Chris 刚认识去美国读大学的台湾学生 Dennis,某天聊到童年游戏时,Chris 不敢置信 Dennis 竟然没去过电子游乐场 (penny arcade),便决定要带 Dennis 去体验一番…
Dennis: Wow, what is this table for? There are lots of basketballs! Gosh! Is that a real motorcycle?
Dennis:哇,这张桌子是干嘛用的啊?有好多篮球!天啊!那是真的摩托车吗?
Chris: Hey, bro. Hold on, hold on. If we want to play these games, we have to exchange our money for tokens.
Chris:欸老兄,你冷静点。我们如果要玩游戏,要先把钱换成代币才行。
(They go to the automatic exchange machine to exchange for tokens.)
(他们走向自动兑币机兑换代币。)
Chris: Alright! Now we can choose the arcade games we want to play. The table we just passed is a game called Air Hockey. Let’s give it a shot!
Chris:好啦!现在我们可以选择想要玩的机台,你刚刚看到的桌子是「桌上曲棍球」。来玩玩看吧!
Dennis: Cool! But how to play?
Dennis:酷欸!但这要怎么玩?
Chris: It’s pretty straightforward. You have to hold the mallet to shoot the puck into the opponent’s goal. The first player to score seven points wins the round.
Chris:这很简单。你要用杆子把将冰球打进对方的球门,先得到七分的玩家就获胜。
Dennis: Okay, let’s get started! (Dennis shot the puck and scored one point when Chris was being absent-minded.)
Dennis:好,那就开始吧! (Dennis 趁 Chris 心不在焉时就先进攻,抢下一分。)
Chris: Wow! What a straight shot!
Chris:哇!好一记直球!
Dennis: Hahahaha. How dare you underestimate me!
Dennis:哈哈哈,你竟敢小看我!
Chris: Oops! I forgot you play for the varsity hockey team!
Chris:糟糕!我忘了你是曲棍球校队的!
token (n.) 代币
token 在对话中的意思是游戏的「代币」,此外,他也有「象征;表示」之意。
On, no! We ran out of tokens!
噢不!我们的代币花玩了!
This gift is a token of my gratitude.
这份礼物表示我的感激之情。
arcade game (n.) 大型电玩;游戏机台
arcade /ɑrˈked/ 原本是指「拱廊;拱廊商业街」,电子游乐场的游戏机台通常会沿着两侧并排摆放,看起来就像拱廊商店街,也因此 arcade game 就是「游戏机台」。补充:penny/amusement arcade 是「电子游乐场」。
Many teenagers are addicted to arcade games.
许多青少年都沉迷于游戏机台。
give it a shot (phr.) 试试看
give it a shot 跟开枪一点关系都没有! shot 在这边是名词,意思是「尝试」。意思相似的片语有 give it a try,都是「试试看」的意思。
The stinky tofu smells bad but tastes good! You should give it a shot!
臭豆腐闻起来很臭但吃起来很赞!你应该要试试看!
mallet (n.) 球槌 puck (n.) 冰球
玩曲棍球的时候一定要知道的两个名词,一个是 mallet,原本指「大头槌」,在曲棍球运动之指的则是「球槌」,而 puck 则是指「冰球」,也就是曲棍球中的橡胶圆盘。
You need two mallets and a puck to play air hockey.
你需要两个球槌和一个冰球才能玩桌上曲棍球。
varsity (adj.) 体育代表队的
varsity 再这边是形容词,指高中或大学参加比赛的「校队」,通常是指体育性的运动校队,常用 「varsity + 某种运动 + team」来表示某种运动校队。
She is the youngest member of the varsity swimming team.
她是游泳校队里最年轻的成员。
我们继续看桌上曲棍球之战的比赛结果如何吧!
Chris: I can’t believe that I got beaten and didn’t even score one point!
Chris:我真不敢相信我居然输得这么惨,连一分都没得到!
Dennis: It is no big deal! What are the drums over there?
Dennis:这没什么大不了的啦!那边的鼓是什么?
Chris: It’s called Taiko no Tatsujin, a Japanese rhythm game.
Chris:那是「太鼓达人」,是一款日本的节奏游戏。
Dennis: How to play it? The music is very catchy.
Dennis:要怎么玩啊?他的音乐好洗脑。
Chris: You basically just hit the drum when notes reach the left of the screen and align with the circular mark. When you see the red note, hit the center of the drum, and when you see the blue one, hit the rim.
Chris:基本上就是音符跟萤幕左边的圈圈交叠时就打击鼓面。看到红色的音符就打鼓的中间,看到蓝色音符就打鼓边。
Dennis: It sounds pretty fun! I want to have a try!
Dennis:听起来很有趣欸!我想试试看!
(When the music started, Dennis couldn’t keep up with the tempo.)
(音乐开始后,Dennis 完全跟不上音乐的节奏。)
Dennis: Fine! You win! That’s too hard for me. How could you keep up with the tempo?
Dennis:好!这回你赢了!这对我来说太难啦,你怎么能跟上他的节奏?
Chris: Did you forget that I play drums in the band?
Chris:你忘记我在乐团打爵士鼓吗?
Dennis: No wonder! I really had a blast today!
Dennis:难怪!我今天玩得很开心!
catchy (adj.) 洗脑;琅琅上口
catch 是「抓;捕捉」的意思,所以如果某一首音乐的旋律、歌词很好抓,让人不自觉就能够「琅琅上口」或被「洗脑」,就表示很这首曲子很 catchy!
Ed Sheeran’s songs are pretty catchy.
红发艾德的歌都很洗脑。
align (v.) 对准;对齐
align 的意思是「对准;对齐;连成一条线」之意,可以搭配介系词 with 使用。
A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth, sun, and moon align.
当地球、太阳和月亮连成一条线就会发生月蚀。
have a blast (phr.) 玩得很开心
blast 的意思是「爆炸」,have a blast 就像是玩到把屋顶都掀了一样,表示「玩得很开心」,在开心的程度上比 have fun 或 have a great time 更高。
We had a blast at Christine’s birthday party.
我们在 Christine 的生日派对上玩得很开心。