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Blogs in Plain English
趣味学习：部落格
You've seen the word; you've seen the websites and you may even have one. But have you ever wondered: What's the big deal about blogs?
你看过这个字，你看过网页而且你也许甚至有一个。但是你有没有想过：部落格有什么重要的？
This is Blogs in Plain English.
这是“英文说部落格”。
To make sense of blogs, you have to think about the news and who makes it. We'll look at news in the 20th vs. the 21st century to make our point.
要理解部落格，你必须想到新闻以及创造新闻的人。我们会比较二十世纪和二十一世纪的新闻，来阐述我们的观点。
In the 20th century, the news was produced professionally. When news happened, reporters wrote the stories and a tiny group of people decided what appeared in a newspaper or broadcast. Professional news was main stream: general and limited.
在二十世纪，新闻是被专业制作的。当新闻产生，记者写故事，而一小群人来决定什么会出现在报纸或是广播之中。专业新闻是主流：普遍而有限的。
The 21st century marked the point where news became both professional and personal. A new kind of website called a Weblog or Blog for short came onto the scene that let anyone be a reporter and publisher, often for free.
二十一世纪是新闻变成同时专业且个人化的开端。一种新型网站叫做Weblog，简称Blog的出现使得任何人都变成记者和发行人，通常是免费的。
As blogs became popular, they created millions of news sources and gave everyone an audience for their own version of news. Of course, we're using the word "news" loosely. But really, isn't everything news to someone?
当部落格变得受欢迎，它们创造了数以百万计的新资讯来源且帮每个人自己版本的新闻找到观众。当然，我们轻率地使用“新闻”这个字。但是真的，每件事情不都是某个人的新闻吗？
With a blog, a business owner can share news about his business, a mother can share news about her family, or a sport star can share news with fans. These people are all "bloggers."
借由部落格，一个生意人可以分享他生意上的新消息，一个母亲可以分享她家庭的新闻，或是一个运动明星可以跟粉丝们分享新讯息。这些人都是“部落客”。
How did this happen? Well, blogs made sharing news on the web easy. Anyone with an idea can start a new blog with a click of a button and share news minutes later. Here's how blogs work.
这是怎么发生的？嗯，部落格使得在网路上分享新闻变得更简单。每个有点子的人可以按一个按钮就开始一个新的部落格，并在几分钟之后开始分享新闻。这是部落格运作的方式。
Blogs are websites that are organized by blog posts. These are individual news stories, like articles in the paper. Bloggers simply fill out a form like this one to post a new story. With a click of a button, the blog post appears at the top of the web page, just above yesterday's news. Over time, the blog becomes a collection of these posts, all archived for easy reference.
部落格是由文章分类的网页。这些是个人的新故事，像是报纸里面的文章。部落客仅需填一张像是这样的表格来发表新故事。按一个按钮，部落格文章就会出现在网页顶端，就在昨天新闻的上面。时间久了，这部落格变成一个这些文章的收藏，所有文章都会被存档而可轻松参照。
Also, each blog post can become a discussion through comments left by readers. Blogs make the news a two way street.
同时，每一篇文章都可以借由读者留言变成讨论串。部落格使得新闻变成双向通道。
But really, the fuss is not about how blogs work. It's about what people like you do with them that matters.
但是真的，部落格如何运作并没有什么好大惊小怪的。重要的是人们想要你如何去操作。
Let's say you have a blog about green living and outdoor photography. It reflects your unique perspective. This helps you build relationships with your readers and other bloggers with similar interests.
这样说吧，你有一个关于绿能生活和户外摄影的部落格，他反映出你独特的观点。这帮助你和读者以及其他有相同兴趣的部落客建立关系。
Speaking of relationships, bloggers often work together. In addition to comments, you'll read each other's posts, quote each other and link your blogs together. This creates communities of bloggers that inspire and motivate each other.
说到关系，部落客通常一起工作。除了留言之外，你们也将会互相阅读文章，互相引述并且把你们的部落格连结在一起。这创造了互相刺激鼓励的部落格社群。
Whether it's their ease of use or the opportunities they offer, blogs have been adopted in a very big way. Since 2003, there have been over seventy million blogs created, each with its own version of news. So, the big deal about blogs is that they gave people like you the power of the media and created a personal kind of news that appeals to a high number of small audiences.
不管是方便使用还是提供机会，部落格被非常广泛的采用。从2003以来，已经有超过七千万个部落格被创造出来，每个都有自己版本的新闻。所以，部落格重要的地方是，它给像你一样的人们媒体的权利并能够创造一能够吸引大量小众族群的个人型态的新闻。
So, it's up to you. What will you do with this new power? There is likely a group of people out there who want to hear what you have to say.
所以，这要看你自己。你要怎么使用这新力量。外面有一票人想要听听看你想说什么。
You can search for blogs using Google's Blog Search or Technorati. You can also start your own blog for free at Blogger or Wordpress.com.
你可以用Google的Blog Search或是Technorati来找部落格。你也可以在Blogger或是Wordpress.com建立免费的部落格。
