Today, no one thinks of Bill Gates as a failed entrepreneur or a college dropout yet. Both of these
things are true of Gates, American richest man and the pioneering genius who leads the computer
software industry.
Gates was born in Seattle in 1955. Young Gates' grades weren't always great. Although he did well in
science and maths, he was something of an underachiever. But in the eighth grade he found his passion. In
the 1960's, the mothers' club at Gates' school bought a computer for the students.
Gates discovered it and soon became computer crazy. He spent every evening and weekend trying to master computer technology. His computer usage fees were so high that he hide from his parents the
amount he spent. It wasn't long, though until his programming passion turned toward real goals. He and
his friend Paul Allen started a company called Traf-0-Data. Their goal was to use new computer
technology to count passing cars. The company went broke. After all he was only in the eighth grade.
And it didn't discourage his interest in technology. In fact, it was because of his passion for programming
that he later dropped out of Harvard. He spent two dissatisfying years at the university before he left to
form another company with Allen. Gates and Allen called their software company Microsoft. In the
1970s it was only a small operation running out of loaned office in Arizona. Gates would work late into
the night and sometimes sleep under his desk. Today, Microsoft is the software industry giant. As
chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft, Gates operates as the prince of programmers.
Despite his wealth and recent marriage, Gates hasn't slowed down. He is still a workaholic, putting in
long hours at the office.
1. The first computer that Gates was crazy for was a computer _ __ .
A. at home
B. at school
C. at the mothers' club
D. at an office
2. Once Gates was ___ _ .
A. a failed entrepreneur
B. a good student in his middle school
C. a crazy student
D. honest enough to tell his parents how much he spent on computer
3. Gates' first company was ___ .
A. successful
B. unsuccessful
C. started when he was at college
D. called Microsoft
4. Which of the following sentences is true?
A. Gates graduated from Harvard
B. The company Microsoft mainly use new computer to count passing cars
C. The company Microsoft was started by Gates and Allen
D. Not only chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft, Gates is also a prince in the USA
5. The underlined word workaholic here means ___ _.
A. a member of the company
B. a common person with high position
C. a person who has great interest in PC
D. one who has a strong determination and interest to work
