BBC地道英语:Blogsphere 博客圈

Yang Li: Hello, I'm Yang Li, and welcome to Authentic Real English. 在地道英语节目我们会为大家介绍平时字典里看不到的一些单词和短语。Joining me in the studio today is Finn, hi Finn! Hi Finn!

Finn: (Typing) Hi there, bear with me one second, I'll just... finish... this... There! Done.

Yang Li: What are you up to?

Finn: Well, it's quite exciting really. I've just entered the blogosphere for the first time!

Yang Li: The what? I think you're mistaken, you're right here in the studio.

Finn: I don't think you understand. Haven't you heard of the blogosphere?

Yang Li: The blogosphere? 这个词我倒从来没听说过，是和宇宙有关的吗？

Finn: You're thinking of the atmosphere. Let me try and explain it to you. Have you heard of blogs before?

What is the 'blogosphere'?

Yang Li: Of course I've heard of a blog. 博客，不就是上网发表的那些个人言论吗？

Finn: That's right. The word blog is actually short for 'web log' - 'blog'. Blogs can be long or short, and they are very popular.

Yang Li: 那么你提到的 the blogosphere 又是什么呢?

Finn: The blogosphere is a general word used to describe the world of blogging and the people in it. If you read a blog or write - or post - one, you are part of the blogosphere.

Yang Li: 原来是这样啊，blogosphere 就是博客圈的意思，包括了博客文章和写博客的人。So you said you have become part of the blogosphere yourself - have you written a blog?

Finn: I've written a microblog - that's a very short blog post which is limited to a certain number of characters. Usually it's about one or two sentences.

Yang Li: 微博 microblog 顾名思义就是短篇博客! 那么你在微博上发了些什么呢？

Finn: I wrote: "I'm presenting with Li in the studio today, I can't wait to explain some more great phrases. #bbclearningenglish."

Yang Li: Ooh you mentioned me!

Finn: I did!

Yang Li: But what was that you said at the end of it, handbag BBC Learning English?

Finn: No, I said #bbclearningenglish. A hashtag is something else that you often see on social networking websites. If you type a hash mark (#) before a word, it highlights a key word or area of interest, and you can use it to search for other blog posts which also use that word - and that's a hashtag!

Yang Li: A hash tag. 这是井号标签，在一个单词或短语前面加上井号，在网上搜索的时候，就能查到其他包含这个短语的博客文章。It sounds very complicated. So, if I want to write a short blog post about James Bond, I can type #jamesbond, and people searching for James Bond will be able to see my post?

Finn: Yes, in fact, the whole of the blogosphere will be able to see your post!

Yang Li: I'd love to be part of the blogosphere and try this for myself!

Finn: Well, did you know that BBC Learning English has pages on Facebook and Twitter? Why not try it out there and post your first ever microblog?

Yang Li: Thanks, I think I will. Join us again for another edition of Authentic Real English. Bye for now!

Finn: Bye!