VOA慢速英语-Economics Report - Bill Gates Steps Aside at Microso

He leaves at a time of major changes in the computer industry. But over 90 percent of the world's one billion personal computers still use the Windows operating system. Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
03 July 2008

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Last week, Bill Gates retired² from full-time³ work at the world's biggest computer software company, Microsoft. He will remain chairman of the company he established with Paul Allen in nineteen seventy-five.
　

Bill Gates

Mister Gates leaves Microsoft at a time of change in the computing⁴ industry. Microsoft grew at a time when personal computers, or PCs, were replacing big mainframe computers as the main computing tools. He showed that huge profits could be made in software as PCs increasingly were found "on every desk and in every home."

Early on, Microsoft understood the importance of the "network effect." That is, software is the kind of product that increases in value as more people buy and use it.

Now, free Internet software threatens to replace PC-based software. Devices like "smart phones" connect people to the Internet. Google has become a leader in Internet Web searching and advertising⁵. Microsoft has struggled to change with the new computer environment. Its efforts to sell music and its latest operating system, Vista⁶, have not been big successes. And an attempt this year to buy Yahoo for over forty-seven billion dollars failed.

In the last several years, Bill Gates has slowly given control of Microsoft to others. In two thousand, he gave the job of chief executive officer to Steve Ballmer, a friend of his since their years at Harvard University. Mister Ballmer has been with Microsoft since nineteen eighty.

Still, it is hard to overestimate⁷ the influence of Bill Gates on computing. He developed the business model that put the Windows operating system on about ninety percent of the world's one billion PCs. Microsoft now has almost ninety thousand employees.

At fifty-two years old, Bill Gates is currently the third richest man in the world. He is worth about fifty-eight billion dollars. He remains⁸ Microsoft's biggest shareholder⁹.

Mister Gates will now spend most of his time working at his charity organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is the world's largest charity with over thirty-seven billion dollars. It provides money for health, education and other projects, mostly in developing countries.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts¹⁰ and archives of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

7 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

10 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句