In 1997 Apple was losing a lot of money and making too many products. Then its old boss came back with a very short list.
Harder version: read this lesson at C1 level →
Look at each word. Say what you think it means. Then tap the card.
Tap a card to see the meaning.
Write one word from the cards in each gap.
1. Barcelona's biggest in football is Real Madrid.
2. My uncle wants to his savings in a small restaurant.
3. Good news! The café made a this year — it earned more than it spent.
4. She left the company in 2010, but she in 2015 as the new boss.
5. Please turn off the music. I need to on this exam.
6. The school had less money, so it had to two teachers' jobs.
1. rival · 2. invest · 3. profit · 4. returned · 5. focus · 6. cut
Read each part. Then answer the questions before you read the next part.
Steve Jobs started Apple with a friend in 1976.
But in 1985, after a big fight with the board, Jobs left his own company.
In the 1990s, Apple had big problems. Most people bought computers with Microsoft Windows, not Apple computers.
Apple tried to answer by making more and more products. There were many computers with confusing numbers, and also printers, cameras and a small handheld computer.
Customers did not understand the difference between all the computers. Shop workers did not understand either.
Apple's software was also old. It tried to make new software, but the project failed.
In late 1996 Apple bought NeXT, Jobs's new company, for about 400 million dollars. The deal gave Apple new software. And it brought Jobs back.
In 1997 Apple had a loss of about one billion dollars. Jobs later said the company was about ninety days from running out of money.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985.
2. In the 1990s, Apple made only a few simple products.
3. Apple bought NeXT because it needed new software.
In August 1997, Jobs spoke at a big Apple event. He had surprising news.
Microsoft, Apple's biggest rival, was going to invest 150 million dollars in Apple. It also promised to make its Office software for Apple computers for five years.
When Bill Gates, Microsoft's boss, appeared on the big screen, some people in the audience booed.
But the news was important. It told customers that Apple was not going to die.
Then Jobs cut most of the products. He drew a simple picture with four boxes.
One computer for home and one for professionals. One desktop and one laptop for each. That was all.
In 1998 Apple showed the iMac. It was a colourful computer that was easy to connect to the internet.
People loved the design. It sold very well, and in 1998 Apple made a profit again.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Microsoft gave money to Apple in 1997.
2. Everybody in the audience was happy to see Bill Gates.
3. After the cuts, Apple planned to make four main types of computer.
After the iMac, Apple made the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010.
Steve Jobs died in 2011. Tim Cook became the new boss.
Since then, Apple has become one of the most valuable companies in the world. It has been worth more than three trillion dollars.
Many people tell this story with one simple lesson: focus. Do a few things very well.
But the story is not so simple. Microsoft's help was very important. And Jobs was the founder, so people accepted big cuts from him.
Today Apple has many products again: phones, computers, watches, headphones, and a lot of services like music, TV and payments.
In 2024 Apple reportedly stopped a secret car project after about ten years.
So here is the question. Can a very big company still focus? Or was focus only the answer for a company in trouble?
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Tim Cook became Apple's boss after Steve Jobs died.
2. Today Apple makes only four products.
3. The story says Microsoft's help was not important at all.
This story has two times: the finished past (1985, 1997, 2011) and a time that continues until now.
Past simple — finished time, often with a date: I moved to this city in 2019.
Present perfect (have / has + past participle) — from the past until now, or life experience with no date: I have lived here since 2019. · Have you ever been to Japan?
Signal words: yesterday, last year, in 2010, ago → past simple. since, for, ever, never, yet, already → often present perfect.
Careful: never use the present perfect with a finished time. I saw him yesterday. (NOT I have seen him yesterday)
| Past simple | Present perfect | |
|---|---|---|
| When? | Finished time | Until now / no date |
| Example | She started the job in May. | She has worked here since May. |
| Question | Did you go last week? | Have you ever gone there? |
| Words | yesterday, ago, in 2010 | since, for, ever, never, yet |
Put the verb in brackets into the past simple or the present perfect.
1. Apple about one billion dollars in 1997. (lose)
2. Apple many different products since the first iPhone. (make)
3. Steve Jobs back to Apple in 1997. (come)
4. I an Apple watch. I don't really want one. (never / use)
5. My brother his phone for five years, and it still works. (have)
1. lost · 2. has made · 3. came · 4. have never used · 5. has had
Each sentence has one mistake. Say the correct sentence out loud, then check.
1. I have bought my laptop last year.
2. Steve Jobs has died in 2011.
3. She works at this company since 2020.
4. How long do you know your best friend?
5. We have watched a great film yesterday.
1. I bought my laptop last year. (finished time = past simple)
2. Steve Jobs died in 2011. (a date = past simple)
3. She has worked at this company since 2020. (since = present perfect)
4. How long have you known your best friend? (until now = present perfect)
5. We watched a great film yesterday. (yesterday = past simple)
Take your time. Short sentences are fine.
Tell me the story of Apple in 1997 in your own words. Six or seven sentences is enough.
Tell me three things you did in the past, with a date.
Then tell me three things you have done in your life, with no date. Use ever or never once.
Think of something in your life with too many choices: a menu, your wardrobe, your phone apps, your work.
What would you cut first?
Tell me about a product you have used for a long time.
When did you buy it? Why do you still use it?