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GENERAL ENGLISH · HISTORICAL FIGURES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

STEVE
JOBS
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1 Warm up
Look at these pictures of Apple products and put them in order according to when they appeared on
the market. Then, answer questions below.

A. Apple iBook B. Apple Macintosh

C. Apple iPhone D. Apple iPod

1. Have you or anyone you know bought one of these products or another Apple product?

2. As a company, what is Apple known for?

3. Steve Jobs was one of the founders of Apple – what do you know about his life?

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2 Vocabulary

Part A: Read the paragraph and try to understand the meaning of the words in bold. Then match
these with the meanings below.

Some people are natural entrepreneurs. When they have a ground-breaking idea for a new business,
they need to look for investment. After launching the business, the board of directors will make
important decisions. If the business is successful, there is likely to be competition from other companies.

1. announcing the start of a new business:

2. companies which offer the same or similar goods or services, and which want to attract the same
customers as another business:

3. new and completely different:

4. people who see an opportunity to make money and start a new business:

5. the money that is spent on a business in order to make larger profits later on:

6. the people who manage a business:

Part B: Match the beginning and end of these sentences.

1. People who are adopted

2. People who are interested in alternative lifestyles and medicine

3. People often ask for guidance

4. People are called pioneers

5. People who have had surgery

6. People are called visionaries

a. usually need to spend a few days resting in hospital afterwards.

b. if they have a strong idea about how society will develop in the future.

c. when they don’t know what to do in a difficult situation.

d. when they are among the first to do something new.

e. often want to find out about their birth parents when they are older.

f. might eat a plant-based diet and practice meditation.

How do you think these words will be used in the story of Steve Jobs’ life?

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3 Listening 1

You are going to listen to information about the life of Steve Jobs (1955-2011). Before you listen,
read the sentences and try to predict if they are true or false. Then listen and check your ideas.

1. Steve Jobs never graduated from college.

2. Personal computers were made possible when people developed new software.

3. At first, it was difficult for Apple to find people to invest in the company.

4. The Apple Macintosh helped to introduce the mouse.

5. After Jobs left Apple, he went to work on three other projects.

6. He lost a lot of money when he worked for Pixar.

7. After he returned to Apple, the company got into the music business.

8. Jobs had cancer twice.

4 Language in context

Read these sentences from the recording and explain the meaning of the words in bold.

1. ...so that they could continue to focus on improving their computers, using cutting-edge design.

2. Jobs was a true visionary and a completely self-made man.

3. His story, with all its ups and downs, has inspired feature films, books and documentaries.

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5 Listening 2

Read the questions. Can you remember the answers? Listen again to check.

1. Why was the family garage an important place in Jobs’ life story?

2. How was the Apple II different from the Apple I?

3. Who was John Scully and what role did he play in Apple?

4. What happened in 1985?

5. Why was Pixar ground-breaking?

6. What was the relationship between the Apple company and NeXT?

7. Why didn’t Jobs want to have surgery for his cancer right away?

8. Why are some people still interested in Jobs today?

6 Language point

Read the information and underline the correct answer. Then complete the rest of the exercises.

The recording used lots of natural expressions with went, as in this example:

After high school, he went to Reed College in Oregon for a while, but he never finished his
degree.

In this sentence, went to means applied to study at / attended as a student / visited.

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Complete these sentences from the recording so that they have the meaning of the phrase in brackets.
Use the first letters that you are given.

1. Instead, he briefly worked as a video game designer for Atari, before he went t in
India to explore alternative lifestyles there. (on holiday)

2. When he returned, he reconnected with an old friend, Steve Wozniak, and together, they went
i b ... (started a new company)

3. Sales went t the r reaching over two million dollars within three
years. (reached a high level very quickly)

4. The Apple Macintosh went o s in 1984. (became available for

people to buy)

5. He went t w on other projects. (started to do something productive)

6. He bought the computer graphics company Pixar, which went o t

b a ground-breaking animation studio ... (continued and then turned into something
else)

7. In 1996, Apple, who were in some financial trouble themselves, bought this company from Jobs
and he went b to work for them. (returned)

8. Under his guidance, Apple went f s to s , launching

classic products like the iMac and iBook, and developing MP3 technology. (experienced success
without stopping)

Complete these sentences in a logical way with your own answers. Share them with your partner.

