牛津版 高中英语 电子课本 模块十一 M11U3

1、 M11U3 Sir Clive Sinclair -the man who brought technology to the man in the street Todays program is about Sir Clive Sinclair, a famous businessman and inventor. Sinclair was born in Surrey, England, on 30 July 1940.He spent much of his childhood with his grandfather and father, who were both engineers. As a result, he began designing and making things when he was very young. Sinclair was mostly self-educated, preferring to spend time studying by himself rather than at school with classmates. By

2、 the time he was 10 years old, his teachers at his primary school said that he was already so good at geometry and algebra that they could not teach him anything more, so he moved on to high school. After school, he decided that university would teach him nothing new. Therefore, at the age of 17, he got a job as an assistant editor for a radio magazine that was full of diagrams of electrical circuits. In 1961,Sinclair resigned from his job and founded his own company, producing pocket-sized radi

3、os. However, the man proving the money to start the company pulled out of the project at the last minute, and Sinclair had to get a job as a technical editor to support himself. Meanwhile, he worked to build the company in his spare time. When his company finally began production and put out advertisements for his radio, demand was high and the business simply took off. Sinclair was vey good at making little things. In addition to his pocket-sized radio, Sinclair produced the worlds first pocket

4、 calculator in 1972,the first digital watch in 1976,and the first pocket TV the following year. Many of his early products were sets of parts that amateurs could put together, to make things such as radios. However, Sinclairs greatest achievements were in the field of personal computers. In January 1980, Sinclair introduced the ZX80 computer. This was the first computer in the world to cost less than 100 pounds. Within 8 months, Sinclair had scolded more than 20,000 ZX80 computers. His next comp

5、uter, the ZX81,was an even bigger hit, and his companys receipts grew by 600% over the previous year. In all, his company sold 1,000,000 ZX81 computers in the first 2 years of production. Sinclair introduced the ZX Spectrum computer in 1982. For nearly 10 years, this was the best-selling computer in Britain. Most of the people who work in their field of computer technology in Britain today grew up using the ZX Spectrum. Although it was marketed as a computer that could be used to make computer p

6、rograms, its main advantage was that it was good for playing computer games on . During the 1980s, Sinclair experienced his first big failure, with the Sinclair C5.This was a 3-wheeled vehicle which use batteries and had an electric motor. Since it did not use petrol for fuel, it was better for the environment than a car. However, it was very slow, small and low to the ground, making it look more like a childrens toyrather than a proper vehicle for an adult. Further, it was not powerful enough t

7、o go up hills, gave no protection from Britains frequent rain, and did not look very safe. The newspapers thought his new invention was ridiculous, and he could only sell about 12,000 of these vehicles. Sinclairs reputation suffered as a result, but he is still respected for his earlier successes. By the end of the 1980s, Sinclair had tired of his various businesses, and was throwing himself into British Mensa, a club for clever people. He was its chairman from 1980 to 1997, and Mensas membershi

8、p figures boomed under his direction. His managing skills and strength of personality made the society a very well-known organization. Though Sinclair has slowed down a bit in recent years, he is still inventing and selling new things. His latest product is a bicycle that can be folded up small enough to fit into a bag. Such a bicycle helps the environment and is useful for office workers who want to cycle to and from work. Sinclair has been successful because he possesses both the intelligence

9、and a firm will to succeed. Sinclair has had a full and interesting life. I hope that you have enjoyed his story in todays program.Project My father, my hero I consider my father to be the most important person in my life. This is because he is famous or wealthy. We do not have a big car, and there are no old, expensive vases or paintings in our house. Rather, what I value about my father is the care and love he shows for me and my family. What blesses my father most id being able to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. My father might work hard, but he is always there for us. Whenever I trip or hurt myself playing sports, he is there to pick me up. My brother and I grew up with his constant care and the funny nursery rhymes and stories he told us. My fathers family came to the USA from China, and they were quite poor when he was a child. He once told me his mom used pins to

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