英语博客：I'm on Facebook.

　　Well, everyone, I've taken the plunge¹ and joined Facebook. I signed up months ago, but didn't really start communicating properly with people until a couple of days ago. You can find me under, believe it or not, Acupof English. I had to put in Acupof as my first name, and English as my last. I couldn't figure out how else to do it. So, I've jumped on board with the millions of people who chat and network on this social media. At first, I was a bit baffled² by how Facebook worked, and I was a bit concerned about the privacy³ settings. However, the recent update to Facebook has, I think, given us users better and more specific options to keep our network as private as we want, or the opposite. Everybody I know has a Facebook page. Infact, my brother showed me that his High School students back in New Zealand had created a page dedicated⁴ to him, and they did this without him knowing anything about it. It all started when he decided⁵ to grow out a beard. Well, this hairy mass on his face got bigger, and bushier, and longer by the day. It became quite an eccentric⁶ looking feature. He liked it because it kept his face warm in the winter. His students, however, formed a plan to take a photo of him in class and sneak⁷ it onto a Facebook page. So, one of them secretly took a photo during class with his cell phone, and the rest is history. I think it is quite a compliment⁸ that students would make the effort to do that about a teacher. I wonder, how many of you are on Facebook? Do you find it useful? What have been the major benefits from using it? For me, catching⁹ up with old friends has been wonderful. I have a few really good friends in Europe who I hadn't seen for many years. Facebook allowed us to catch up on eachothers' news, and photos, by sending both public and private messages, and really soon, it seemed as if all those years of not seeing eachother disappeared. Getting to know new people as well is a prospect¹⁰ that I find exciting. So, if you're interested in a bit more English, and want to network with others that are posting on my wall, feel free to look up Acupof English. I hope to hear from you soon!
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to take the plunge, believe it or not, network, an update.
1. I took the plunge the other day and paid for a sky-diving lesson!
2. He is very skinny but, believe it or not, he is incredibly strong!
3. It's good to have a social network. We all need friends and support.
4. There are constant updates to some of my computer program(m)es. These updates are downloaded directly, and make the program(m)es more efficient, or give them more features.

1 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

2 baffled   

adj.带有障板的，阻挡的v.使困难，使为难( baffle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The question baffled me completely and I couldn't answer it. 这个问题把我彻底难倒了，我答不出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her question has baffled me. 她的问题把我难倒了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 privacy   

n.私人权利，个人自由，隐私权

参考例句：

• In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中，保密是不可能的。
• She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 eccentric   

adj.古怪的，怪癖的，异乎寻常的；n.古怪的人

参考例句：

• His actions since that morning have been eccentric and unpredictable.自从那天早晨，他的行动一直是反常而不可捉摸。
• He had the name of an eccentric.他有怪人之称。

7 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

8 compliment   

n.[pl.]问候，致意；n./v. 称赞，恭维

参考例句：

• The manager paid her a compliment on her work.经理赞扬了她的工作。
• Your presence is a great compliment.承蒙光临，不胜荣幸。

9 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

10 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。