To tweet, or not to tweet?

A guide to the social networking/ microblogging service Tewitter

SINCE its creation in 2006, Twitter, the social networking service, has taken cyber space by storm. At first glance it might seem like Facebook, but Twitter is in a league of its own, connecting people with fast-paced updates. It has become a place for activities, celebrities, businesses and everyday people to let others know about videos, opinions, interesting news, advertisements-and, yes what they are eating for lunch.

The phenomenon includes a host of new vocabulary terms and concepts that every self-respecting Twitter-er should know. Here’s a quick course on Twitter.

       So you’ve finally been swept up by the techno-tide and gotten a Twitter account. But what to write? Who knew 140 characters could be so overwhelming?

Darren Rowse of the TwiTip blog(www.twitip.com) recommends a two- step tweeting process: figure out what your follows want, and then give it to them. Some combination of cool links, conversation- starting quotes or questions , retweets and photos works well, Rowse writes.

Keep in mind that Twitter doesn’t directly offer photo hosting. You will need to use a third-party site like TwitPic (www.twitip.com) to upload your photos. Other sites, like TwitVid (tweetdeck.com/beta) can be used to post videos.

If you th ink the Twitter Web Site too complicated, try a Twiiter client—Tweetdeck(tweetdeck. Com/beta) and the Mac-only Tweetie(www. stebits. com)are popular, and both also are available as iPhone apps(应用程序).

Even without an iphone, you can update you Twitter on the go. After adding your phone number to your Twitter account, you can text updates to 40404(check Twitter’s Web site for numbers to use outside the United States)

But no matter how you tweet, remember that people can see what you post, and Twitter might not be the best place to complain about your boss, even if you make your Twitter private, your followers may not share your sense of discretion.

       Twitter is crowded with celebrith accounts. The famous , who once avoided the media in their private lives, are posting everything on Twitter for all the cyber world to see, gathering followers in the millions. Who’s leading the celebrity pack? TwitterCounter(www.twittercounter.com), a site that tracks the most popular Twitter users, lists Ashton Kuntcher and former fashion model, as the nost popular Twitter-er with, as of our publication date, 2,691,112 followers.

Title: To tweet, or not to tweet?

Introductionto Twitter	(71)     in 2006, twitter, the soclal networking service, has enjoyed(72)    among the cyber world.
Basic Twitter(73)	●twitter ●twitter-er ●tweet ●retwwet
(74)     to tweet your tweets	●Follow a two-step tweeting process, according to the (75)    of Darren Rowse. ●Use a third-party site to upload your photos and post videos. ●Try Twitter clients to help you (76)   Twitter, among which the Tweet-deck and the Mac-only Tweetie are well (77)    . ●Add your phone number to your Twitter account if you don’t have an iPhone. ●Be(78)   of what you post even if your twitter is made private
Celebrity twitter-ers	Celebrties now are (79)    about tweeting, among whom Ashton Kutcher is the most popular, (80)    by the largest number of twitter users.

第四部分：任务型阅读（每小题1分，满分10分）

    请认真阅读下列短文，并根据短文的内容要点完成文章后的表格。注意：补全填空应符合语法和搭配要求，每空只填一个单词。请将答案写在答题纸上的相应位置。

To tweet, or not to tweet?

A guide to the social networking/ microblogging service Tewitter

SINCE its creation in 2006, Twitter, the social networking service, has taken cyber space by storm. At first glance it might seem like Facebook, but Twitter is in a league of its own, connecting people with fast-paced updates. It has become a place for activities, celebrities, businesses and everyday people to let others know about videos, opinions, interesting news, advertisements-and, yes what they are eating for lunch.

Twitter: n. a free social networking service that connects users through fast-paced status updates.

Twitter-er: n. one who uses Twitter.

Tweet: n. short updates or messages, of 140 characters or less, wh ich are posted on your profile and sent to your followers.

Retweet (RT): n. unofficial Twitter feature that indicates a re-posting of a tweet from another user. Often uses the text RT@username (of the original source) before the post.

Follower: n. one who receives another user’s updates on his or her Twitter profile.

Direct message: n. a private message sent from one Twitter-er to another.

The phenomenon includes a host of new vocabulary terms and concepts that every self-respecting Twitter-er should know. Here’s a quick course on Twitter.

       So you’ve finally been swept up by the techno-tide and gotten a Twitter account. But what to write? Who knew 140 characters could be so overwhelming?

Darren Rowse of the TwiTip blog(www.twitip.com) recommends a two- step tweeting process: figure out what your follows want, and then give it to them. Some combination of cool links, conversation- starting quotes or questions , retweets and photos works well, Rowse writes.

Keep in mind that Twitter doesn’t directly offer photo hosting. You will need to use a third-party site like TwitPic (www.twitip.com) to upload your photos. Other sites, like TwitVid (tweetdeck.com/beta) can be used to post videos.

If you th ink the Twitter Web Site too complicated, try a Twiiter client—Tweetdeck(tweetdeck. Com/beta) and the Mac-only Tweetie(www. stebits. com)are popular, and both also are available as iPhone apps(应用程序).

