英语名人堂：艾薇宾

社交网络最年长的使用者

 

Ivy¹ Bean is perhaps the oldest user of social networking sites. She is officially the oldest person on Facebook and probably the oldest tweeter. She has become famous for her Twitter site IvyBean104. On September the 8th, 2009, her 104th birthday, Ivy had 38,670 followers². This makes her one of the most followed people in cyberspace³! She said she preferred Twitter to Facebook because it was easier to update. In one of her birthday posts, she wrote: “I have just opened all my cards. It’s taken me 20 minutes.” She usually writes about things like getting her hair done, watching her favourite TV shows or eating fish and chips. The world’s media covered Ivy’s birthday. CNN and Sky News both wrote stories about her newfound fame.

 

Ivy Bean was born in Bradford, a town in the north of England, in 1905. She was one of eight children. She has seen huge changes in technology in her lifetime. Her first job was working in a cotton mill. The biggest innovation in her life then was the start of Britain’s telephone network in 1912. The first computers arrived in the world when Ivy hit half a century. She would have to wait several decades to actually use one. Before she found digital communication, Ivy won a gold medal in the Frisbee⁴ throwing event at the Bradford Over-75 Olympics. She also likes bowling⁵ on her Nintendo Wii. Ms. Bean said being famous hasn’t changed her, although she joked that her friends were jealous of her worldwide popularity.

1 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

2 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。

3 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

4 frisbee   

n.飞盘(塑料玩具)

参考例句：

• We always go to the park on weekends and play Frisbee.我们每个周末都会到公园玩飞盘。
• The frisbee is a light plastic disc,shaped like a plate.飞盘是一种碟形塑料盘。

5 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？