比爾·蓋茲的殞落：英語精讀講義

For nearly 20 years,

差不多20年來，

Bill Gates was the richest person in the world.

比爾·蓋茲曾是世界上最富有的人。

He pledged to give away nearly all of his vast fortune 講解

他承諾捐出幾乎所有的巨額財富，

through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,

透過比爾及梅琳達·蓋茲基金會，

one of the largest philanthropies ever created.

這是史上規模最大的慈善機構之一。

He received an honorary knighthood from the Queen, 文化背景

他獲得了女王授予的榮譽騎士勳章，

the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama,

巴拉克·歐巴馬頒發的總統自由勳章，

and in 2005,

在2005年，

Time Magazine put him on its cover 片語搭配

《時代》雜誌將他選為封面人物，

as one of its Good Samaritans 文化背景

稱他為「好撒瑪利亞人」之一

and Persons of the Year.

及「年度風雲人物」。

Bill Gates was the model of the Good Billionaire.

比爾·蓋茲曾是「好心億萬富翁」的典範。

Then came the pandemic. 表達脈絡

然後疫情爆發了。

Gates had warned of pandemics for years,

蓋茲多年來一直警告大流行的風險，

and COVID thrust him into the spotlight 慣用語

而新冠疫情讓他成了人們關注的焦點，

as a de facto authority on public health. 用詞

成為了公共衛生領域的事實權威。

His critics argued he wasn't an elected official

他的批評者認為他並不是民選官員，

and had too much power,

卻擁有太多的權力，

and fueled conspiracy theories 片語搭配

並助長了陰謀論，

accusing him of using vaccines 文法

指責他利用疫苗

for control or profit.

來達到控制或牟利的目的。

And now his reputation has gotten worse.

而現在他的聲譽變得更糟了。

Newly released emails from the Epstein files 文化背景

從艾普斯汀檔案中新公佈的電子郵件

allege Gates got a sexually transmitted infection 用詞

聲稱蓋茲感染了性病，

from sleeping with Russian girls,

是由於與俄羅斯女孩上床引起的，

and that he secretly tried to slip antibiotics 用詞

而且他還秘密試圖給他的妻子梅琳達

to his wife Melinda.

偷下抗生素。

Sad.

悲哀。

just unbelievable sadness.

簡直是難以置信的悲哀。

Unbelievable sadness, right?

難以置信的悲哀，對吧？

Um

嗯，

And again,

還有，

I'm able to take my own sadness

我能夠體會我自己的悲傷，

and look at those young girls

看著那些年輕的女孩

and say, "My God,

然後說：「天哪，

how did they...

她們怎麼會……

How did that happen to those girls, right?"

那些女孩怎麼會遇到這種事，對吧？」

And By 2021,

而到了2021年，

the image Gates had carefully built for decades 慣用語

蓋茲幾十年來精心打造的形象

was beginning to crack.

開始出現裂痕。

When he and Melinda announced they were ending their marriage

當他和梅琳達宣佈結束他們

after 27 years,

27年的婚姻時，

in a joint statement,

在一份聯合聲明中，

they wrote,

他們寫道，

"We no longer believe we can grow together 語氣意圖

「我們不再相信在生命的下一個階段，

as a couple in this next phase of our lives."

我們可以作為夫妻共同成長。」

Melinda eventually walked away from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 片語動詞

梅琳達最終離開了比爾及梅琳達·蓋茲基金會。

To the public,

對公眾而言，

the split came as a shock. 片語搭配

他們的分手令人震驚。

Few if any could tell there was trouble 文法

幾乎沒有人能看出他們的關係

on the dance floor.

出現了問題。

For decades,

幾十年來，

Gates had been seen as a brilliant software pioneer

蓋茲一直被視為一位才華橫溢的軟體先驅，

who dropped out of Harvard to co-found Microsoft 片語動詞

他從哈佛輟學共同創立了微軟，

and revolutionized personal computing.

並徹底改變了個人電腦。

It was at Microsoft that he met Melinda.

正是在微軟，他遇到了梅琳達。

He was the boss,

他是老闆，

she was a product manager.

她是產品經理。

She initially turned him down, 片語動詞

她起初拒絕了他，

but he kept pursuing her.

但他不斷追求她。

Once the relationship became serious,

一旦關係變得認真，

Gates made a pros and cons list 片語搭配

蓋茲列出了一個利弊清單

about whether to propose,

關於是否要向她求婚，

as he was unsure if marriage

因為他不確定婚姻

would interfere with running Microsoft. 片語搭配

是否會妨礙他管理微軟。

They ended up tying the knot in Hawaii. 講解

他們最終在夏威夷步入禮堂。

Melinda left the company two years later

梅琳達兩年後離開了公司，

to focus on raising their three kids.

