2020年经济学人 自制游戏(1)

Books &arts

文艺版块

Home Entertainment

家庭娱乐

Home-made games

自制游戏

Your turn

轮到你了

For several hours of escape, invent a board game

为了几个小时的逃亡，发明一个棋盘游戏

On a distant planet, a rocket crashes.

在遥远的星球上，一枚火箭坠毁了。

The surviving astronauts—a medic, miner, soldier, scavenger¹, scientist and engineer— had been on a mission to collect rare minerals and other resources.

幸存的宇航员们——一名医生、矿工、士兵、拾荒者、科学家和工程师——一直在执行收集稀有矿物和其他资源的任务。

Now they have to co-operate to rebuild their craft and dig up as many precious rocks as they can shift, all before their dwindling² oxygen supplies expire.

现在他们必须合作重建飞船，并且快速挖掘尽可能多的珍贵岩石，所有这一切要在他们日益减少的氧气供应消耗完之前进行。

They also have to cope with landslides³, tunnel collapses⁴ and attacks from helicopter-like birds, wolf creatures and herds⁵ of space-mammoths.

他们也必须应对滑坡、隧道坍塌以及来自像直升机一样的鸟、狼类动物和太空猛犸象的袭击。

Life is not easy for characters on Planet Ozerdale.

对奥泽代尔星球上的角色来说，生活并不容易。

But at least they have plenty of opportunity for heroics and energetic outdoor activity, and are able to spend time with a reasonably large social group.

但至少他们有足够的机会进行英勇和充满活力的户外活动，并且能够与一个相当大的社会群体共度时光。

For your correspondent’s 14-year-old son, stuck in lockdown with his brother and their parents, the outer-space scenario⁶ was alluring⁷.

记者14岁的儿子，和他的兄弟以及父母进行隔离，对他来说，外界的情景更加诱人。

He dreamed up the intergalactic mission a few days after his school closed.

他在学校关门后几天就梦想完成星际飞行任务。

Inventing—and typing up—the rules for a home-made game, debating strategy for confronting aliens and working out how to fly away to freedom have offered several welcome hours of diversion.

发明并键入自制游戏的规则，辩论对抗外星人的策略，以及研究如何飞向自由，这些都为我们提供了几个小时的消遣

Designing your own board game lets you combine the most enjoyable elements of other people’s.

设计你自己的棋盘游戏可以让你结合其他人最喜欢的元素。

The best involve both luck and strategy.

最好包括运气和策略。

Intricate and complex battles between armies, as in “Diplomacy”, “Risk” or “Axis and Allies”, tend to be openended and last many hours.

在“外交”、“冒险”或“轴心国与同盟国”中，军队之间错综复杂的战斗往往是公开的，持续了许多小时。

A hard time limit, represented by the disappearing oxygen, is preferable.

以氧气消失为代表的硬性时限更可取。

1 scavenger   

n.以腐尸为食的动物，清扫工

参考例句：

• He's just fit for a job as scavenger.他只配当个清道夫。
• He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are.它不是食腐动物，也不像有些鲨鱼那样，只知道游来游去满足食欲。

2 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

3 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

4 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。