1. It’s ..... to learn that Jobs went to college but never finished his degree.
2. I have many happy memories of the time I went traveling in .....
3. Ten years ago, the number of people who were ..... went through the roof.
4. I remember when ..... went on sale for the first time.
5. The most famous person from my hometown went on to become .....

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7 Talking point

Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. What would you ask Jobs if you could meet him?

2. Steve Jobs was famous for wearing the same outfit every day, like a uniform: black long-sleeved
top, blue jeans and trainers. Think of three reasons why he might have done this.
3. Many people found Jobs difficult to work with. Should we just accept that most great people are
demanding in some way? Why/why not?
4. Jobs working life was cut short by illness. If he hadn’t been sick, do you think he would ever have
moved on to work for another company or even retired? Why/why not?
5. Read what other people said about Jobs after his death. Which statement do you like best and
why?

"The man who invented the wheel didn’t change the world...the man who got a stick and
attached two wheels, he changed the world. Steve Jobs, he was the man with the stick."
Eugene Kaspersky, founder Kaspersky Lab.

"He was a historical figure on the scale of a Thomas Edison or Henry Ford and set the
mold for many other corporate leaders in many other industries." Walt Mossberg, Wall
Street Journal tech columnist.

"Tonight, America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and
whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come. Again and again over the last
four decades, Steve Jobs saw the future and brought it to life long before most people
could even see the horizon." Michael Bloomberg, New York Mayor.

Glossary
• on the scale of → of similar or equal importance to

• set the mold (mould, British English) → created a new type of person with certain typical qualities
• horizon → the far away place where you see the sky touch the land or sea

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8 Optional extension

Watch this short motivational speech from Steve Jobs (00:00-02:31) and choose the best summary
of his main message. You won’t need to understand every word to complete this task.

1. You can never run away from your duties and responsibilities.
2. Sometimes difficult experiences lead to better things.
3. Being angry about past events can make you sick.

Answer these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. The video opened and closed with this advice, "The only way to do great work is to love what you
do. if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle." What do you think settle means in this
context?

2. How easy is it to follow this advice? Why/why not?

3. What other advice do you think Jobs had for entrepreneurs?

4. Would you like to watch any other videos of Jobs speaking? What could you learn from them?

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Transcripts

3. Listening 1

Narrator: Steve Jobs was born in 1955 and was adopted as a young baby. He lived with his family
near San Francisco, California. Jobs was very intelligent but easily bored as a child, and
he enjoyed helping his father with computer projects in their garage. After high school,
he went to Reed College in Oregon for a while, but he never finished his degree. Instead,
he briefly worked as a video game designer for Atari, before he went traveling in India to
explore alternative lifestyles there.

Narrator: When he returned, he reconnected with an old friend, Steve Wozniak, and together,
they went into business to create a personal computer, the Apple One, working out of
Jobs’ family garage. This completely new type of product was possible because individual
computer parts were becoming both smaller and cheaper. After a redesign, the improved
Apple Two launched. Sales went through the roof, reaching over two million dollars within
three years. Investment in the company set new records in 1981 and Apple became one
of the top US companies.

Narrator: Wozniak and Jobs brought in a new leader called John Scully to manage the growing
company, so that they could continue to focus on improving their computers, using
cutting-edge design. The Apple Macintosh went on sale in 1984. Although this machine
was one of the first to feature a mouse, it was disappointing in other areas, and the
company was also facing increased competition from IBM. After a disagreement, Jobs left
Apple in 1985, although he kept his position on the board of directors.

Narrator: He went to work on other projects. He bought the computer graphics company Pixar,
which went on to become a ground-breaking animation studio, producing the first feature
film to be completely animated: Toy Story. In 1995, Jobs’ investments in Pixar made him
a billionaire.

