《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》30 Meet the Ten Richest People(I)

　　Unit 30
Meet the Ten Richest People in the World in 2000 (I)
10. Michael Dell
Age: 34. Nationality: American. Marital¹ Status: Married. Children: 4. Worth: $16.5 Billion.
Just barely squeezing in at number ten is the youngest of all of our billionaires, the young pup who founded Dell Computers. Mike dropped out of University of Texas at 19, and started selling PC s by mail order. The day his former classmates were graduating, his sales had already hit $70 million a year. Today he sells $2 million a day, and has passed IBM  in annual sales. The bastard².
9. Phillip F. Anschutz
Age: 59. Nationality: American. Marital Status: Married. Children: 3. Worth: $16.5 Billion.
Phil the kind of guy whose father was a rich oil billionaire, but decided³ he didn't like the family business. Phil preferred real estate and railroads. Rather than just being born lucky, Anschutz is a savvy⁴ businessman. He has interests in fiber⁵ optics companies, huge cattle ranches⁶, and lots of downtown Denver real estate interests. But let's face it: the biggest chunk⁷ was inherited.
8. Amir Jaber Al-Ahamed Al-Jaber Alsabah
Age: 77. Nationality: Kuwaiti. Worth: $17 Billion.
The man's money is in oil, investments, property, and the sweat of his people. And this is just what's left over since we kicked Saddam Hussein out of the neighborhood. Imagine the filthy⁸ stinking⁹ riches that he had prior to the burning of thousands of his oil wells. This is why we recommend Microsoft or oil baron¹⁰ as the best way to becoming a billionaire. You're born, you inherit oil fields, you live the easy life in the Middle East... you just can't beat it.
7. Steven Anthony Ballmer
Age: 43. Nationality: American. Marital status: Married. Children: 2. Worth: $19.5 Billion.
Steven actually lived down the hall from Bill Gates at Harvard, and is now the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mr. Bill's little venture. Many revere¹¹ im for the supposed monopoly Microsoft Corp. now holds, because of his perseverance¹² and amazing business know-how¹³.
6. Sheikh Zayed Bin¹⁴ Sultan Al Nahyan
Age: 66. Nationality: Abu Dhabian. Worth: $20 Billon.
Sheikh Zayed's home country of Abu Dhabi has grown over the last half century into one of the richest in the United Arab Emirates. Educated by local clerics and later by wandering tribesmen in the desert, the Sheikh's defining achievement has been the management of supply and distribution of water. This is an important thing in the desert, so you can imagine he is quite popular there.

1 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

2 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

7 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

8 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

9 stinking   

adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。
• Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

10 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

11 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

12 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

13 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

14 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。