美国文化脱口秀 第581期:《纽约时报》笔下的旅行青蛙

 　　大家有没有玩过最近很火的游戏旅行青蛙？连《纽约时报》都报道了这款游戏在中国的盛况。今天Jenny和Adam要和大家一起来读一读旅行青蛙的报道。

　　A few short weeks after its release¹, a Japanese mobile² game featuring a traveling frog has become a hit in China.

　　仅仅发布几周，一款关于"一只旅行的青蛙"的日本手机游戏在中国成为爆款。

　　Why, exactly, is a bit hard to explain.

　　究竟为什么，其实很难解释。

　　The game is Travel Frog. It was created by the Japanese game studio Hit-Point.

　　这款游戏叫旅行的青蛙，是一家叫Hit-Point的日本的游戏公司开发的。

　　It is played like this:

　　游戏基本上是这么玩的：

　　A frog sits in its stone hut, eating and reading, while you collect clover from the front yard. The clover is used to buy food, amulets³ or tools which the frog takes on a journey.

　　一只青蛙坐在它的石头小屋里，边吃边阅读。与此同时，你需要采集院子里的三叶草，用来购买青蛙的食物以及它旅行时需要的护身符或工具。

　　Once the frog leaves on a trip, it's unclear how long it will be gone. Sometimes it travels for hours or even days. When it returns, it provides snapshots and souvenirs of its journey.

　　一旦青蛙离开你去旅行了，就不知道它什么时候会再回来。它可能只离开几小时，但也可能是几天。当它回来的时候，它会给你一些它在旅途中拍的照片和纪念品。

　　《纽约时报》笔下的旅行青蛙

　　For whatever reason, this seems to be a concept⁴ that Chinese mobile gamers have been waiting for.

　　不知道究竟是什么原因，这个游戏的概念似乎是很多中国游戏玩家一直等待的。

　　"You don't need to do a lot of things, you don't even need to think about anything," said one gamer. "It's not a competitive⁵ game. It's very relaxing."

　　一些玩家说："玩这款游戏的时候你不必做很多事情，甚至不用作任何思考。这不是一款对抗性强、竞争激烈的游戏，因此让人感到很放松。"

　　Many gamers say that they love Travel Frog because of its slow and restful pace.

　　许多玩家说他们喜欢旅行青蛙的原因是它舒缓的节奏。

　　The game successfully tapped the trend among younger generations in China to search out 'Zen-like' activities and "Buddha-style gameplay."

　　这款游戏找准了中国新一代年轻人对于"佛系"概念追随的潮流。

　　The game also has a strong connection to child rearing⁶. Before the frog leaves on a trip, you have to pack its lunch.

　　另外，这款游戏也满足了玩家对于照顾孩子的心理。例如在青蛙旅行前，你需要为它准备午餐。

　　Many gamers call their frogs their ‘frog sons'. Many compare raising the frog to being a parent, at least partly.

　　许多玩家把他们的青蛙称作"蛙儿子"，他们觉得养青蛙的过程从一定程度上就好像当家长养小孩的过程。

　　教你一个高级用法：

　　Feeling Zen 佛系

　　最近网上流行"佛系"，用英语说就是Zen（禅）。

　　怎么用：

　　I'm totally Zen about it. 我很平静、什么都打扰不了我。

　　I'm a Zen mom: 我是个佛系妈妈。

1 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

2 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

3 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

4 concept   

n.概念，观念，思想

参考例句：

• A small baby has no concept of right and wrong.婴儿没有是非概念。
• He was asked to define his concept of cool.他被要求说明自己关于“酷”的定义。

5 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

6 rearing   

v.饲养( rear的现在分词 )；养育；抚养；抬起

参考例句：

• She spends a lot of time rearing animals. 她花费大量时间饲养动物。 来自辞典例句
• Soviet women carry the main burden of shopping, homemaking and child rearing. 苏联的妇女承担的主要义务就是采购，做家务及抚养孩子。 来自辞典例句