Narrator: Unfortunately, Jobs’ other new project, an educational computer company called NeXT,
was losing money. In 1996, Apple, who were in some financial trouble themselves, bought
this company from Jobs and he went back to work for them. Under his guidance, Apple
went from strength to strength, launching classic products like the iMac and iBook, and
developing MP3 technology so people could download and play music using the iTunes
and iPhone system.

Narrator: In 2003, doctors told Jobs that he had a rare form of cancer. He delayed surgery for a
few months so he could try alternative treatments, but finally, he had an operation and
returned to work. In 2009, investors in the company noted that Jobs was losing weight
and became worried. It seemed his cancer had returned. Jobs continued at Apple as long
as he could, but he had to stop working in August 2011. He died in October, a multi-
billionaire. He left a wife and four children.

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Narrator: Jobs was a true visionary and a completely self-made man. His story, with all its ups
and downs, has inspired feature films, books and documentaries. Entrepreneurs are still
interested in learning the secrets of his success.

8. Optional extension

Steve Jobs: I was lucky, I found what I love to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’
garage when I was 20. We worked hard and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the
two of us in a garage, into a 2-billion-dollar company with over 4000 employees. We
just released our finest creation, the Macintosh, a year earlier and I just turned 30. And
then I got fired.

Steve Jobs: How can you get fired from a company you started? What had been the focus of my
entire adult life was gone and it was devastating. I really didn’t know what to do for few
months, I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down.

Steve Jobs: I was a very public failure and I even thought about running away from the valley. But
something slowly began to dawn on me. I still loved what I did.

Steve Jobs: We are gonna make it or break it, based on whether we can provide products, to higher
education and services and relationships to higher education, that no one else provides.
And I think we gotta spend a 100 percent of our time thinking about that and if we can’t
do that then we ought to go broke.

Steve Jobs: And so I decided to start over, I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired
from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness
of being successful was replaced by the lightness, of being a beginner again, less sure
about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

Steve Jobs: During the next five years, I started a company named Next, another company named
Pixar. And fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. I am pretty
sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful
tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.

Steve Jobs: Sometimes life’s gonna hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I am convinced
that the only thing that kept me going was I loved what I did. You have got to find what
you love and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is gonna fill a large
part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great
work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it
yet keep looking and don’t settle. So keep looking do not settle.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Students should find it fairly straightforward to order the Apple products and you could even elicit some guesses
about the exact years (or even just decades) when these items became available (see answers). Pose the follow-up
questions to the class and elicit some responses. It’s fine if the class have limited knowledge – they will discover
more about Steve Jobs during the lesson.
Note that the surname Jobs is pronounced exactly like the word jobs, with an /6/ in British English and an /a:/ in
American English.

Answers: The order is 1B Apple Macintosh, 1984; 2A Apple iBook, 1999; 3D Apple iPod, 2002; 4C Apple iPhone,
2007

1. Students’ own answers. 2. Students’ own answers. 3. Students’ own answers.

2. Vocabulary

10 mins.
Part A
Explain that students will need to know some vocabulary to understand the listening. First, students complete
an exercise focusing on the meaning of six business-related words, which they should be able to work out from
context. In the second exercise, students match sentence halves.
Drill the pronunciation of all items and pose the follow-up question for students to discuss briefly in pairs. This
will help to prepare them for the listening. You could elicit some short responses around the class to conclude this
stage.

1. launching 2. competition
3. ground-breaking 4. entrepreneurs
5. investment 6. board of directors
Part B

1. → e. 2. → f.
3. → c. 4. → d.
5. → a. 6. → b.

3. Listening 1

10 mins.
First, go over the sentences and ask students to work in pairs to predict the answers before they listen – this
stage will probably be very brief. Then students can listen to the recording and check their ideas. Before you
check answers with the whole class, students can check answers in pairs.
Audio sources:
www.biography.com/business-figure/steve-jobs

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www.britannica.com/biography/Steve-Jobs
www.notablebiographies.com/Ho-Jo/Jobs-Steve.html
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mctZYeiNq9o

1. T – he studied at Reed College for a while, but he didn’t finish his degree.
2. F – when computer parts became smaller and cheaper.
3. F – investment in the company set new records.
4. T – it was one of the first machines to feature this.
5. F – two: Pixar and NeXT.
6. F – he became a billionaire.
7. T – with iTunes.
8. T – the cancer he’d had surgery for returned a few years later.

