William H.Gates

許光輝

William H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation， the worldwide leader in software， which helps people and businesses realise their dreams. On June 15， 2006， Gates announced that he would leave the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. After July 2008， Gates will continue to serve as Microsoft's chairman and an advisor on key development projects.

Born on October 28， 1955， Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. Their father is a lawyer. Their late mother， Mary Gates， was a schoolteacher.

Gates attended the private Lakeside School. There， he discovered his interest in software and began programming computers at age 13.

In 1973， Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman. While at Harvard， Gates developed a version （版本） of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer.

In his junior year， Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft， a company he had begun 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. Gates' foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry.

In 1999， Gates wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought， a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally （根本地） new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. Business @ the Speed of Thought was listed on the best-seller lists of the New York Times， USA Today， the Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com. Gates has donated the proceeds （收入） of the book to non-profit organisations that support the use of technology in education and skills development.

In addition to his love of computers and software， Gates founded Corbis， which is developing one of the world's largest resources of visual information — a comprehensive digital archive （文件） of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. He is also a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.， which invests in companies engaged in diverse business activities.

Gates was married on January 1， 1994， to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid （熱望的） reader， and enjoys playing golf and bridge.

Writing Task：

After reading the passage， you must have got a general impression of this legendary chairman， Bill Gates. What personality or character of him impresses you most？ What do you think is important to his success？ What should you do to achieve success？ Write an article of about 120 words to express your opinion.

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