大学英语快速阅读College English.1附习题4Pets

software and began programming computers at age 13. 0In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's chief executive officer. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC

for the first microcomputer — the MITS Altair.

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.

Gates'

foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. ? In 1999, Gates wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought, a book that shows how computer technology can solve business

problems

in

fundamentally new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more

than

60

countries.

Business @ the Speed . of Thought has received wide critical acclaim (jffi^) , and was listed on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Amazon, com. Gates' previous