閱讀理解

　　Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his vast fortune(財(cái)產(chǎn)), largely to the cause(事業(yè))of global health, during the course of his lifetime．With an estimated(估計(jì))worth of more than ＄40 billion, according to Forbes, the project will be no small feat(功績(jī))for Gates．Having already provided the Bill ＆ Melinda Gates Foundation with ＄24 billion to address global health issues, Gates said that eventually(最終地)his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”．

　　So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest? Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity” in which Americanstake such pride needs to extend to other nationsaround the world．Improving the health of the populations, he says, has proven to be an essential(基本的)method in helping poor countries to be financially successful．“National borders allow inequalities, ”said Gates．“We all need to take a more global view, rather than just saying my country is doing well．We have to step up these health issues, knowing how few resources are going into them．”

　　Gates said that both his parents set up an example for him as a child．His father, William H．Gates, was the head of the local Planned Parenthood, and his mother, Mary, volunteered for the Untied Way．As he gathered his fortune, Gates knew he would eventually want to give back as well, but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole heartedly to one project until he was about 60．However, Gates, 47, began to question his ability to wait that long．“It seemed there was a real time urgency, ”Gates said．“I started to think：how many lives could I save before then?”

閱讀理解

　　Bill Gates was born on October 28th, 1955．He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle．Their father, William H．Gates II, was a Seattle lawyer．Mary Gates, their late mother, was a school teacher．

　　Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle．It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer soft- ware, programming computers at age 13．

　　In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsoft's president．While at Harvard, Gates developed a version(版本)of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer－the MITS Astair．In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen．Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desk-top and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers．

　　Gates' foresight has led to the success of Microsoft and the software industry．He plays an important role in the technical development of new products．Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in touch with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail．

　　In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than ＄ 800 million to charities(慈善機(jī)構(gòu)), including ＄ 200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America make use of new technologies and the Information Age．