Take Away English-Instant Messaging 即时通讯

Instant Messaging from the office

When you meet someone for the first time, do you ask for their ASL? Do you LOL if they come out with something funny, and say CU L8er when you finish the conversation? If you know what I’m talking about, then you are probably already a user¹ of Instant Messaging, or IM.

The idea behind IM is simple. A program on your computer tells you when a friend is online. You can then send a message to your friend, who can type a reply instantly². To do this, you need an IM program.

Worldwide, AIM, the Instant Messaging service provided³ by AOL, is by far the most popular. It has 195 million users⁴ who send about 1.6 billion messages every day. ICQ, which is owned by AOL, has about 140 million messengers⁶, and MSN and Windows IM make up about 75 million users.

The advantage over e-mail is that with Instant Messaging you know you’re likely to get a reply. IM is already hugely popular in the USA, where people spend five times more time online than in Europe. However, IM is starting to take off in the UK, with over 3000 people signing up to MSN Messenger⁵ alone every day.

While the plus points of IM are obvious, there is one very important disadvantage: you can only contact someone on the same network as you. If your friend is using AIM, and you are using MSN, you cannot talk to each other. This makes IM less useful than it should be. Imagine if you couldn’t send an e-mail from hotmail to yahoo. However, things look like they’ll change soon.

In general, the future looks bright for IM. Lots of programs also allow you to have voice conversations, video conferencing – this means you can see the other person using a webcam – and also let you swap⁷ pictures, music and other files.

So, perhaps we’ll all soon be asking someone’s age, sex and location (ASL), and laughing out loud (LOL) when they say something funny. See you later! (CU L8er)

GLOSSARY 词汇表
come out with 想出 online 网上 billion 一亿 make up 组成 hugely 巨大地 signing up 登记 obvious 明显的 network 网络 video conferencing 视频会议 swap 交换	talking about 谈论 worldwide 全球范围 owned by 拥有 advantage 优势 take off 起步；开始 plus points 优点；好处 disadvantage 缺点；弊端 the future looks bright 未来看好 webcam 网眼；网络摄像机 files 文件

 

1 user   

n.用户，使用者

参考例句：

• The company is the biggest user of oil.该公司是最大的石油用户。
• The umbrella keeps the rains off the user.雨伞使撑伞人免受雨淋。

2 instantly   

adv.立即，立刻

参考例句：

• She was used to having her orders instantly obeyed.她习惯了让人即刻服从她的命令。
• Though he slept soundly,he awoke instantly.他虽然睡得很香，但是马上就醒了。

3 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

4 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

5 messenger   

n.报信者，先驱

参考例句：

• By the time the messenger reached him,the damage had been done.送信人赶到他那儿时，损失已经造成了。
• I'll order a special messenger to deliver the document.我会派专人把文件送去。

6 messengers   

n.信使，信差，送信人( messenger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Messengers will relay your letters. 邮递员将接转你的信件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To this monarch also (in 628) came messengers from Muhammad. 穆罕默德的使者也来找过这位君主（628年）。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

7 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。