Believe it or not, there are people out there who care what you, that’s right—you—think of the world. These strangers are part of an ever-growing on-line community of people known as “bloggers.” Bloggers read and write Internet-based journals1 with links to Web sites and photos, known as “blogs.”
Easy to use and fun to read, blogs are especially popular with young students. Recently, however, some surprising people have taken up blogging. Grandmothers, for example, have used blogs to share pictures and stories about their families. Even a homeless man in San Francisco shared his views on current events in a blog. He maintained2 it by using public computers in homeless shelters.3
The most popular blogs receive thousands of Internet hits a day. That kind of traffic has huge commercial4 potential.5 Advertisers have already started using blogs to promote6 new products. That has many bloggers worried that their forum for personal expression is about to become mainstream.
Diaries for the 21st Century
信不信由你，在世界的彼端真的有人在乎你──沒(méi)錯(cuò)，就是你──對(duì)這個(gè)世界的看法。這些陌生人都屬于一群日趨龐大的網(wǎng)絡(luò)族，又被稱為”網(wǎng)志一族”。他們會(huì)閱讀并撰寫(xiě)網(wǎng)絡(luò)日志，并與其他網(wǎng)站或照片鏈接，被稱為“網(wǎng)志”。
使用方便、閱讀起來(lái)又很有趣的網(wǎng)志特別受到年輕學(xué)子的喜愛(ài)。然而，近來(lái)一些令人意想不到的人們也開(kāi)始玩起網(wǎng)志來(lái)了，像一些祖母級(jí)的人，便用網(wǎng)志來(lái)與人分享其家族成員的照片和小故事。在舊金山，甚至有一個(gè)游民也在網(wǎng)志里發(fā)布他對(duì)時(shí)事的觀點(diǎn)與人共享。他使用收容所里的公用電腦來(lái)維護(hù)他的網(wǎng)志資料。
歡迎的網(wǎng)志一天有高達(dá)數(shù)千次的點(diǎn)擊率。這樣高的網(wǎng)絡(luò)流量潛藏著巨大商機(jī)。廣告業(yè)者已開(kāi)始利用網(wǎng)志來(lái)推銷新產(chǎn)品。這一點(diǎn)讓網(wǎng)志一族擔(dān)心他們用來(lái)表達(dá)個(gè)人意見(jiàn)的交流園地將成為主流趨勢(shì)。
Vocabulary
1.journal n. a record of daily events 日記；日志
During my train journey around China, I kept a detailed journal of the people I met and the places I went.
搭火車環(huán)游中國(guó)期間，我詳細(xì)記錄下旅途中所遇見(jiàn)的人以及到過(guò)的地方。
2.maintain v. to make sure sth. ke
eps going, working, or operating at a continuous rate 維持；保持
Andy ran the first mile of the race extremely fast, but he couldn’t maintain the pace, and had to slow down.
安迪在起跑后的前一英里跑得很快，之后卻無(wú)法維持原來(lái)的速度，不得不慢下來(lái)。
3.shelter n. a place that provides free or low-cost housing and food for people in need 收容所
During winter, the shelters in many cities are crowded with poor people trying to escape the cold.
在冬天，許多城市里的收容所擠滿了想避寒的窮人。
4.commercial adj. related to the buying and selling of products 商業(yè)的；商務(wù)的
Personal computers weren’t common in the 1970s, but they began to achieve commercial success in the 1980s.
個(gè)人電腦在 1970 年代尚未普及，但到了 1980 年代便開(kāi)始獲得商業(yè)上的成功。
5.potential n. possibility for future development or achievement 潛力；可能性
That young musician has lots of potential, but he needs to practice hard if he wants to become famous.
那名年輕音樂(lè)家極具潛力，但若想成名，還得多下點(diǎn)功夫。
6.promote v. to try to make people buy sth. 推銷；促銷
The book store promoted the author’s latest book by giving a free gift to anyone who bought a copy of it.
這家書(shū)店隨書(shū)附贈(zèng)贈(zèng)品以促銷該作者的新書(shū)。
More Information
1.blogger n. 網(wǎng)志使用者(blog指”網(wǎng)志”，或音譯作”部落格”，為 weblog 的縮寫(xiě)，通常指?jìng)€(gè)人的，或非商業(yè)性質(zhì)的網(wǎng)站，使用者可視其為個(gè)人的網(wǎng)絡(luò)日志，并加入其他網(wǎng)站連結(jié)，供網(wǎng)友閱覽或發(fā)表意見(jiàn)。)
2.hit n. (上網(wǎng))點(diǎn)擊；點(diǎn)閱
3.forum n. 討論區(qū)；論壇
4.mainstream n. (指思想、行為等的)主流