Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – Tell stories

A

1   Mark Zuckerberg started writing computer programs.

2   Zuckerberg wrote his very own messenger program.

3   He created a program that recommended music.

4   He didn’t accept Microsoft’s offer.

5   He invented FaceMash.

6   Three classmates asked for his help.

7   His friends invested in Facebook.

8   Facebook became available to the public.

B

Mark Zuckerberg is now the chief executive of Facebook. Over 1 billion people use Facebook today, and Zuckerberg is worth over 24 billion dollars.

Transcripts

Woman:   Around  fifteen years ago, Mark Zuckerberg was a normal high school student. He was living in a quiet town in New York. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking site. So how did it all begin?

When Zuckerberg was only ten years old, he was already writing computer programs. His father taught him how to program computers, and he loved it! A couple of years later, he wrote his very own messenger program. His program “Zucknet” connected the computers in his home to the computers in his father’s office.

While he was studying in high school, he developed a computer program that looked at people’s favorite music and recommended new music. Microsoft wanted to buy the program, but Zuckerberg did not accept the offer.

In 2002, he entered Harvard University. One night while he was playing on his computer, he invented a program called FaceMash. FaceMash compared pictures of Harvard students. The program was a success, but the university suddenly shut down the site a couple of days later.

Many people at Harvard now knew who Zuckerberg was. Three classmates asked for his help to develop a social networking site for Harvard students. While he was working on that site, he got the idea for Facebook.

At first, Facebook started was only for Harvard students, but soon people from other universities were  using it. Zuckerberg wanted more people to use Facebook, but he needed more money. His friends were also interested in Facebook. Coincidentally, they had the money he needed to create the site! They invested in the site, and Facebook expanded so that anyone who was 13 or older could use it.

Today, Mark Zuckerberg lives in California, where he is the chief executive of Facebook. Over 1 billion people use Facebook today, and Zuckerberg is worth over 24 billion dollars!