比尔·盖茨：20年内将捐出几乎全部财富

近日，比尔·盖茨突然宣布，未来20年，他将通过盖茨基金会捐出几乎全部的财富，用来挽救和改善世界各地的生命。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Which of the following best explains why Gates's plan does not fully compensate for recent cuts in global health funding by governments?

A. His personal fortune is not sufficient to meet all global needs.

B. His foundation focuses only on polio and not on other diseases.

C. Philanthropic efforts alone are insufficient without public-sector cooperation.

D. He is unwilling to commit more than the $200 billion already pledged.

无注释原文：

Bill Gates Plans to Give Away More Than $200 Billion Over 20 Years

From: The Wall Street Journal

Bill Gates plans to spend more than $200 billion over the next 20 years to fight poverty, malnutrition, polio and other global scourges, accelerating by decades a commitment to give away nearly all of his wealth.

The 69-year-old Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist said he would give 99% of his fortune to his charitable foundation, which he chairs, sooner than originally planned because the world faces many urgent problems and he wants to fund—and encourage others to fund—new tools to solve them. 

This is an opportunity to say “philanthropy really can change the world,” Gates said in an interview. Over the Gates Foundation's 25 years, “we've been able to have huge impact and so, hopefully, that inspires people both in global health and in other areas.”

The foundation said it would double its spending over the next two decades and close its doors at the end of 2045 after disbursing the billions. The foundation's charter previously called for it to close 20 years after Gates's death.

Gates said he expects the total to be more than $200 billion, including his wealth and the foundation's current endowment, which was $77.2 billion at the end of 2024. It also includes contributions from Warren Buffett during his lifetime.

That will still leave Gates and his family with plenty of money. Even after a quarter-century of philanthropy, he is still one of the world's richest men, with a net worth of about $108 billion, according to the Forbes 2025 world's billionaires list. “I'll still be comfortable,” he said. And the rest of his family will also be OK.

Gates's move comes at a critical point for public health. Childhood deaths have been reduced by more than half over the past few decades, HIV has become a treatable disease, and millions of people have emerged from poverty.

But the U.S. and other wealthy governments have recently slashed billions of dollars in global aid and research funding, putting gains against HIV, malaria and other diseases at risk. It also complicates Gates's philanthropy because his foundation pursues its goals in partnership with governments and other funders.

Gates said he isn't stepping up his giving to fill in gaps left by governments. “I'm not being more generous because others are being less generous,” he said.

A push to eradicate polio will fail if the U.S. government doesn't help fund it, Gates said. His foundation has invested $6.2 billion in the effort. “Without the U.S. involvement and resources, it isn't going to succeed,” he said.

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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为部分官方译文、部分机器翻译，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Bill Gates Plans to Give Away More Than $200 Billion Over 20 Years

From: The Wall Street Journal

Bill Gates plans to spend more than $200 billion over the next 20 years to fight poverty, malnutrition, polio and other global scourges, accelerating by decades a commitment to give away nearly all of his wealth.

比尔·盖茨(Bill Gates)计划在未来20年斥资逾2,000亿美元，用于抗击贫困、营养不良、脊髓灰质炎和其他全球性灾难，这将把他捐出几乎全部财富的承诺提前几十年完成。

malnutrition /ˌmæl.njuːˈtrɪʃ.ən/ 表示“营养不良”，英文解释为“physical weakness and bad health caused by having too little food, or too little of the types of food necessary for good health”举个🌰：Many of the refugees are suffering from severe malnutrition. 许多难民严重营养不良。

词根“nutr-”来自拉丁语“nutrire”，意味着“养育”，前缀“mal-”表示“坏的”。想象“营养不良”是由于摄入了质量不好的营养。联想宫殿：在宫殿的医疗中心，你看到一份报告讨论儿童“营养不良”对其后期生活的严重影响。近义词：undernourishment（营养不足） 同根词：nutrition（营养） 常用短语：combat malnutrition（对抗营养不良）

polio /ˈpəʊ.li.əʊ/ 表示“脊髓灰质炎，小儿麻痹症”，英文解释为“a serious infectious disease that can cause permanent paralysis (= being unable to move the body)”如：a polio vaccination programme 小儿麻痹症疫苗接种计划。