專注於撫養他們的三個孩子。

Their divorce shattered Gates's squeaky clean image. 慣用語

他們的離婚打破了蓋茲完美無瑕的形象。

In an interview with CBS,

在接受CBS採訪時，

Melinda hinted at what led to the split.

梅琳達暗示了導致分手的原因。

It wasn't one moment or one specific thing that happened.

並不是因為某一個瞬間或某一件具體的事情。

There just came a point in time 表達脈絡

只是到了某個時間點，

where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn't healthy,

發生的事情足夠多，讓我意識到這已經不健康了，

and I couldn't trust what we had.

而且我無法信任我們之間的一切。

In 2019,

2019年，

the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft

《華爾街日報》報導稱，微軟

opened an internal investigation 片語搭配

開展了一項內部調查，

into an affair Gates allegedly had

針對蓋茲據稱在近20年前

with an employee nearly 20 years prior.

與一名員工發生的婚外情。

Gates ended up stepping down from Microsoft's board. 片語動詞

蓋茲最終從微軟董事會辭職。

When CBS's Gayle King asked Melinda

當CBS的Gayle King問梅琳達

whether Gates had cheated more than once,

蓋茲是否多次出軌時，

she replied,

她回答說，

"You know, I think those are questions 語氣意圖

「你知道，我認為這些問題

Bill needs to answer."

需要比爾自己來回答。」

Okay.

好吧。

The New York Times reported Gates pursued women

《紐約時報》報導稱，蓋茲曾在多個場合

on multiple occasions,

追求女性，

including asking out an employee for dinner 片語動詞

包括在一封電子郵件中約一名員工共進晚餐，

in an email, writing,

寫道，

"If this makes you uncomfortable, 語氣意圖

「如果這讓妳感到不舒服，

pretend it never happened."

就當它沒發生過。」

The woman reportedly laughed it off. 片語動詞

據報導，該女子一笑置之。

But what appeared to trouble Melinda Gates 文法

但最讓梅琳達·蓋茲感到困擾的，

the most was his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,

似乎是他與傑佛瑞·艾普斯汀的關係，

a man she said she met only once

這個男人她稱自己只見過一次，

and later described as abhorrent. 片語搭配

後來形容他令人厭惡。

He was evil personified. 慣用語

他是邪惡的化身。

Melinda was deeply uncomfortable with her husband's

梅琳達對她丈夫與

association with a convicted sex offender 文化背景

一名被定罪的性侵犯者有聯繫感到極其不安，

who later died in jail.

該罪犯後來在獄中死亡。

A New York Times investigation found that Gates

《紐約時報》的一項調查發現，蓋茲

had met Epstein multiple times,

曾多次會見艾普斯汀，

beginning in 2011,

從2011年開始，

years after Epstein had been convicted 文法

早在艾普斯汀被定罪為

of soliciting prostitution from a minor 用詞

買春未成年人

and had to register as a sex offender. 文化背景

並被迫登記為性犯罪者數年之後。

According to the Times, 表達脈絡

根據《紐約時報》報導，

Epstein even told members of the Gates Foundation

艾普斯汀甚至在曼哈頓聯排別墅的會議期間，

team during meetings at his Manhattan townhouse

告訴蓋茲基金會團隊的成員，

that his crimes were no worse 語氣意圖

他的罪行並不比

than stealing a bagel.

偷一個貝果更嚴重。

Gates later admitted meeting with Epstein 文法

蓋茲後來承認會見艾普斯汀

was a mistake.

是一個錯誤。

And you know, I've said I've regretted 文法

你知道，我說過我很後悔

having those dinners.

參加那些晚宴。

Uh and there's nothing,

呃，那上面沒有什麼，

absolutely nothing new on that. 語氣意圖

絕對沒有任何新東西。

Is there a lesson for you,

這對你來說是個教訓嗎，

for anyone else looking at this?

或者是對任何關注這件事的人？

Well, he's dead,

嗯，他已經死了，

so uh you know, in general, 語氣意圖

所以，呃，你知道，一般來說，

you always have to be careful.

總是需要小心的。

Uh

呃

He claimed he met with Epstein because of his connections

他聲稱會見艾普斯汀是因為他認識

to wealthy donors who showed interest 片語搭配

對全球健康事業捐款感興趣的

in donating to global health efforts.

富有捐獻者。

Bill Gates is now one of many powerful people

比爾·蓋茲現在是最近公佈的300萬頁

named in 3 million newly released pages

艾普斯汀個人通訊記錄中，

of Epstein's personal communications.

