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Complete the sentences using participles as adjectives.

1. His new book is an _______________ (excite) story. 2. The ______________ (confuse) students said that they couldn’t understand the rule. 3. Sue Townsend is an _______________ (interest) writer. 4. The teacher drew a very _________________ (confuse) diagram on the board. 5. ______________ (bore) teachers make _______________ (bore) students. 6. The room was simply ________________ (furnish) and __________________ (please) to the eye. 7. Paul came back looking very ________________ (pleased) with himself. 8. I think it’s very ___________________ (irritate) when students come in late. 9. The __________________ (astonish) tricks of magicians were revealed in the TV programme. 10. The children get terribly _________________ (excite) when my younger brother comes.

Cross-cultural Notes:

nerd, geek – a technically competent person. Although traditionally used to describe men and boys, the terms ‘nerd’ and ‘geek’ have been adopted by many women interested in technology, science, mathematics and other typically male-dominated intellectual fields as badges of their accomplishments in these areas.

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“If you want to know what God thinks about money, just look at the people He gives it to.”
(Old Irish Saying)

Bill Gates has created the world's largest company; he is the world's richest man and the biggest charitable giver in history. He may be a college drop-out and ‘computer geek’ but rivals have often underestimated his abilities in the cut throat world of business. Gates has come to be known for his aggressive business tactics and confrontational style of management. He, and his company, have attracted a vast army of critics and enemies in recent years as their domination of the IT world has grown.

William Henry Gates was born into an affluent upper-middle class Seattle family. When he reached school age his parents enrolled him at Lakeside School, a strict, private school renown for its high academic standards. Lakeside offered students the opportunity to explore their own interests. Mathematics, business and computing were fields in which Gates had keen interests. Gates would read far ahead in his classes giving himself free time to explore his interests in computers and business. Confidence and intelligence are two traits that helped Gates obtain his goals. It is these characteristics that helped Bill Gates change the computing world.

Gates began computing as a 13-year-old at Lakeside school. By the age of 17, he had sold his first program – a timetabling system for the school, earning him $4,200. When one of the boys at Lakeside asked what his plans were Bill replied, “I’m going to make my first million by the time I’m 25.” At the age of 31 he became the youngest ever self-made millionaire.

At Harvard, Gates and his fellow student Paul Allen teamed up to write the first computer language program written for a personal computer. The two friends established Microsoft in 1975, so called because it provided microcomputer software. A year later, Gates dropped out of Harvard, once it became clear that the possibilities for Microsoft were bright. On January 1, 1979, Bill Gates moved Microsoft and its sixteen employees to Seattle, Washington. The big break came in 1980 when an agreement was signed to provide the operating system for IBM's new personal computer.

Microsoft developed a standard for hiring new employees. Only the most gifted and intelligent new college graduates would be hired. Little job experience was considered positive from Microsoft's point of view. An employee with little experience would have no bias. Gates has never been engaged in conspicuous consumption. For a number of years Microsoft policy was that executives fly business class and there was no corporate jet. He also claimed, in 2005, that he’s gone to work every work day since 1975.

Gates was married on January 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. The Gates family lives in the exclusive suburb of Medina, Washington, in a huge house overlooking Lake Washington. The Gates home is a very modern 21st century house, with advanced electronic systems everywhere. In one respect though it is more like an 18th or 19th century mansion: it has a large private library with a domed reading room. While it does have a classic flavour, the home has many unique qualities. Lights would automatically come on when you came home. Speakers would be hidden beneath the wallpaper to allow music to follow you from room to room. Portable touch pads would control everything from the TV sets to the temperature and the lights, which would brighten or dim to fit the occasion or to match the outdoor light.

Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge. In addition to his love of computers and software, Gates founded Corbis, which is developing one of the world's largest resources of visual information – a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe.

Bill Gates has been the subject of numerous parodies in film, television, and video games. Gates is often characterized as the quintessential example of a super-intelligent ‘nerd’ with immense power. This has in turn led to pop-culture of Gates as a tyrant or evil genius, often resorting to ruthless business techniques.

Philanthropy is also important to Gates. Gates and Melinda have been giving increasing amounts of money to charity, with his father running a foundation. They support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning, with the hope that in the 21st century, advances in these critical areas will be available for all people. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed more than $3.2 billion to organizations working in global health; more than $2 billion to improve learning opportunities, including the Gates Library Initiative to bring computers, Internet access and training to public libraries in low-income communities in the United States and Canada.

Over the past five years, the Foundation has invested more than $250 million (including college scholarships for low-income students) to advance the goal of raising the state’s graduation and college-readiness rates. The work is challenging and complex, but it has already yielded important lessons – for the state and the nation. The grants are designed to galvanize communities and help educate parents, students, and others about the critical connection between a high-quality education and success in today’s global economy. Today’s knowledge-based economy means employers want young people entering the workforce to possess the same high-level skills and knowledge required of college freshmen. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to helping all students graduate from high school ready for college, work, and citizenship.