scourge /skɜːdʒ/ 表示“灾难，祸害；苦难的根源”，英文解释为“something or someone that causes great suffering or a lot of trouble”如：the scourge of war/poverty/drugs 战争/贫困/毒品的祸害。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述作家探讨新冠疫情将如何改变世界的文章中提到：In the teeth of a scourge on the scale of covid-19, the impulse to draw significance from suffering is again strong. 面对新冠疫情这种规模的灾难，人们从苦难中追寻意义的冲动再次被激发。

accelerate /əkˈsel.ə.reɪt/ 1）表示“（车辆或驾驶者）加速”，英文解释为“When a vehicle or its driver accelerates, the speed of the vehicle increases.”举个🌰：I accelerated to overtake the bus. 我加速超过了公共汽车。

2）accelerate /əkˈsel.ə.reɪt/ 表示“（使）加快，（使）增速；促进；提前，（促使）早日发生”，英文解释为“to happen or make something happen sooner or faster”举个🌰：They use special chemicals to accelerate the growth of crops. 他们使用特殊的化学品来刺激农作物生长。

decelerate /ˌdiːˈsel.ər.eɪt/ 表示“（使）降低速度；（使）减速”，英文解释为“to reduce the speed that a vehicle is travelling at”举个🌰：The car decelerated at the sight of the police car. 那辆汽车一见警车就慢了下来。

The 69-year-old Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist said he would give 99% of his fortune to his charitable foundation, which he chairs, sooner than originally planned because the world faces many urgent problems and he wants to fund—and encourage others to fund—new tools to solve them. 

这位69岁的微软(Microsoft)联合创始人兼慈善家表示，他将把自己99%的财富捐赠给他担任主席的慈善基金会，这比最初计划的要早，因为这个世界面临着许多紧迫的问题，他希望为解决这些问题的新工具提供资金，并鼓励更多人效仿。

philanthropist /fɪˈlænθrəpɪst/ 表示“慈善家”，英文解释为“A philanthropist is someone who freely gives money and help to people who need it.”

charitable /ˈtʃær.ə.tə.bəl/ 1）表示“慈善的”，英文解释为“giving money, food, or help free to those who are in need because they are ill, poor, or have no home”如：a charitable foundation/organization/trust 慈善基金会/组织/信托机构。

2）表示“仁慈的；宽厚的；宽容的”，英文解释为“kind, and not judging other people in a severe way”举个🌰：Some critics said the show was good in parts - those less charitable said the whole thing was a disaster. 有些批评家说演出有些部分还不错——而那些不那么厚道的批评家则说整场演出都糟透了。

This is an opportunity to say “philanthropy really can change the world,” Gates said in an interview. Over the Gates Foundation's 25 years, “we've been able to have huge impact and so, hopefully, that inspires people both in global health and in other areas.”

盖茨在接受采访时表示，这是一个表明“慈善事业确实可以改变世界”的机会。在盖茨基金会(Gates Foundation)成立的25年里，“我们已经能够产生巨大的影响，因此，希望这能在全球卫生和其他领域激励人们”。

philanthropy /fɪˈlænθrəpɪ/ 作名词，表示“博爱；慈善；乐善好施；捐助”，英文解释为“the practice of helping the poor and those in need, especially by giving money”

The foundation said it would double its spending over the next two decades and close its doors at the end of 2045 after disbursing the billions. The foundation's charter previously called for it to close 20 years after Gates's death.

该基金会表示，将在未来20年将其支出增加一倍，并计划在2045年底完成全部捐赠后关闭。按照此前的章程，该基金会原计划在盖茨去世后20年后关闭。

disburse /dɪsˈbɜːs/ 表示“拨（款）；拿出（一部分资金）”，英文解释为“to pay out money, usually from an amount that has been collected for a particular purpose”举个🌰：The local authorities annually disburse between £50 million and £100 million on arts projects. 当地政府每年都为艺术项目拨款5000万到1亿英镑。

Gates said he expects the total to be more than $200 billion, including his wealth and the foundation's current endowment, which was $77.2 billion at the end of 2024. It also includes contributions from Warren Buffett during his lifetime.

