2011年初二英语阅读电子讲义(上).docVIP

初二英语阅读电子讲义（上） UNIT 1 Social Focus (社会热点) Article 1 ☆☆ Wealthy people There are really two classes of wealthy people. Millionaires are rich. Billionaires are super rich! However, it is not always easy to determine a persons wealth. The wealth of a king or queen, for example, is based on the wealth and property of the nation instead of the personal wealth and property of the king or queen. For some kings and queens, it is difficult to tell these two kinds of wealth apart. It can only be guessed, but many people believe that His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei is the wealthiest man in the world. In 1993, a magazine reported that he was worth $37 billion. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the second wealthiest person with $11.7 billion. However, when the national wealth of England is ruled out of Her Majestys wealth, the queens personal money seems very little. Queen Elizabeth IIs personal wealth is guessed to be only between $270 to $900 million. In the United States, there were 101 billionaires in 1996. The youngest of these billionaires was Bill Gates. He is one of the two men who had the bright idea to create the company Microsoft. Mr. Gates was only 20 years old when he first helped to set up the company in 1976. He was a billionaire by the time he was 31. Mr. Gates may seem young to be so rich, but other people have made a lot of money at even younger ages. Other young people who became rich include Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) and Shirley Temple (1928-). Both of these child actors made over a million dollars acting in movies before they were 14 years old. Jackie Coogan acted in the movie The Kid with Charlie Chaplin, and Shirley Temple starred in a dozen movies in the 1930s. (297 words) Key Sentences: 1 For some kings and queens, it is difficult to tell these two kinds of wealth apart. 2 However, when the national wealth of England is ruled out of Her Majestys we