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Older people in particular are often surprised by the speed with
which the internet's “next big thing” can cease being that. It
even happens to Rupert Murdoch, a seventy-year-old media
social-networking site that has become the world's largest. The
other day, however, Mr Murdoch was heard
that MySpace appears already to be last year's news, because
everybody is now going to Facebook, the second-largest social
network on the web, with 31m registered users at the last
count.
Facebook was started in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at
Harvard and not even 20 at the time, along with two of his friends.
The site requires users to provide their real names and e-mail
addresses for
with current and former friends and colleagues with amazing ease.
Each Facebook “profile” becomes both a
of each user's information and photos, and a social place where
friends gossip, exchange messages and “
another.
bloggers are comparing Mr Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs, the
“the next Google” on the assumption that a stockmarket listing
must be soon.
from new- and old-media giants such as Yahoo! and Viacom. One of
his three sisters, who also works for Facebook, has posted a silly
video online that makes fun of Yahoo!'s
and sings about “going for IPO”. And Facebook has advertised for
a “stock administration manager” with expertise in share
regulations.
And yet Mr Zuckerberg insists that he is “a little bit
surprised about how focused everybody is on the ‘exit’.” The
truth is that he is sick of talking about it. The venture
capitalists backing Facebook may want to cash out, but Mr
Zuckerberg is only 23 and doesn't need the money. He also happens
to believe—rather as Google's young founders do—that he can, and
should, change the world.
Facebook is distinctive in several ways. First, it is currently
considered classier than, say, MySpace. One academic researcher
argues that Facebook is for “good kids”, whereas MySpace is for
blue-collar kids and “
are indeed college students. Mr Zuckerberg started Facebook at
Harvard, after all. From there it spread to other
general population last September.
Mr Zuckerberg, however, thinks that the bigger difference is
that Facebook is now becoming a “platform”. By this he means that
it is evolving into a technology on top of which others can build
new software tools and businesses. In May Mr Zuckerberg opened
Facebook up for outsiders to do just that, promising that any
advertising
within Facebook are theirs to keep. Already, thousands of little
tools have been created that allow Facebook users to share and
discover music, play Sudoku, lend each other money, and so on.
注（1）：本文选自
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 1。
1． What is Rupert Murdoch’s attitude towards the popularity of
Facebook?
[A] Reserved consent
Enthusiastic support
[C]
Strongly alarmed
[D]
Slight contempt
2． Which of the following is NOT the good reason to use
Facebook?
[A] One can use false name to register.
can find high school classmates easily.
[C] One
can have interesting communication with friends.
[D] One
can share pictures and other materials.
3． The expression “Mr Zuckerberg is only 23 and doesn't need
the money” (Line 3, Paragraph 4) most probably indicates
_______.
[A] Mr Zuckerberg does not like money
Zuckerberg is too young to have too much money.
[C] Mr
Zuckerberg does not need money for maintaining Facebook.
[D] Mr
Zuckerberg is young enough to afford any failure and start
again.
4． What can we learn from Paragraph 5?
[A] MySpace is more welcomed by college
students.
Facebook is popular among those of higher education.
[C] Both
MySpace and Facebook are gaining popularity in universities.
[D] Both
MySpaced and Facebook are always open to the public.
5． What is the author’s attitude towards the development of
Facebook?
[A]
Negative
Supportive
[C]
Objective
[D]
Apprehensive
本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍一个流行的网络交友社区Facebook。第一段引出了话题；第二段主要介绍什么是Facebook；第三、四段说明了关于该网站发展的一些近况；第五、六段则介绍了Facebook的一些特点。
显要人物；有权势的人
[9kAriz`mAtik] adj. 超凡魅力的
悲叹
takeover