Half a Billion Checking In 五億用戶玩臉書，全球掀起

If you have not heard of Mark Zuckerberg, then you either have not seen the movie, "The Social Network," or worse, you do not have a Facebook account. The founder and CEO1 of the world's most popular social networking site celebrated a major milestone in July 2010. The project Zuckerberg started in his Harvard dorm2 room passed the 500-million user mark in only six years. That is bigger than the combined populations3 of France, Mexico, and the US.
如果您沒聽過馬克‧查克柏格這號人物，那您不是沒看過電影《社群網戰》，不然就是更糟，您沒有Facebook的帳號。這位全球最受歡迎的社群網站的創始人兼執行長在2010年七月慶祝了一個重大的里程碑。這項由查克柏格在他哈佛宿舍房間裡創始的計畫，在短短六年內便突破了五億用戶大關。這個數字可比法國、墨西哥和美國的人口數加總還要來得高。
　　However, Zuckerberg and Facebook are not stopping there. They have entered the check-in world with the launch of Facebook Places. This service allows users to post exactly where they are with the touch of a button, which is made possible by the GPS4 devices in their smartphones. Since the check-in notification gets posted to the user's home page, Places makes it easy for those wanting to announce their locations to their friends. What's more, users can tag friends that are nearby as well. The service was first released in the US in August 2010 and has just recently become available for Facebook users in Taiwan. Have you checked in for the world to see yet?
然而，查克柏格和Facebook並沒有就此收手。他們推出Facebook的『地標』功能，藉此投入了『打卡』界（編按：check in為最新的網路用語，用來代表某人在網路上以各種社群網站或軟體來對外發表自己的所在位置，『打卡』則為Facebook官方所翻譯的中文名稱）。這項服務讓使用者只消觸控一個按鍵，就能在網路上張貼他們確切的所在位置，而這點全賴他們智慧型手機裡的衛星定位裝置才做得到。由於『打卡』通知會被張貼在使用者的首頁，因此『地標』功能讓那些想要對朋友公布自己所在位置的人能輕而易舉地辦到這點。此外，使用者還可以把同樣位於附近的朋友也標籤起來。這項服務已於2010年八月在美國先行推出，而台灣的Facebook用戶最近也能夠開始利用這項功能。您是否已經打過卡、讓全世界都看見您了呢？

Building Your Vocabulary

1. milestone　n. 里程碑，重大事件
For Jeff, moving out of his parents' house was a big milestone on his road to independence.
對傑夫來說，搬離他父母家是邁向獨立的一大里程碑。
2. launch　n.（新產品的）推出，上市
The book became a best-seller soon after its launch.
那本書出版沒多久就成為暢銷書。
3. post　vt. 張貼，發佈（訊息、公告等）
Miss Li will post the results of the exam later today.
李老師會在今天稍晚時公布考試成績。
4. notification　n. 通知，告知
We received an official notification that our bank loan was approved.
我們收到銀行核准我們貸款的正式通知。
5. announce　vt. 宣布
The young actress burst into tears when the presenter announced that she won the Academy Award.
頒獎人宣布那位年輕女演員得到奧斯卡獎時，她不禁喜極而泣。
6. tag　vt. 標籤（某人，網路用語）；給……加上標籤
The clerk tagged the cans before stocking the shelves.
店員在上架前把罐頭都貼上了標籤。

Phrases for Learning

1. pass/reach the...mark　　超過∕達到……（標的、程度等）
The temperature is expected to reach the 30 degree mark in the next few days.
接下來的幾天，氣溫預計會高達三十度。
2. with the touch/push of a button　　只消按一個按鈕
Thanks to the microwave, I can now cook food with the push of a button.
多虧有微波爐，現在我只消按一個按鈕就能做菜。

Extra Words

1. CEO　n. 行政總裁（Chief Executive Officer的縮寫）
2. dorm　n. 宿舍（dormitory的簡寫，本文中作形容詞用）
3. population　n. 人口
4. GPS　n. 全球衛星定位系統（Global Positioning System的縮寫，本文中作形容詞用）