoft to others．In two thousand，he gave the job of chief executive officer to Steve Ballmer, a friend of his since their years at Harvard University．Mister Ballmer has been with Microsoft since nineteen eighty．Still，it is hard to overestimate the influence of Bill Gates on computing．He developed the business model that put the Windows operating system on about ninety percent of the world’s one billion PCs．Microsoft now has almost ninety thousand employees．

At fifty—two years old，Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world．He is worth about fifty-eight billion dollars．He remains Microsoft’s biggest shareholder．

Mister Gates will now spend most of his time working at his charity organization,the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation．The foundation is the world's largest charity with over thirty-seven billion dollars．It provides money for health,education and other projects，mostly in developing countries．

61．Bill Gates retired from full-time work in Microsoft because              ．

A．he had earned enough money

B．Google threatened Microsoft’s leading place

C．PCs were out of fashion

D．of a reason that was not mentioned

62．Which of the following statements is true about Bill Gates?

A．Bill Gates set up Microsoft on his own in 1975．

B．Bill Gates failed to buy Yahoo．

C．Bill Gates was the chief executive officer when he retired．

D．Bill Gates is the richest mall in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation．

63．Microsoft grew at a time when                       ．

A．‘smart phones’ connect people to Internet

B．Vista was put into market

C．Personal Computers were on every desk and in every home

D．Computers became the main computing tools

64．Microsoft’s’ network effect’ probably means                ．

A．the more people use PCs，the more software they will buy

B．the more people use Internet，the more money Microsoft can make

C．the better product, the more value

D．the later operating system，the better software

If you won $50000000 would you still go to college?

Lots of people go to college so they have a chance to get a better job, but if you won $50 million, would you still pursue a higher education?

Re: If you won $50000000 would u still go to college?

I would definitely still go to college if I had that much money, but I would not be competing for a scholarship on collegenet.com．I would probably still discuss things here and I would create other scholarships to help other people to go to college as well.

    With $50 million, I would not have to worry about getting a loan from Chase bank or finding scholarships to study abroad．I would have published several books by now as well, but I would still pursue my education．Going to undergraduate school is something that I really want to do because I want to become a Pediatrician．Money may buy a lot of things, but it does not necessarily give you knowledge and knowledge is what I am currently in pursuit of．

    I am not just going to school to get a better job; I am going to school to fulfill all of my dreams．$50 million is a lot of money, but no amount of money can deter me from my goals.

    Veggie-thought："Money may make things easier, but it is not everything."

Re: If u won $50000000 would u still go to college?

Would I still go?

UMM YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!

    I still want to teach...I don't care if I have more money than Bill Gates...I still want to be in a classroom teaching!! And I need a degree to do that! Teaching is my dream job, and it would make me really happy.

    I would pay off my loans as well as my boyfriends loans and help out a couple of friends who are having trouble with financial aid．Of course some of that would get invested and dispersed for various reasons....but we'll not go into details.

Re: If you won $50000000 would you still go to college?

I would still go to college．The only difference is with that much money to go to college I probably would stay in college longer and pursue a few extra degrees while I am there．I am looking for knowledge not money．The only problem is I need money to pursue knowledge, well at least accredited knowledge.

   Also I could set up scholarship funds and I could save some more for additional dreams and goals that I have.

1．According to the answers, what do they have in common?

       A．They all prefer money to education.

      B．They all want to get a better job.

      C．They will continue to pursue knowledge.

      D．They will give up jobs.

2．From the first answer, we know the person is _____.

    A．greedy            B．ambitious         C．passive           D．selfish

3．In the following statements, which is not true according to the passage?

       A．They all have something they want to do.

       B．They think knowledge is more important than money.

       C．They all have their own dreams.

       D．The second person doesn’t want to get other scholarship.

4．The underlined phrase “pay off” means _____.

      A．give back        B．cost               C．apply for         D．get