Traveling

Nowadays travelling abroad is very popular. Some people prefer to travel by plane, especially businessmen, because it's the fastest means of transportation. Those who are not short of time usually travel by train or by ship. It takes more time but gives the opportunity to see the coun­try you travel through, its picturesque landscapes and na­ture.

While travelling abroad you have to go through cus­toms, sometimes several times.

As a rule the customs officers check your passports and visas if they are required. When coming to some countries you may need a health certificate or a certificate of vacci­nation. If you have anything to declare, then you are to fill in the declaration form.

The customs officers may ask you to show your luggage to them. Usually articles for personal use and wear and also used items and gifts are not liable to duty anywhere. If you are carrying much currency you should also declare it. If you are carrying weapons you need a permit. Although some items are liable to duty, if you carry only a small amount of them, they are duty free.

Occasionally the customs officers may take some of your things for a more detailed inspection but usually they re­turn them soon.

Do not try to break the customs rules and regulations because you may have a lot of troubles.

The icon of the american business

Everyone has heard of Bill Gates. He is the icon of business and the richest man in the world. Microsoft, the business he started with a friend in 1975, has become the world's largest computer software company. Bill Gates was born on the 28th of October, 1955, in Seattle, the USA. From his parents Bill received a good business sense and a quick mind. At school Bill soon showed that he was very intelligent.

His favorite subjects were Math and Science. At 13 he got interested in computers. Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen were soon spending all their time writing programs and learning computers instead of doing their homework. After finishing school, ВІН entered Harvard, the most famous university in the USA. Most of the time he worked on the computers in the university laboratory. He and Paul Allen wrote an operating program for the Altair, one of the world's first microcomputers. Bill left Harvard before finishing his studies. Two friends started Microsoft in 1975, and very soon it became operating system called DOS. He made some changes and renamed it MS-DOS. He sold the rights to use this system to IBM. Since 1980 MS-DOS has been the standard operating system for all PCs. Microsoft has also developed such well known programs as windows, Excel and Internet Explorer.

Bill's dream is to computerize everything -TV's, telephones, even the way we cook dinner.

One reason of his success is that Bill has always been very ambitious and hard­working. Bill Gates has written two famous books: "The Road Ahead" and "Business and the Speed of Thought". Both books are best-sellers. Bill hasn't got much free time, but when he has a chance he likes playing golf and bridge. He is also fond of reading about science,

For such a rich person his life is very simple, and he spends very little time on himself. When it comes to helping others, gates is very generous. He has already given more than $ 300 million to charity.