被點名的眾多權貴之一。

In emails that Epstein drafted to himself in July 2013,

在2013年7月艾普斯汀起草給自己的電子郵件中，

he claimed he helped Gates get drugs

他聲稱自己曾幫助蓋茲獲取藥物，

to deal with the consequences of sleeping with Russian girls,

以應對與俄羅斯女孩上床帶來的後果，

and also helped facilitate his affairs with married women.

並且還協助他與已婚婦女發生婚外情。

In another email, Epstein wrote,

在另一封電子郵件中，艾普斯汀寫道，

"To add insult to the injury, 慣用語

「雪上加霜的是，

you then implore me to please delete the emails regarding your STD. 用詞

你接著懇求我刪除有關你性病的郵件。

Your request that I provide you antibiotics

你要求我提供你可以

that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda

偷偷給梅琳達服用的抗生素，

and the description of your penis."

以及關於你陰莖的描述。」

I think we're having a reckoning 用詞

我認為我們正在作為一個社會

as a society, right?

經歷一場清算，對吧？

Um

唔

No girl, no girl should ever be put in this situation 語氣意圖

沒有女孩，沒有任何女孩應該被置於

that they were put in by Epstein

艾普斯汀將她們置於的這種境地，

and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him.

以及圍繞他的形形色色的人身上發生的任何事情。

So whatever questions remain there of what I don't, can't even begin to know all of it, 片語搭配

因此，無論還有什麼關於那些我不知道，甚至無法開始了解全部內容的問題，

those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband.

那些問題是針對那些人，甚至是針對我的前夫的。

They need to answer to those things, not me. 語氣意圖

那些事情需要由他們來回答，而不是我。

Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself.

顯然，傑佛瑞寫了一封給自己的電子郵件。

Uh that email was never sent.

呃，那封郵件從未發送過。

The email is uh you know, false.

這封郵件是，呃，你知道，虛假的。

Uh so I don't know what his thinking was there. 語氣意圖

呃，所以我不知道他當時是怎麼想的。

It just reminds me, you know, every minute I spent with him,

這只是提醒我，你知道，我和他待在一起的每一分鐘，

I I regret and I you know, apologize that I did that.

我、我都很後悔，而且，你知道，我為我這樣做而道歉。

Bill Gates built a reputation on intellect, innovation, and doing good 片語搭配

比爾·蓋茲建立的聲譽是基於他的智慧、創新和做善事，

at a scale few people in history ever have. 文法

其規模在歷史上鮮有人能及。

But reputations aren't built only on what a person creates. 表達脈絡

但聲譽並不僅僅是建立在一個人的創造之上。

They're shaped by the choices they make

它們是由人們在無人關注時

when no one is supposed to be watching.

所做出的選擇來塑造的。

And for Gates, no matter what good his charitable work does, 文法

而對於蓋茲來說，無論他的慈善工作做了多少好事，

those choices are now part of his legacy.

那些選擇現在都已經成為他留給後人的一部分。

Stories like this show how tricky it can be

這樣的故事告訴我們，要弄清楚該相信什麼、該相信誰

to figure out what to believe and who to believe. 講解

有時候是很困難的。

I'm a big believer in strengthening how we think. 片語搭配

我非常相信要加強我們的思考方式。

That's why I love using Brilliant,

這就是為什麼我喜歡使用Brilliant，

a website and app that helps you build your logic skills

這是一個網站和應用程式，可幫助您建立邏輯思維能力，

while also improving your math and coding skills

同時還透過互動課程

through interactive lessons.

提高您的數學和程式設計技能。

One course I really like is Truth and Lies,

我非常喜歡的一門課程是「真相與謊言」，

which sharpens your deductive reasoning so you can think more clearly 用詞

它可以磨練您的演繹推理，從而讓您能更清晰地思考，

instead of just reacting. 文法

而不是僅僅做出反應。

You can also strengthen your math skills

你也可以增強你的數學能力，

with lessons that feel more like puzzles than lectures 文法

這裡的課程與其說是講座不如說是謎題，

by starting at a level that's comfortable for you

你可以從適合自己的水平開始，

and building your way up from there. 片語動詞

然後逐步提升。

If you're interested in coding,

如果你對程式設計感興趣，

Brilliant lets you learn with step-by-step interactive lessons.

Brilliant可以讓你透過循序漸進的互動課程進行學習。

You can start learning for free for 30 days

你可以免費學習30天，

at brilliant.org/newsthink

請造訪 brilliant.org/newsthink

or by scanning the QR code on your screen.

或者掃描你螢幕上的二維碼。

Brilliant is also giving you 20% off an annual premium subscription, 用詞

Brilliant還會為您提供年度高級訂閱的八折優惠，

giving you unlimited access to thousands of lessons. 片語搭配

讓您無限訪問數以千計的課程。

Thanks for watching.

感謝觀看。

For NewsThink, I'm Cindy Pom.

我是Cindy Pom，這裡是NewsThink。