盖茨表示，他预计可用于捐赠的总额将超过2,000亿美元，其中包括他的财富和该基金会目前的捐赠基金，截至2024年底，该基金会的基金总额为772亿美元。这其中还包括沃伦·巴菲特(Warren Buffett)有生之年的捐款。

1）表示“天赋；天资；才能”，英文解释为“something that you have from birth, often a quality”举个🌰：There are tests that can establish a baby's genetic endowment. 有些测试可以测定婴儿的基因特性。

2）表示“捐款；捐赠；资助”，英文解释为“money that is given to a school, a college or another institution to provide it with an income; the act of giving this money”

That will still leave Gates and his family with plenty of money. Even after a quarter-century of philanthropy, he is still one of the world's richest men, with a net worth of about $108 billion, according to the Forbes 2025 world's billionaires list. “I'll still be comfortable,” he said. And the rest of his family will also be OK.

即便慈善捐助了二十五年，盖茨和家人仍拥有可观财富。据《福布斯》2025年全球亿万富翁榜，他的净资产仍约为1080亿美元，是世界上最富有的人之一。他说：“我自己还是会很富足。”他的家人也都会衣食无忧。

Gates's move comes at a critical point for public health. Childhood deaths have been reduced by more than half over the past few decades, HIV has become a treatable disease, and millions of people have emerged from poverty.

盖茨此举正值全球公共卫生事业的关键节点。过去几十年，儿童死亡人数锐减一半以上，艾滋病已成为可治疗的疾病，数百万人摆脱了贫困。

But the U.S. and other wealthy governments have recently slashed billions of dollars in global aid and research funding, putting gains against HIV, malaria and other diseases at risk. It also complicates Gates's philanthropy because his foundation pursues its goals in partnership with governments and other funders.

然而，美国及其他富裕国家最近削减了数十亿美元的全球援助和科研经费，这让艾滋病、疟疾等疾病的防治成果面临风险。这也让盖茨的慈善工作变得更加困难，因为他的基金会与各国政府及其他资助方有紧密合作。

slash /slæʃ/ 作名词，表示“斜线号，斜杠”，英文解释为“the symbol / used in writing to separate letters, numbers, or words”举个🌰：You often write a slash between alternatives, for example, "and/or". 通常在选择项之间会加斜线号，比如“和/或”。

作动词，1）表示“（用刀、剑等）猛削，劈，砍”，英文解释为“to cut or try to cut something violently with a knife, sword etc”举个🌰：Someone had slashed the tires. 有人把轮胎割破了。

2）表示“大幅削减，大幅减少（金钱、工作等）”，英文解释为“to very much reduce something, such as money or jobs”举个🌰：Prices have been slashed by 50 percent! 价格直降50%！

malaria /məˈleə.ri.ə/ 表示“疟疾”，英文解释为“a disease that you can get from the bite of a particular type of mosquito (= a small flying insect). Malaria causes periods of fever and makes you shiver and feel very cold. It is common in many hotter parts of the world.”

complicate /ˈkɒm.plɪ.keɪt/ 1）表示“使复杂化；使更难懂；使更麻烦”，英文解释为“to make something more difficult to deal with, do, or understand”举个🌰：It will only complicate the situation if we invite his old girlfriend as well. 如果我们同时也邀请他以前的女友，只会使事情更加复杂。

2）表示“使（疾病）恶化，加重”，英文解释为“If one illness complicates another illness, it makes the other illness worse.”举个🌰：The breathing problem has now been complicated by a chest infection. 因为胸腔感染，他的呼吸问题变得更加严重了。

Gates said he isn't stepping up his giving to fill in gaps left by governments. “I'm not being more generous because others are being less generous,” he said.

盖茨表示，他不会因为政府缩减投入而补上资金缺口。他说：“我不会因为别人变得不慷慨而变得更慷慨。”

A push to eradicate polio will fail if the U.S. government doesn't help fund it, Gates said. His foundation has invested $6.2 billion in the effort. “Without the U.S. involvement and resources, it isn't going to succeed,” he said.

盖茨说，如果美国政府不提供资助，消灭脊髓灰质炎的努力将难以成功。他的基金会已在这一项目上投资了62亿美元。他说：“没有美国的参与和资源，这份事业不会成功。”

eradicate /ɪˈræd.ɪ.keɪt/ 表示“根除；消灭；杜绝”，英文解释为“to get rid of something completely or destroy something bad”举个🌰：The government claims to be doing all it can to eradicate corruption. 政府声称正尽其所能根治腐败。

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