Meeting 1

A Past Time to Remember

Talking about people; childhood; memories

 Jack Ma struggled attending college. The
Chinese entrance exams are held only
Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, once a year and Ma took four years to
Tiongkok, in 1964. He is a business pass. Ma graduated from Hangzhou
magnate, investor and philantrophist. Teacher's Institute (currently known
He is also the co-founder and as Hangzhou Normal University) in
executive chairman of the Alibaba 1988 with a B.A. in English. While at
Group, a multinational technology school, Ma was head of the student
conglomerate. He began studying council. After graduation, he became
English at a young age by conversing a lecturer in English and International
with English-speakers at Hangzhou Trade at Hangzhou Dianzi University.
international hotel. He would ride 70
miles on his bicycle to give tourists
tours of the area to practice his
English for nine years. He became
pen pals with one of those foreigners,
who nicknamed him "Jack" because
he found it hard to pronounce his
Chinese name. Later in his youth, Ma
 continue
In 2006, He graduated from the Beijing-based Cheung Kong Graduate
School of Business. Ma applied for 30 different jobs and got rejected by all.
He went to KFC and He was the only guy who got rejected from 24
applicants. He also applied ten times to Harvard Business School (HBS) and
got rejected. In 1994, Ma heard about the Internet. In early 1995, he went to
the US with his friends, who helped introduce him to the Internet. So he and
his friend created an "ugly" website related to China. He launched the
website at 9:40 AM, and by 12:30 PM. He had received emails from some
Chinese investors wishing to know about him.
This was when Ma realized that the Internet had something great to offer. In
April 1995, Ma, his wife Cathy and a friend raised US$20,000 and started
their first company. Their company was dedicated to creating websites for
companies and he named it "China Pages“. Within three years, the company
had made 5,000,000 Chinese Yuan which at the time was equivalent to
US$800,000. From 1998 to 1999, Ma headed an information technology
company established by the China International Electronic Commerce
Center, a department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic
Cooperation.
 continue
In 1999, he quit and returned to Hangzhou with his team to found Alibaba, a
China-based business-to-business marketplace site in his apartment with a
group of 18 friends. He started a new round of venture development with
500,000 yuan. In October 1999 and January 2000, Alibaba twice won a total
of a $25 million foreign venture capital investment. In September 2014 it
was reported Alibaba was raising over $25 billion in an initial public
offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. Alibaba became one of the
most valuable technology companies in the world after raising $25 billion,
the largest initial public offering in US financial history.
In 2017, he was ranked 2nd in the annual "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" list
by Fortune. As of August 2018 , he is one of China's richest men with a net
worth of US$38.6 billion, as well as one of the wealthiest people in the
world.
On 10 September 2018, he announced that he will retire from Alibaba and
pursue educational charity work, effective in one year with Daniel Zhang
succeeding him as executive chairman.
Ma resigned from the position of the CEO of Alibaba Group and focus on
philanthropy.
 GLOSSARY
1. Magnate (noun) : wealthy and powerful person, esp.
In business
2. Founder (noun) : a person who establishes
something
3. Penpals (noun) : friend
4. Venture (noun) : something new and different in
which there is a risk of failure
5. Stock Exchange (noun) : place where stocks are bought and
sold
6. Net (adjective) : remaining when nothing more is to
be taken away
7. Resigned (verb) : give up (one’s job, position, etc)
8. Philanthropy (noun) : giving of money and other help to
people in need
I. Number these sentences from 1 (first event) to 10 (last event)
…... a. He won the 2nd rank in the annual “ World’s 50 Greatest
Leaders” by Fortune.
...... b. He become a lecturer in English and International trade.
…… c. He resigned from Ali Baba and focus on philanthropy.
…… d. He conversed with English-Speakers at Hangzhou
international hotel.
…… e. He made his first “ugly” website with his wife and
friend.
… … f. He heard about Internet.
… … g. He quit and made Alibaba.
…1… h. He was born in Tiongkok.
… … i. He had foreigner penpals.
… … j. He became the chief of information technology
company.
 II. Answer these questions below
based on the passage above.

