Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Address

1. Steve Jobs is going to tell three stories from his life. What is the first story about? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2. Why did his mother decide to put him up for adoption? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3. Why wasn’t he finally adopted by the lawyer and his wife? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4. Why did his mother refuse to sign the adoption papers? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5. How long had he been at Reed College before he quit? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6. Why did he drop out? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………... 7. What did he do as soon as he dropped out? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8. How did he get by? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………... 9. In what way did the calligraphy class come in useful for him? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10.Why is it important to believe that the dots will connect in the future? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………..……………………….

1. What is the third story about? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2. What question has he asked himself every morning for the past 33 years? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………..………………………………………………………………………. 3. What is the most important tool that has helped him make the big choices in life? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4. What type of cancer was he diagnosed with? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5. How long did the doctors say he should expect to live? ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6. What did his doctor advise him to do? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7. Taking into consideration that our time is limited, what does he advise his college audience is the most important thing to do? ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8. What was on the back cover of The Whole Earth Catalog final issue? ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………..………………………………………….

1. What is the second story about? ………………………………………………………… 2. When and where did he start Apple? ………………………………………………………… ……………………………….………………………. 3. How much was Apple worth ten years later? ………………………………………………………… 4. How many employees did it have? ………………………………………………………… 5. Why was he fired from Apple? How did he feel? ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………..………………………. 6. What helped him start again? ………………………………………………………… …………………………..……………………………. 7. What was the first computer animated feature film? ………………………………………………………… 8. How did he return to Apple? ………………………………………………………… ……………………………..…………………………. 9. What is the only way to be truly satisfied? ………………………………………………………… ………………………………..……………………….

http://areti-aroundtheworldinenglish.blogspot.com/

Third Conditional Sentences When we are talking about the past, and we want to imagine how a situation could have been different if things hadn’t happened the way they did, we use 3rd Conditional sentences. The verb in the if-clause (condition) is in the past perfect tense, and the verb in the main clause (consequence or result) is in the perfect conditional.

If-clause

Main clause

the condition (unreal past)

the (imaginary) result

If + past perfect

perfect conditional

If + had + V3

would could might

If Steve’s mother hadn’t been a young, unmarried, college graduate student,

+ have + V3

she wouldn’t have up for adoption.

decided to put him

Now complete the following conditional sentences about Steve Jobs’ life. 1. The lawyer and his wife …………………………………………………………… (adopt) Steve if they …………………………………………………………… (not decide) at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. 2. If his adoptive parents …………………………………………………………… (not promise) he would someday go to college, his biological mother …………………………………………………………… (not sign) the final adoption papers. 3. If he …………………………………………………………… (not drop out), he …………………………………………………………… (not drop in) on a calligraphy class. 4. The first Mac …………………………………………………………… (not have) its beautiful typography if he …………………………………………………………… (not take) that calligraphy class. 5. Apple …………………………………………………………… (not grow) into a $2 billion company if they …………………………………………………………… (not work) hard for ten years. 6. If he …………………………………………………………… (not be) fired from Apple, he …………………………………………………………… (not start) Pixar. 7. If Apple …………………………………………………………… (not buy) NeXT, he …………………………………………………………… (not return) to Apple. 8. None of this …………………………………………………………… (happen) if he …………………………………………………………… (not follow) his heart and intuition.

http://areti-aroundtheworldinenglish.blogspot.com/

ANSWER KEY 1. Steve Jobs is going to tell three stories from his life. What is the first story about? It is about connecting the dots. 2. Why did his mother decide to put him up for adoption? Because she was a young, unmarried college graduate student. 3. Why wasn’t he finally adopted by the lawyer and his wife? They decided at the last minute that they wanted a girl. 4. Why did his mother refuse to sign the adoption papers? Because the adoptive parents were not college graduates. 5. How long had he been at Reed College before he quit? He had been at Reed College for 6 months before he quit. 6. Why did he drop out? He felt he was wasting his parents’ savings (as he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life). 7. What did he do as soon as he dropped out? He began dropping in on the classes that looked interesting. 8. How did he get by? He slept on the floor in friends' rooms, he bought food with the money he received from returning coke bottles, and he had one free meal a week at a Hare Krishna temple. 9. In what way did the calligraphy class come in useful for him? He applied this knowledge to the typography of the first Macintosh computer, which he designed ten years later. 10.Why is it important to believe that the dots will connect in the future? Because it will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path.

1. What is the third story about? It is about death. 2. What question has he asked himself every morning for the past 33 years? “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” 3. What is the most important tool that has helped him make the big choices in life? Remembering that I'll be dead soon. 4. What type of cancer was he diagnosed with? He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 5. How long did the doctors say he should expect to live? No longer than three to six months. 6. What did his doctor advise him to do? To go home and get his affairs in order. 7. Taking into consideration that our time is limited, what does he advise his college audience is the most important thing to do? To have the courage to follow their heart and intuition. 8. What was on the back cover of The Whole Earth Catalog final issue? There was a photograph of an early morning country road and beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

1. What is the second story about? It is about love and loss. 2. When and where did he start Apple? He and his partner started Apple in his parents' garage when he was 20. 3. How much was Apple worth ten years later? $2 billion. 4. How many employees did it have? Over 4000. 5. Why was he fired from Apple? How did he feel? He fell out with the person he ran the company with, and the Board of Directors sided with this person. Steve was devastated. 6. What helped him start again? The fact that he still loved what he did. 7. What was the first computer animated feature film? Toy Story. 8. How did he return to Apple? He returned to Apple when Apple bought his company NeXT. 9. What is the only way to be truly satisfied? The only way to be truly satisfied is to love what you do.

http://areti-aroundtheworldinenglish.blogspot.com/

ANSWER KEY

Now complete the following conditional sentences about Steve Jobs’ life. 1. The lawyer and his wife would have adopted (adopt) Steve if they hadn’t decided (not decide) at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. 2. If his adoptive parents hadn’t promised (not promise) he would someday go to college, his biological mother wouldn’t have signed (not sign) the final adoption papers. 3. If he hadn’t dropped out (not drop out), he wouldn’t have dropped in (not drop in) on a calligraphy class. 4. The first Mac wouldn’t have had (not have) its beautiful typography if he hadn’t taken (not take) that calligraphy class. 5. Apple wouldn’t have grown (not grow) into a $2 billion company if they hadn’t worked (not work) hard for ten years. 6. If he hadn’t been (not be) fired from Apple, he wouldn’t have started (not start) Pixar. 7. If Apple hadn’t bought (not buy) NeXT, he wouldn’t have returned (not return) to Apple. 8. None of this might have happened (happen) if he hadn’t followed (not follow) his heart and intuition.

Here are the links to the video and the transcript: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtbJM9ksxo8 (English subtitles – part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLl59Q2GuC0 (English subtitles – part 2) http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html (the text)

http://areti-aroundtheworldinenglish.blogspot.com/