盖茨夫妇的一封信（双语）
英语课
Letter from Bill and Melinda GatesMore than a decade ago, the two of us read an article about the millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that were long ago eliminated in this country. One disease we had never even heard of—rotavirus—was killing 1 literally 2 half a million kids each year. We thought: That's got to be a typo. If a single disease were killing that many kids, we would have heard about it, because it would have been front-page news. But it wasn’t a typo.
We couldn't escape the brutal 3 conclusion that—in our world today—some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: "This can’t be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving."We sent the article to Bill's father, Bill Gates Sr., with a note attached that said, "Dad, maybe we can do something about this." And he helped us get started.
We created the Gates Foundation in 2000 because we believe in the principle that every human life has equal worth. The life of an impoverished 4 child in a developing country is as precious as the life of a middle-class kid in a developed one. A family struggling to make ends meet in an American inner city matters as much as a family thriving in a safe, suburban 5 neighborhood. Today, billions of people never even have the chance to live a healthy, productive life. We want to help all people get that opportunity.
We know it can be done because this is a unique moment in history: Scientific and technological 6 advances are making it possible to solve big, complicated problems like never before. If these advances are focused on the problems of the people with the most urgent needs and the fewest champions, then within this century billions of people will grow up healthier, get a better education, and gain the power to lift themselves out of poverty. Warren Buffett shares our sense of optimism, and we are deeply humbled 7 by his decision to give a significant portion of his resources to the foundation.
We're so hopeful about the potential for rapid progress that we've decided 8 the foundation will spend all its money in the next 100 years. In this century, our world has the opportunity to fulfill 9 the great human promise that all lives have equal value.
Bill and Melinda Gates' signatureBill Gates and Melinda F. Gates
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的
- She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
- They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化
- the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
- They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.城郊的，在郊区的
- Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
- There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
adj.技术的；工艺的
- A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
- Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
- 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。
标签：
比尔盖茨