As a child -- and as an adult as well -- Bill was untidy. It has been said that in order to counteract (消除,抵消) this, Mary drew up weekly clothing plans for him. On Mondays he might go to school in blue, on Tuesdays in green, on Wednesdays in brown, and so on. Weekend meal schedules might also be planned in detail. Dinner table discussions in the Gates’ family home were always lively and educational. "It was a rich environment in which to learn," Bill remembered. Bill’s contemporaries, even at the age, recognized that he was exceptional. Every year, he and his friends would go to summer camp. Bill especially liked swimming and other sports. One of his summer camp friends recalled, "He was never a nerd (乏味的人) or the kind of kid you didn’t want for your team. We all knew Bill was smarter than us. Even back then, when he was nine or ten years old. he talked like an adult and could express h