Letter from Bill and Melinda Gates
More 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 ofrotaviruswas killing literally half a million kids each year. We thought: Thats 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 wasnt a typo.
We couldnt escape the brutal conclusion thatin our world todaysome lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: This cant be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.
We sent the article to Bills 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 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 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 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 by his decision to give a significant portion of his resources to the foundation.
Were so hopeful about the potential for rapid progress that weve decided the foundation will spend all its money in the next 100 years. In this century, our world has the opportunity to fulfill the great human promise that all lives have equal value.
Bill and Melinda Gates signature
Bill Gates and Melinda F. Gates
扩展：分类词汇之教育
campus：学校的全部场址园地
primary school：小学
coeducational：男女合校教育的
certificate：毕业证书(指中学的)
school term：学期
good grades：好分数
Freshman：大学一年级学生(美语)
Junior：大学三年级学生(美语)
middle school：中学
Secondary school：中学
graduate school：研究院
undergraduate：大学毕业生
college of arts：文学院
board and room：膳宿
credits：学分
kindergarten：幼稚园
public school：公立学校
diploma：文凭(指大学的)
school year：学年
semester：学期(美语)
full marks：满分
laboratory fee：实验费
to go to college：入学院读书
to majOr in literature：主修文学
college Of engineering：工程学院
degree of bachelor(master，doctor)：学士学位(硕士学位，博士)
application for entrance examination：申请入学考试
matriculation：大学入学考试(英语)
Sophomore：大学二年级学生(美语)
Senior：大学四年级学生(美语)
high school：中学(美语)
college：学院，大学
graduate：毕业生
flunk：不及格
tuition：学费
