[A] Bill Gates Chats with Ellen for the First Time

LET'S UNLOCK WORDS AND PHRASES 🔐

better off

noun phrase

- in a more desirable or advantageous position, especially in financial terms

People in this country are far better off than they were ten years ago.

stunned

[ stuhnd ]

adjective

- very shocked or surprised

She had to say something to keep him from leaving her, but she was too stunned.

conservative

[ kuhn-'sur-vuh-tiv ]

adjective

- not involving or taking unnecessary risks

The firm has always had a conservative approach to investment.

indulgence

[ in-'duhl-juhns ]

noun

- an occasion when you allow someone or yourself to have something enjoyable, especially more than is good for you

Her one indulgence: a private dinner with friends that was "a very mellow occasion" with "very tasty" food.

tens of millions

verb phrase

- a phrase used to mention something huge in number

We've managed to cut tens of millions of dollars in costs from this year's budget.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK! [ FULL CLIP ]

What is the video all about?

LET'S TRY IT! - FIRST CUT

A. Script Completion

Direction: Watch the first cut of the video and complete the following lines below with the missing words. Write or type down your answers while listening.

⏱ 00:00 - 03:43

Ellen

I am so happy to have you here. This is the first time having you on, so thanks. So I know you were nervous about the entrance. You thought, "I think people feel like they're supposed to dance." And I was really surprised because I was here earlier today for your rehearsal and then you abandoned it. But we should at least show them the rehearsal because it was really good.

Ellen

It was good.

Ellen

Your daughter is looking at you like, "I've never seen you dance like that." Hi. So the last time we saw each other it was at the White House. We both were receiving . And that was quite a day, wasn't it?

Bill Gates

That was an amazing group.

Ellen

Yeah. Really, really fun. So you are here with your daughter who is 21, right? And you were 21 when you became a . Is that right?

Bill Gates

Almost, yep.

Ellen

All right, so around that age. You were like the youngest person to become a billionaire, is that right?

Bill Gates

Yeah, in terms of my own, in terms of , yeah.

Ellen

Right. OK. Which is the most important thing. So when you were a kid, did you care about money? Or you just cared about and it just happened?

Bill Gates

Mostly I loved . I do remember at the private school I went to there were other kids whose families were better off. Like they had a Porsche or something. But it wasn't that . My thing was that I just loved doing software. I loved hiring people. And I was stunned when it ended up being so valuable.

Ellen

Really?

Bill Gates

Yeah.

Ellen

It surprised you?

Bill Gates

Yeah. Because I always had to be careful that we wouldn't hire too many people. I was always worried because people who worked for me were older than me and they had kids. And I always thought well what if we don't get paid. Will I be able to meet the payroll? So I was always . And then when we did go public, what was I? 30, by then. Then I was kind of stunned at what it multiplied out to.

Ellen

Right. So, when you became a billionaire, at what point did you start relaxing? Were you still nervous when you became a billionaire? Like I got to watch this?

Bill Gates

Well I always wanted to have enough money in the bank so that even if our customers didn't pay us for a year, we could still keep paying everybody and do the R&D. So I'd still be viewed as . I don't have that many things that are extravagant taste so it didn't change too much.

Ellen

So nothing really changed. So you didn't say, oh I'm going to buy a Porsche.

Bill Gates

I did. That I did.

Ellen

All right. Yeah. You did. All right.

Bill Gates

Yeah, that was an . And then eventually, for my travel, I got a plane. Which is a huge indulgence. So those are my two.

Ellen

Well not really, because you travel all the time. So that's important that you have a plane. So you have a Porsche and a plane and that's it?

Bill Gates

Well, in terms of crazy things, yeah.

Ellen

Yeah. There's not like any like wild-- like you didn't build like an aquarium with sharks in it or something like that?

Bill Gates

We have a trampoline room in our house. (Oh wow!) The kids like that. Indoor trampoline. I recommend it.

Ellen

Just one giant trampoline.

Bill Gates

Yeah. Yeah, .

Ellen

Well yeah, I hope. That would be cruel if you didn't put a high ceiling in there. Go on kids.

LET'S PRACTICE - SECOND CUT

A. Script Completion

Direction: Watch the second cut of the video and complete the following lines below with the missing phrases.

⏱ 03:44 - 06:21

Ellen

All right, so let's talk about this. So you already put $40 billion of your own money into your .

Bill Gates

Yep.

Ellen

$40 billion. And you've kind of encouraged other billionaires to do this as well. Because it really is kind of up to the people to fix the problems in the world, it seems, right? So what is your main focus right now?

Bill Gates

My wife Melinda and I picked . The fact that still we have five million kids who die under the age of five. Now it was over 10 million when we got started so there's been huge progress . So things like malaria, diarrhea. Coming up with new drugs and vaccines and getting them out to all the kids in the world. That's our main thing. Our second biggest thing is all in the US, which is trying to help improve the here.

Ellen

Yeah.

Ellen

And how do you do that? I always think you get what you pay for. So if you don't pay teachers, because most teachers are to take care of these students. So how do you do that?

Bill Gates

Well, there are some really teachers. And so the dream is that you could take that top 10% and have them help the others to get , the best teaching ideas to spread all over the country.

Ellen

We're listening to you, obviously $40 billion does a lot. And there are other people that are helping. But what can we do? What is the best thing that you could say that just one person can do to help?

Bill Gates

Well particularly with schools, the ability to go to and engage with the kids, mentor kids, talk about the kind of work you do. There's there. With the challenges, say in Africa, part of it is people's voice. There's a real question now whether the US sort of takes this less than 1% of our budget that saves and whether we don't prioritize continuing that. So it's a hot debate in terms of is it good for America to be and help the rest of the world live a healthy life.

Ellen

Well, I mean the fact that you're helping so many people all around the world. Because that, to me, is what when you have that kind of money, it's for. That's the best thing you can do actually. You're making such . I'm glad you're a billionaire.

LET'S DO THE CHALLENGE - FULL CLIP Direction: Answer the following questions by giving your opinion.

At what age did Bill Gates become a billionaire?
How did Bill Gates feel when his software became valuable?
What are the main focuses of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?
How does Bill Gates believe the US can make a positive impact in Africa?
If you could design the future, what would you do to make the world a better place?