1. Who is the businessman of the passage?

2. Where and when was he born?
3. When and how did He start his studying english?
4. What award did he get ?
5. When did Ma realized that the Internet had something great to
offer?
6. What is the first website that he made?
7. Who is he married with?
8. When did He retired from Alibaba?
9. Why did he resign from Alibaba ?
10. How many job did he get all rejected ?
 Vocabulary Focus
A. Birth
Tiana had a baby yesterday.
It was born at 1.15 yesterday morning.
It weighed 3 kilograms.
B. Marriage
Bill and Sarah got married.
Sarah got married to Bill. [NOT with Bill]
They (got) married in church.
They went on honeymoon to Italy.
They were married for twenty years.
C. Death
Then Bill became ill.Died (verb)
Death (noun)
He died last year. Dead (adjective)*
He died of heart attack.
*not now living (She’s been dead for twenty years now.)
Bill is dead.
 Exercises
III. When were these people born and when did they die? Write
sentences.
1. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) = Christopher Columbus
was born 1451 and died
in 1506
2. Elvis Presley (1935-1977) = ……
3. Genghis Khan (1162-1227) = ……
4. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) = ……
5. George Washington (1732-1799) =……

IV. Fill in the blanks with died, dead or death.

1. Jill’s grandfather ……last year.
2. His……was a great shock to her.
3. Her grandmother has been……for five years now.
4. She……of a heart attack.
5. Now all Jill’s grandparents are……
 Vocabulary focus
► Used to (habitual past) + infinitive
Used to refers to something that you regularly did in the past but don’t do
anymore.

I used to smoke, but I’ve stopped.

She used to be very shy.
I used to be very messy, but now I’m very neat.

In a formal style, used to can have the forms of a modal auxiliary verb
(questions and negatives without do)

Did you use to collect things? (informal)

Used you to collect things? (formal)
Yes, I used to collect comic books.
No, I didn’t use to collect anything, but now I collect art.
I didn’t use to like opera, but now I do. (informal)
I used not to like opera, but now I do. (formal)
► (be) used to + noun … -ing
After be used to, we used a noun or an-ing form.
The meaning is quite different from Used to + infinitive
If you say that you are used to something, you mean that you know it well.
You have experienced it so much that it is no longer strange to you.

Be used to + noun
I’m used to London traffic – I’ve lived here for six years.
At the beginning, I couldn’t understand the Londoners, because I
wasn’t used to their accent.

We can use an-ing form after be used to, but not an infinitive.

Be used to + …ing

I’m used to driving in London now, but it was hard at the beginning.
(NOT I’m used to drive…)
It was a long time before she was completely used to working with old
people.
 Exercise
V. Add an appropriate form of the be if necessary. If no form
of be is necessary, write  in the blank. (The symbol 
means: “nothing is needed here.”)

1. I have lived in Malaysia for a long time. I am used to

consistently warm weather.
2. I  used to live in Finland, but now I live in France.
3. I ___ used to sitting at this desk. I sit here everyday.
4. I ___ used to sit in the back of the classroom, but now I prefer
to sit in the front row.
5. A teacher ___ used to answering questions. Students,
especially good students, always have a lot of questions.
 Exercise
VI. Choose the best answer.
1. A person who is powerful in doing business is …
a. actor d. player
b. businessman e. butcher
c. conglomerate

2. Something new and different in which there is a risk of failure

is…
a. venture d. city
b. urban e. Stock exchange
c. town
3. I'm not very fit now, but I ......... professional football
when I was in my twenties.
a. used to playing d. to be played
b. played e. play
c. used to play
4. Diana had a baby …… .
a. next day d. next week
b. tomorrow e. next month
c. yesterday
5. It was … at 1.15 yesterday morning.
a. born d. grow up
b. birth e. rise
c. birthday