Even without an iphone, you can update you Twitter on the go. After adding your phone number to your Twitter account, you can text updates to 40404(check Twitter’s Web site for numbers to use outside the United States)

But no matter how you tweet, remember that people can see what you post, and Twitter might not be the best place to complain about your boss, even if you make your Twitter private, your followers may not share your sense of discretion.

       Twitter is crowded with celebrith accounts. The famous , who once avoided the media in their private lives, are posting everything on Twitter for all the cyber world to see, gathering followers in the millions. Who’s leading the celebrity pack? TwitterCounter(www.twittercounter.com), a site that tracks the most popular Twitter users, lists Ashton Kuntcher and former fashion model, as the nost popular Twitter-er with, as of our publication date, 2,691,112 followers.

Title: To tweet, or not to tweet?

Introductionto Twitter	(71)     in 2006, twitter, the soclal networking service, has enjoyed(72)    among the cyber world.
Basic Twitter(73)	●twitter ●twitter-er ●tweet ●retwwet
(74)     to tweet your tweets	●Follow a two-step tweeting process, according to the (75)    of Darren Rowse. ●Use a third-party site to upload your photos and post videos. ●Try Twitter clients to help you (76)   Twitter, among which the Tweet-deck and the Mac-only Tweetie are well (77)    . ●Add your phone number to your Twitter account if you don’t have an iPhone. ●Be(78)   of what you post even if your twitter is made private
Celebrity twitter-ers	Celebrties now are (79)    about tweeting, among whom Ashton Kutcher is the most popular, (80)    by the largest number of twitter users.

 

    Dr Wiseman started “the laugh lab” project in September 2001. It is the largest study of humour. Participants are invited to log on  to the laugh lab website, give a few personal details , tell their favorite jokes and judge the jokes told by other people.

    The project will last for a year, and the organizers hope to finally discover the world’s funniest joke. But there is also a serious purpose, the researches want to know what people from different nations and cultures find funny. And they want to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor. The idea is that if we want to understand each other, we have to find out what makes us laugh.

This is a subject that has long interested psychologists and philosophers. Most of the time, people are not completely honest. We do things that society expects us to and say things that help us get what we want. But laughing cannot be controlled. When we laugh, we tell the truth about ourselves.

By December 2001 over 10,000 jokes had been submitted(提交). This gave the scientists enough evidence to make early conclusions. It seems that men and women do have different senses of humor, for instance.

“Our findings show the major differences in the ways in which males and females use humor,” said Dr Wiseman. “Males use humor to appear superior(优越的) to others, while women are more skilled in languages and prefer word play.”

Researchers also found that there really is such a thing as a national sense of humor. The British enjoy what is usually called “toilet humor”. But the French like their jokes short and sharp: “You’re a high priced lawyer. Will you answer two questions for $500?” “Yes. What’s the second question?”

The Germans are famous for not having a sense of humor. But the survey found that German participants were more likely to find submitted jokes funny than any other nationality. Perhaps that proves the point. Is this joke funny? I don’t know, but let’s say yes, just to be safe.

Dr Wiseman and his workmates also submitted jokes created by computer. But none of those who took part in the survey found any of them amusing. Perhaps this is relief. Computers already seem like they can do everything. At least they should leave the funny stuff to us.

1.Scientist started “the laugh lab” project ____________

   A．to find the funniest joke in European countries

   B．to know what funny people are from different nations and cultures

   C．to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor

   D．to get more personal details about participants

2.What is the main idea of the 4 th and 5 th paragraph?

    A．Man and woman have different senses of humour.

    B．Male and female have similar senses of humour.

    C．About 10,000 jokes have been submitted from September 2001 to December 2001.

    D．Scientists have collected enough evidence to make conclusions.

3.The writer gave the examples of the British, the French and the Germans        .

    A．to show that French people have a better sense of humour

    B．to prove the British people have a sense of “toilet humour”

    C．to show people from different nations have different senses of humour

    D．to prove that the Germans have no sense of humour

4.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

   A．The jokes by computer are less funny than those by humans

   B．The Germans cannot find the submitted jokes amusing

   C．Males are better at word play compared with women

   D．Females like to use humor to show that they are superior

 

--- Good morning, this is Dr. Allen’s office.

--- Good morning, I’d like to make an appointment with Dr. Allen. I have my teeth cleaned and checked.   1 

--- I’ll see whether the doctor has time to see you this week.   2 

--- No, I’ve just moved to town and a friend of mine advised me to see him. My name is Edward Johnson.

---   3  . If you are having trouble with your teeth, I’ll work you in, otherwise I can give you an appointment next Friday, the 29 th. Will that be all right?

--- I’m sorry.   4   I’m not having any trouble with my teeth, but I had hoped to have the appointment this week because I won’t start work at my new job until next Monday.

---   5 

--- That will be fine. Thank you.

--- We’ll see you on the 23 rd then, Mr. Johnson, goodbye

--- Goodbye.

       A．How much do they cost?

       B．How about Saturday, the 23 rd at 10 a.m.?

       C．I’d like to have it done this week if possible.

       D．The doctor has no free time this week, Mr. Johnson.

       E．I’ll be working on the 29 th.

       F．Have you been to see Dr. Allen before?

       G．Will you come this Sunday?