o stay close to the people who are important to us, no matter where they are. Like my friend Warren Buffett, I feel particularly lucky to do something every day that I love to do. He calls it “tap-dancing to work”. My job at Microsoft is as challenging as ever, but what makes me “tap-dancing to work” is when we show people something new, like a computer that can recognize your handwriting or your speech, or one that can store a lifetime’s worth of photos, and they say, “I didn’t know you could do that with a PC!” But for all the cool things that a person can do with a PC, there are lots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work to improve our world. There are still far too many people in the world whose most basic needs go unmet. Every year, for example, millions of people die from diseases that are easy to prevent or treat in the developed world. I believe that my own good fortune brings with it a responsibility to give back to the world. My wife, Melinda, and I have committed to improving health and education in a way that can help as many people as possible. As a father, I believe that the death of a child in Africa is no less poignant or tragic than the death pf a child anywhere else, and that it doesn’t take much to make an immense difference in these children’s lives. I’m still very much an optimist, and I believe that progress on even the world’s toughest problems is possible – and it’s happening every day. We’re seeing new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostic tools, and new attention paid to the health problems in the developing world. I’m excited by the possibilities I see for medicine, for education and, of course, for technology. And I believe that through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, we’re going to make some amazing in all these area in my life. (563 words)
1A computer was as big as an icebox when Bill Gates was a high school student.
2Bill Gates has been dreaming of the popularity of computers for his lifetime.
3Bill Gates compares his hard work on a PC to “tap-dancing to work” .
4To Bill Gates’mind, there is a big difference between the death of the poor’s children and the death of the rich’s children.
5So far Bill Gates has contributed several dozen billion dollars to the charities.
6Bill Gates and his wife consider it their duty to help the poor better their health and education as much as possible.
7Bill Gates will leave only a small portion of his wealth for his children.
18、 More Than 8 Hours Sleep Too Much of a Good Thing Although the dangers of too little sleep are widely known，new research suggests that people who sleep too much may also suffer the consequences． Investigators at the University of California in San Diego found that people who clock up 9 or 10 hours each weeknight appear to have more trouble falling and staying asleep，as well as a number of other sleep problems，than people who sleep 8 hours a night．People who slept only 7 hours each night also said they had more trouble falling asleep and feeling refreshed after a night’s sleep than 8-hour sleepers． These findings, which DL Daniel Kripke reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, demonstrate that people who want to get a good night’s rest may not need to set aside。more than 8 hours a night．He added that“it might be a good idea''’for people who sleep more than 8 hours each night to consider reducing the amount of time they spend in bed, but cautioned that more research is needed to confirm this． Previous studies have shown the potential dangers of chronic shortages of sleep一for instance, one report demonstrated that people who habitually sleep less than 7 hours each night have a higher risk of dying within a fixed period than people who sleep more． For the current report，Kripke reviewed the responses of 1，004 adults to sleep questionnaires，in which participants indicated how much they slept during the Week and whether they experienced any sleep problems．Sleep problems included waking in the middle of the night，arising early in the morning and being unable to fall back to sleep，and having fatigue interfere with day-to-day functioning． KriDke found that people who slept between 9 and 10 hours each night were more likely to report experiencing each sleep problem than people who slept 8 hours．In an interview, Kripke noted that long sleepers may struggle to get rest at night simply because they spend too much time in bed．As evidence，he added that one way to help insomnia is to spend less time in bed．“It stands to reason that if a person spends too long a time in bed, then they’ll spend a higher percentage of time awake．”he said．
11. Paragraph 2 ___. 2. Paragraph 4___. 3. Paragraph 5___. 4. Paragraph 6___. A. Keprike’s research tool B. Dangers of Habitual shortages of sleep C. Criticism on Kripke’s report D. A way of overcoming insomnia E. Sleep problems of long and short sleepers F. Classification of sleep problems
25．To get a good night’s rest，people may not need to ___. 6．Long sleepers are reported to be more likely to___. 7． One of the sleep problems is waking in the middle of the night，unable to___. 8. One survey showed that people who habitually ___each night have a higher risk of dying． A fall asleep again B become more energetic the following day C sleep less than 7 hours D confirm those serious consequences E suffer sleep problems F sleep more t
