VOA慢速英语2016--推特改变其字符的限制

AS IT IS 2016-09-21 Twitter Changes its Character Limit 推特改变其字符的限制

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Twitter has officially changed its 140 character limit.

But, that does not exactly mean you can start writing a 1,000-character Twitter message. The change only means that links and pictures will not be counted toward the limit.

A report in May suggested that the social media company was considering making the changes. Later, Twitter confirmed the news and Monday the company announced the changes were taking effect.

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Twitter recently celebrated¹ its 10-year anniversary. It has been trying to grow its number of users and find ways to make money.

The company reportedly lost over 2 million users in the last part of 2015.

Jack² Dorsey founded Twitter and then left. He came back to the company last year to try to improve its business. Dorsey said at the time that he was “not going to be shy about building more utility and power into Twitter for people.”

Like Facebook, Twitter has been urging followers³ to use media such as photos and videos. It recently added a polling feature. The company also made changes to its timeline, permitting users to see so-called “best” tweets first.

The company has also announced that it reached a $10 million deal with the National Football League. Twitter will stream 10 Thursday night games during the American football season.

Words in This Story

character - n. a symbol (such as a letter or number) that is used in writing or printing

shy - adj. to try to avoid (something) because of nervousness, fear, dislike, etc.

utility - n. the quality or state of being useful

poll - n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。