英伦广角 Issue 112 奇客之王比尔盖茨正式从微软隐

Next week, Bill Gates is stepping down from Microsoft to focus on his charity. Its goal -- to rid the world of diseases like malaria¹. By giving away around 30 billion dollars, he is always welcome in the corridors of power.

Is he supportive of the work you do in the foundation?

Yes, I'd say that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have been two of the best world leaders on these issues both in terms of giving them feasibility and increasing their generosity².

As well as dropping in on Downing Street, Bill's got a packed schedule of business meetings. His new agenda means he is even busier than ever.

We have got a meeting with a number of chief information officers from big UK companies. From there he actually then meets with the Sunday Times business editor. Board meeting is three minutes, which is... (laugh)

What can you say in three minutes? Maybe hail Bill Gates, he said "Oh."

I'd like to introduce Bill Gates.

Chairman Bill may soon be spending less time in the office, but the billionaire sales rep can't resist pitching the latest Microsoft product -- touch recognition technology.

I, I picked a particular application here just to show you how touch might work. Underneath³ here this is just a Windows personal computer that has a camera and some magic software, so it's watching my fingers.

For the boss of Microsoft, it's a time of transition. The geek who transformed the computer industry is being rebooted, and the 2008 version of Bill Gates could have an even bigger impact.

Bill Gates is standing⁴ down from the company he built into one of the most profitable in the world. Having made his fortune, he is about to embark⁵ on the next stage of his career -- giving it away. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is growing in size and ambition, almost as fast as Microsoft did. But it's a family affair, to which the couple have promised to give almost all their fortune. By donating 30 billion dollars to charity, Gates is now sharing a global platform with presidents, prime ministers, and even rock stars.

This wealth, we've chosen not to pass it to our children or, you know, buy all sorts of ventures or whatever. We are getting it back to society in the way that can have the most positive impact.

Until now it's been Melinda Gates who's been spending more time on the foundation.

This is, this is a challenge that we have, because people look at Bill and me and say, my gosh, you have a ton of money, right? Ok, so we've started this foundation. And when we started it, we have, we put into it 30 billion dollars. That's all money Bill's earned essentially⁶ from this incredible company -- Microsoft. And a friend of ours...

Bill Gates will soon be working alongside his wife, and friends say they complement⁷ each other.
 

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。