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Talk in groups about what information is important when describing people.
• personal background
• job
• interests
(1)
William (Bill) H. Gates is the chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Born on Oct. 28, 1955, Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. Their father, William H. Gates Ⅱ, is a Seattle attorney . Their late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher.
In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version 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.
Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers.
In addition to his love of computers and software, philanthropy is very important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda, started a foundation in 2000 to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning.
Gates was married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf, tennis and bridge.
1. attorney : a lawyer
2. version : a form, copy, style of something that exists in more than one form
eg. This dress is a cheaper version of the one we saw the other day.
The newspapers gave different versions of what happened that day.
3. mission : task, duty
eg. She felt that her mission in life was to help the poor.
4. philanthropy : love of mankind; practical sympathy and benevolence 慈善，仁慈
5. foundation : fund of money for charity, research, etc. 基金会
6. inequity : injustice, unfairness
7. initiative : action or movement that starts something
eg. The government is making some fresh initiatives to deal with the current economic difficulties.
8. avid : extremely eager or keen
eg. an avid learner废寝忘食的学习者
avid for success渴望成功
(2)
Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie, born on August 16, 1958 and known artistically as Madonna, is an American pop singer,songwriter, record producer and actress. Raised near Detroit, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City for a career in ballet. After performing as member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her first album in 1983. She rose to success after producing three consecutive number-one studio albums in the 1980s.
Besides her music career, Madonna has acted in 22 films. Although several of them failed critically and commercially, she earned the Golden Globe Award for her role in the 1996 film Evita . Divorced from actor Sean Penn in 1989, Madonna is married to film director Guy Ritchie in 2000. She has two biological children and successfully adopted a Malawian boy, David Banda, in 2008.
Madonna has been regarded as “one of the greatest pop artists of all time”. She is ranked as the best-selling female rock artist of the twentieth century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States. Guinness World Records list her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and the top-earning female singer in the world.
Talk to each other about someone you both know and like, trying to describe him or her in as much detail as possible.
1. Golden Globe Award : 金球奖
The Golden Globe Awards are given annually to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television. The broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars and the Grammy Awards.
2. Malawi : 马拉维
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa. It is bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi . The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, one of the original Bantu tribes to inhabit the area.
3. Guinness World Records : 吉尼斯世界纪录
Guinness World Records , known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records, is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted series of all-time.
1. release : issue or publish
eg. The new trade figures are to be released next week.
2. consecutive : continuing in an unbroken order
eg. It has been raining for 5 consecutive days.
3. biological children : 亲生的孩子