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C Learning EnglishThe Handy Guide

Episode 10: Bill Gates _________________________________________________

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The Handy Guide bbclearningenglish.com BBC Learning English 2008Page 1 of 3

VocabularyThe extracts numbered 1-10 are taken from The Handy Guide Part 10: Bill Gates . Fill in the gaps in thesentences using the words below. Do not repeat any words.

hindsight crisis circuit vitality interact

blossom hard-nosed endeavours preach kit

primitive techies spur thirst

1. He doesn't join the lecture ____________ nor is he a prolific author. He has only ever written two

books and very few articles.

2. Jack Welch, who has just retired as Chairman of General Electric in America, is another of those

who ____________ by example.

3. You probably know some of it already, how he got hooked on ___________ computers at an early

age, along with his friend Paul Allen, how he and Paul stumbled across an advert for a small

____________ computer called the Altair 8800, how they started to write a programme for it

4. It all looks obvious in ____________ , but back then, I remember, computers were huge machines

that had to be kept in special temperature-controlled rooms with their own special languages that you

had to learn before you could ____________with them.

5. What he has is the ____________ for social invention. He revels in change and draws inspiration

from a ____________ .

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The Handy Guide bbclearningenglish.com BBC Learning English 2008Page 2 of 3

6. We didn't see, he says, that the Internet, which was originally a network for academics and

____________ , would ____________ into the global network it is today."

7. It is a striking example of how a failure can be the ____________ to new ____________ ...

8. The company headquarters at Redmond, near Seattle, has often been compared to a university

campus, but if so, it is a very ____________ university indeed

9. Incredibly bright though they both were, there was no way that they could personally control the

huge ____________ giant that Microsoft was becoming.

10. Behind the structures, however, there are some very clear people policies, which are the things that

give the company its extraordinary ____________ .

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The Handy Guide bbclearningenglish.com BBC Learning English 2008Page 3 of 3

KEY

1. He doesn't join the lecture circuit nor is he a prolific author. He has only ever written two books andvery few articles.

2. Jack Welch, who has just retired as Chairman of General Electric in America, is another of thosewho preach by example.

3. You probably know some of it already, how he got hooked on primitive computers at an early age,along with his friend Paul Allen, how he and Paul stumbled across an advert for a small kit computer called the Altair 8800, how they started to write a programme for it

4. It all looks obvious in hindsight , but back then, I remember, computers were huge machines that hadto be kept in special temperature-controlled rooms with their own special languages that you had tolearn before you could interact with them.

5. What he has is the thirst for social invention. He revels in change and draws inspiration from acrisis .

6. We didn't see, he says, that the Internet, which was originally a network for academics andtechies , would blossom into the global network it is today."

7. It is a striking example of how a failure can be the spur to new endeavours ...

8. The company headquarters at Redmond, near Seattle, has often been compared to a universitycampus, but if so, it is a very hard-nosed university indeed

9. Incredibly bright though they both were, there was no way that they could personally control thehuge sprawling giant that Microsoft was becoming.

10. Behind the structures , however, there are some very clear people policies, which are the things thatgive the company its extraordinary vitality .