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Monopoly Board but Never Boring 《地产大亨》：我也要当大富翁

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Some people might tell you it’s just a game, but don’t believe them. Monopoly is serious business. It’s played by ruthlessly developing property and trying to make your friends bankrupt. It’s also the best-selling board game of all time and is estimated to have been played by over 500 million people.

或许有人会跟你说那只是一场游戏，但不要相信他们。《地产大亨》是一门严肃的事业，它的游戏规则是要冷酷无情地开发房地产并试着让朋友破产。它也是有史以来最畅销纸盘游戏，据估计已有超过50亿人玩过。

Monopoly’s remarkable history began in 1932 during the Great Depression. An unemployed American salesman called Charles Darrow saw his neighbors playing homemade board games that involved buying imaginary properties, and he decided to make his own version. Realizing that the board needed to be more eye-catching, he added bold, colorful icons, including the red “Go” arrow and the question marks on the “Chance” squares, to the playing surface.

《地产大亨》了不起的历史于1932年美国大萧条期间。美国的失业销售员查里斯．达路看到邻居玩着有关买卖虚构房地产的自制纸盘游戏后，决定要制作自己的版本。因为发现纸盘必须更抢眼，他便在游戏的平面加上了醒目且色彩丰富的图示，如红色的「起点」箭头与「机会」方块上的问号。

After securing a copyright on Monopoly in 1933, he took it to a game-making company, Parker Brothers. The company’s executives couldn’t see Monopoly’s potential at first and rejected the proposal. Darrow didn’t give up, though, and after he managed to sell 5,000 sets of the game to a local department store in Philadelphia, Parker Brothers finally agreed to produce the board game. In its first year, 1935, Monopoly was the biggest-selling game in America. Leisure time would never be the same again.

在1933年取得《地产大亨》的版权后，达路将它推销给名为帕克兄弟的游戏制作公司。公司的高层起初因没看清《地产大亨》的潜力而拒绝了他的提案。然而达路并未放弃；在他成功地售出5千组游戏给费城当地的百货公司后，帕克兄弟终于同意生产此一纸盘游戏。发售的第一年（1935），《地产大亨》就创下了美国销售量最高的纸盘游戏的记录，也从此改变了人们休闲娱乐的方式。

While the basic version of Monopoly has hardly changed, hundreds of new editions have been released. One of the most popular is Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition. This version replaces the usual roads and streets with some of the world’s biggest cities, including Taipei.

虽然《地产大亨》基本的形式几乎没有改变，不过数以百计的新版本却陆续发行。最受欢迎的游戏之一是《地产大亨：世界新世代电子版》。这个版本用世界上几个最大的城市取代了以往的街道，台北也是其中之一。

Monopoly has always been an engrossing game, with exciting new editions coming out every few years, this is one board game that never gets boring.

《地产大亨》一直是很引人入胜的游戏，而随着每隔几年就会出现的新版本，这个纸盘游戏绝不可能让人感到无聊。

−by Andrew Crosthwaite

Vocabulary

单词发音

bankrupt [ˋbæŋkrʌpt] adj. 破产的

estimate [ˋɛstə͵met] v. 估计，估量

remarkable [rɪˋmɑrkəb!] adj. 非凡的；显着的

unemployed [͵ʌnɪmˋplɔɪd] adj. 失业的，无工作的

involve [ɪnˋvɑlv] v. 牵涉; 包含〔必要的部分或结果〕; 包括﹐需要

version [ˋvɝʒən] n.（同一作品的不同）版本

eye-catching [ˋaɪ͵kætʃɪŋ] adj.【口】引人注目的；显着的

bold [bold] adj. 显着的，醒目的

copyright [ˋkɑpɪ͵raɪt] n. 版权

executive [ɪgˋzɛkjʊtɪv] n.〔公司或商业机构中的〕主管﹐行政人员

reject [rɪˋdʒɛkt] v. 拒绝（接受）

edition [ɪˋdɪʃən] n. 版本

replace [rɪˋples] v. 取代；以……代替[（+with/by）]

More Information

单词发音

monopoly [məˋnɑp!ɪ] n. 独占；专卖；垄断

ruthlessly [ˋruθlɪslɪ] adv. 无情地；冷酷地；残忍地

property [ˋprɑpɚtɪ] n. 地产，房地产

of all time 有史以来

icon [ˋaɪkɑn] n. 图标; 图示

secure [sɪˋkjʊr] v. 弄到，获得

proposal [prəˋpoz!] n. 建议，提议；计划；提案

engrossing [ɪnˋgrosɪŋ] adj. 使人全神贯注的；引人入胜的

Reading Questions

1. What is the object of Monopoly?

A. To teach people how to buy real estate.

B. To distract people from the Great Depression.

C. To imagine new properties that people can buy.

D. To make the other players lose all their money.

2. Which of the following statements about Monopoly is NOT true?

A. Darrow thought of the idea of Monopoly by himself.

B. Millions of copies of Monopoly have been sold worldwide.

C. Parker Brothers wasn’t interested in Monopoly at first.

D. Monopoly has remained very popular over the years.

3. What is new about Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition?

A. Players can buy properties on other planets.

B. Players must write checks instead of using cash.

C. It is basically the same as before.

D. The new game uses names of real cities.

The Game Replay: Monopoly Part 7

THE FINAL - MONOPOLY World Championships 2009

Answer