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

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

‘Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness,’ wrote Samuel Johnson，a famous British writer and lexicographer（词典编写者）of the eighteenth century．

Today, amid the large amount of worldly temptations and material sources of modem-day enjoyment, people from all walks of life are still searching for the key to happiness．The question ‘How call we be happy? ’seems to worry everyone．Indeed, in this day and age of scientific advancement and heavenly comforts．people still do not seem able to find a definite answer to the age-old problem of finding happiness．Happiness seems to be a very difficult thing．Solon’s dictum‘ count no man happy until he is dead’ seems to present both, the poor and the rich with a continual threat causing them no end of anxiety．

In Oxford，England，a noted psychology professor, Dr Michael Argyle，has succeeded in his quest for happiness．Over the past eight years, he has been researching the mysterious antithesis（对立而）of depression，and has found convincing clues which he has embodied in his books．‘The Psychology of Happiness’，and ‘The Social Psychology of Everyday Life’．

Dr Argyle explains that happiness comprises three essential elements—first，positive emotions 1ike joy；second，the absence of negative emotions like anxiety；and lastly, the non-emotional element which means a general，more profound satisfaction with life．

“The bigger source of happiness is a happy marriage,” Dr Argyle explains．“Job satisfaction．”he continues，“is another essential ingredient of happiness．”Do you feel you are doing a useful job? Do you feel you are achieving, or stand a chance of achieving your ambitions? If you honestly  have positive answers to these questions，then eventually，you will be happy；if not，then you can still be happy by reducing your ambitions and lowering your expectations in order to achieve  happiness．’The fact is, the higher your ambitions and dreams are，the more difficult it will be for you to achieve your goals and therefore it will be harder to achieve satisfaction and happiness．

Dr Argyle offers other avenues people can take to find real happiness．Music, games or sports，a drink with a friend，a simple gathering at tea，lunch or dinner with loved ones, or simply thinking of nice things, call give a person happiness, if only for a few hours．Surprisingly, television programmers, especially soap operas offers nothing but a bit of pleasurable moments． Often, television viewers are so carried away emotionally that they feel depressed or emotionally tired. Non-soap programmers，on the other hand，bore many viewers or sometimes deepen their misery．Dr Argyle further explains that wealth and worldly success do contribute to happiness．But in the ultimate analysis, Dr Argyle says, it is the person’s temperament（性情）that makes him happy or unhappy．“There are in our midst people who are naturally happy, and there are the sad ones．”

Happiness is indeed mysterious．As one wise mall put it, ‘Few are those who have never had the chance to achieve happiness，but fewer those who have never taken that chance．’

1．The writer quotes Solon’s dictum in paragraph 2 to prove that            ．

A．happiness is everyone’s business            B．the dead are happier than the living

C．man is generally hard．                          D．happiness is not easy to find

2．Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an ingredient of happiness?

A．Happy marriage．                              B．Entertainment．

C．High ambitions．                                 D．Wealth and power．

3．The writer believes that television programmers             ．

A．do more harm than good                                                                                    B．offer only limited enjoyment

C．should be avoided altogether by viewers                               

D．are a genuine source of enjoyment

4．Dr argyle believes that              ．

A．the temperament of a person is largely affected by his working environment

B．there are people who are by nature happy or unhappy

C．there are people who blame others for their low self-esteem

D．most people often feel depressed because they worry about what other people think of them．

5．In the last paragraph，the writer implies that           ．

A．happiness is false

B．people may not know it but they are, in fact ,happy

C．people should not bother seeking happiness

D．most people have been happy at least once in their life