4. Language in context

5 mins.
This is a quick practice in deducing meaning from context, an important skill for students at this level. Go over
the sentences with the whole class and elicit the correct answers. Encourage students to notice the whole phrase
and drill pronunciation.

1. very modern, including lots of new ideas and features, possibly for the first time
2. someone who started with no money or special advantages and used their skills and talents to become very
successful and rich
3. which had times when things went well and also when they went badly

5. Listening 2

10 mins.
Go over the questions with the whole class. Students should work in pairs before listening to recall/predict the
answers and then listen again to confirm/find the answers. They can check answers again in pairs before you go
over the answers with the whole class.
If any students need extra support for this exercise, you could make the transcript available to them while they
listen or after they listen. Students often enjoy listening and reading anyway – if you haven’t repeated the listening
more than twice so far, they may want to do this now.

1. Because he worked on computer projects there with his father when he was a child and then used it as a place
to work in the early days of Apple.
2. It was redesigned and improved.
3. He was a new leader who Wozniak and Jobs brought in to manage the company. This allowed them to focus
on developing new products.
4. Jobs had a disagreement with Apple and left, although he kept his position on the board of directors.
5. Because it produced the first full-length computer animated film, Toy Story.
6. Apple bought NeXT in 1996. This meant Jobs could return to work for Apple.
7. Because he wanted to try some alternative treatments first.
8. Entrepreneurs want to know the secrets of his success.

6. Language point

10 mins.

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This is a quick look at some common expressions with went, which students may have already encountered, even
though they may not use them productively in speaking or writing. Go over the example with the class and work
through the short presentation activity. Then students complete a quick gap-fill exercise to see more examples
related to the biography. In the final activity, they can formulate personal sentences using the prompts. Monitor
and support as necessary and correct any grammatical mistakes.

In this sentence, went to means applied to study at / attended as a student / visited. 7→ attended as a student

1. traveling 2. into ≀ business

3. through the ≀ roof 4. on ≀ sale
5. to ≀ work 6. on ≀ to ≀ become
7. back 8. from ≀ strength to ≀ strength

7. Talking point

10 mins.
Students can work in pairs or small groups to discuss these questions. If your classroom set-up allows, students
could move round the room, forming small groups to discuss one question at a time, changing groups for each
new question. You may need to elicit/explain the meaning of demanding (requiring a lot of attention and energy),
but students can use the glossary provided to help them understand the quotes. Conduct a quick round-up of
answers either after each question or at the end, encouraging students to give reasons and examples for their
answers.

Sample answer for question 2: he liked these clothes, it was easy and convenient to dress the same way every
day and it was a way to brand himself and make it easier for people to recognize and remember him. In fact, the
real reason seems to be that he liked the idea of everyone in the company wearing a uniform like this, but even
when the staff rejected this, he carried on by himself – a uniform of one!
Source for quotes:
betanews.com/2011/10/06/what-people-are-saying-about-steve-jobs/
www.smh.com.au/technology/what-they-said-about-steve-jobs-20111006-1lay2.html

8. Optional extension

10 mins.
Students listen to a short video with ungraded language - their response is simply to choose the best summary of
the message. This is good experience for students who are ready to engage with authentic materials and it should
be interesting for them to see and hear Steve Jobs on screen. Go over the instructions and give students a minute
or two to read through the three options. Play the recording and check answers - students could listen twice if
they need to. They might enjoy listening with the transcript and asking questions about what they heard. Then
pose the follow-up questions for a short discussion. Students might want to find and watch other videos with
Jobs as independent study.

Answer: number 2

1. To accept something even though it’s not the best option.

2. Students’ own answers.
3. Students’ own answers.
4. Students’ own answers.

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