比尔.盖茨在写给高中毕业生和大学毕业生的书里，有一个单子上面，列有11项学生没能在学校里学到的事情。比尔.盖茨在书中谈到让人感觉良好的学校教育，培养出一代代不知现实为何物的年轻人，这种教育只能导致他们成为现实世界中的失败者。
在他提供的单子上的11项事情是：
01. Life is not fair, get used to it.
生活是不公平的，要去适应它。
02 .The world won"t care about yourself--esteem. The world will expect youto accomplish something before youfeel good about yourself.
这个世界并不会在意你的自尊。这个世界指望你在自我感觉良好之前先要有所成就。
03. You will not make 40 thousanddollars a year right out of high schoolYou won"t be a vice president with acar phone, until you earn both.
高中刚毕业你不会一年挣4万美元。你不会成为一个公司的副总裁，并拥有一部装有电话的汽车，直到你将此职位和汽车电话都挣到手。
04.If you think your teacher istough, wait till you get a boss. He doesnhave tenure.
如果你认为你的老师严厉，等你有了老板再这样想。老板可是没有任期限制的。
05.Flipping burgers is not beneathyour dignity. Your grandparents had adifferent word for burger flipping: theycalled it opportunity.
烙牛肉饼并不有损你的尊严你的祖父母对烙牛肉饼可有不同的定义：他们称它为机遇。
06.If you mess up, it"snot yourparents fault, so don"t whine aboutour mistakes, leam from them.
如果你陷入困境，那不是你父母的过错，所以不要哭泣抱怨我们的错误，要从中吸取教训。
07.Before you were born, yourparents werent as boring as they arenow They got that way from payingrour bills, cleaningyour clothes anlistening to you talk about how coolyou are.
So before you save the rain for-est from the parasites of your parentsgeneration, try "delousing" the closetIn your own room.
在你出生之前，你的父母并非像他们现在这样乏味。他们变成今天这个样子是因为这些年来他们一直在为你付账单，给你洗衣服，听你大谈你是如何的酷。
所以，如果你想消灭你父母那一辈中的“寄生虫”来拯救雨林的话，还是先去清除你房间衣柜里的虱子吧。
08.Your school may have doneaway with winners and losers, but lifehas not. In some schools they haveiling grades; they'lI giveyou as many times as you want to getthe right answer. This doesn't bear theslightest resemblance to anything inal life.
你的学校也许已经不再分优等生和劣等生，但生活却仍在作出类似区分。在某些学校已经废除不及格分；只要你想找到正确答案，学校就会给你无数的机会。这和现实生活中的任何事情没有一点相似之处。
09.Lifeisnot divided intosemesters, You don't get summers offdfew employers are interesteIn helping you find yourseelf. Do that onyour own time.
生活不分学期。你并没有暑假可以休息，也没有几位雇主乐于帮你发现自我。自己找时间做吧。10. Television is NOT real life. Inreal lifepeople actually have to leavethe coffee shop and go to jobs.
电视并不是真实的生活。在现实生活中，人们实际上得离开咖啡屋去干自己的工作。
11. Be nice to nerds. Chances areu"ll endckig for one.
善待乏味的人。有可能到头来你会为一个乏味的人工作。
