单选题
It"s no great surprise that Bill Gates has decided to walk away from his day-to-day involvement with Microsoft, and use his full attention to oversee how the Bill Gates Foundation spends its $16 billion on philanthropy, or charity. But Gates is not the first one to follow the path. Ever since the industrial revolution, wealthy self-made businessmen and businesswomen have felt a calling to create a legacy that goes beyond a profit and loss sheet. The saying "He who dies rich, dies disgraced" runs deeply through the business community.
But out of all the great philanthropists, Mr. Gate"s career path appears to be closest to the oil millionaire John Rockefeller. Both were self-made men and both became the richest men on the planet. Rockefeller was in his late fifties when he turned his attention full time to philanthropy—creating vast charitable foundations to promote health and education. Now Gates says he will do the same in his early fifties. "With great wealth comes great responsibility," he adds.
Like Gates, many philanthropists do not want to pass on too much wealth to their children. They want them to be comfortable, with a nice house and some money in trust for their grandchildren. But they don"t want to leave them millions and millions because they know how important it is for them to make their own way. In Britain, for instance, the newspaper rich lists are increasingly dominated by self-made millionaires, rather than inherited wealth. New money is less likely to be tied up in assets, making it ripe for philanthropy.
The appearance of the welfare state also had a great impact on attitudes to philanthropy. The state was saying it would take over much of the role of what was once regarded as the responsibility of private philanthropists.
单选题
Bill Gates has done all the following EXCEPT ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段第一句“It"s no great surprise that...on philanthropy, or charity.”和第三段第二句“They want them to be comfortable...for their grandchildren.”。
细节判断题。根据文章第一段第一句可知，比尔·盖茨决定放手微软的日常管理，将全部精力投向慈善事业。因此，选项A和B都是对的。根据文章第三段第二句可知，许多慈善家和比尔·盖茨一样，不想给子女留下太多财产，只要他们过得舒服，有钱支出就行。所以，选项C也是对的。根据排除法，故选D。
单选题
The saying "He who dies rich, dies disgraced" properly means that ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段最后一句“The saying...community.”。
语义词义题。根据上下文，“He who dies rich, die disgraced”的意思为“有钱人到死都留着财产，是件羞耻的事”。只有D选项意思与之相近。
单选题
Gates and Rockefeller are similar in that ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 第二段第三、四句“Rockefeller was in his late fifties...Now Gates says...”。
细节判断题。本文第二段中提到洛克菲勒在他年近六十时投身慈善，盖茨坦言将会在五十出头时做出同样的选择。因此C项正确。
单选题
Many wealthy people don"t want to leave too much behind mainly because ______.