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Newsworthy Clips: How social games make money 社群游戏赚钱之道

 

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How social games make money: lessons from Farmville  社群游戏赚钱之道，「农村游戏」教你（译注：Farmville也和开心农场一样，属于农场游戏的一种，但Farmville是英文的游戏）。

 

The web is fantastic at many things – e-mail, e-commerce, e-vites, for example. But unless your name is Amazon or Google, making money there has proved elusive.

网络在许多方面都很棒，例如电子邮件、电子商务、电子邀请函等等。然而，除非你是亚马逊或是谷歌，否则想靠网络赚大钱还是很难。

 

But Brian Reynolds, chief game designer for the company that made the social game Farmville, shed a little light on how to get people to buy the farm online during the Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain Summit in February.

布莱安．雷诺斯是开发社群游戏「农村游戏」公司的首席电玩设计师，他在二月举行的「设计创新沟通娱乐高峰会」上（译注：简称D.I.C.E.高峰会），透露些许让大家掏腰包买在线农场的诀窍。

 

To start with, Reynolds threw out some bare-bones data:  雷诺斯首先告诉我们一些基本数字：

• Social games cost between $100,000 to $300,000 to make.

  开发社群游戏的成本介于十万至三十万美元之间。

• Between 3 percent and 5 percent of people who play social games pay money for virtual goods in the game or sign up for advertising “offers” that generate cash for the developer.

  有百分之三到百分之五的社群游戏玩家，愿意花钱买游戏中的虚拟商品，或是登入为游戏开发商带来现金利润的广告「好康」。

• Farmville is played by about 31 million people every day.

  每天约有三千一百万人在玩「农村游戏」。

Now let’s suppose that, given these ballpark figures, each person who plays a social game generates, on average, a penny a day. Multiply that penny by the number of days in a year, 365, and you get an average of $3.65 generated per year per person.

利用这些大概的数字，我们假设每位社群游戏玩家平均每天为开发商带来美金一分钱的收益，把一分钱乘以一年三百六十五天，每人每年平均产生美金三元六角五分的收益。

 

Reynolds did not disclose how many pennies per day Farmville generates. But if it’s a penny, one could conclude that it’s a $100 million-a-year game.

雷诺斯没有告诉我们「农村游戏」每天会有几分钱的收益，但如果是美金一分钱，就可推算出「农村游戏」每年会有一亿美元收益。

 

Now let’s say you were especially clever and you figured out ways to get each person to generate two pennies a day. The numbers then begin to look even more compelling.

假设你特别聪明，想出了让每个玩家每天产生美金两分钱收益的办法，那么收益的数字看起来就更可观了。

 

Reynolds talked about a couple of tricks Farmville uses to get players to part with their cash. The first is to sell items that let players differentiate themselves from the crowd (flamingo-shaped topiaries, which need to be purchased, have been especially popular on Farmville). The second is to let players pay to advance faster in the game, thereby saving time, which is, after all, money.

雷诺斯谈到「农村游戏」用来让玩家乖乖掏钱的两个秘诀，第一是卖些会让玩家变得与众不同的商品（修剪成红鹤状、必须花钱购买的造型树，在「农村游戏」中特别受欢迎。）第二则是让玩家可以用钱买游戏进度，藉此省些时间，毕竟时间就是金钱嘛。

 

−by Alex Pham

 

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elusive [ɪˋlusɪv] adj. 难以获得的; 难以实现的 difficult to catch

shed light on 阐明…; 使…清楚地显出 to make something clearer

ballpark [ˋbɔlpɑrk] n. 约略估计的数目

compelling [kəmˋpɛlɪŋ] adj. 难以抗拒的; 令人信服的

part with something 放弃，交出，卖掉（贵重物品或舍不得的东西）give up, abandon, discard

flamingo [fləˋmɪŋgo] n. 红鹤, 火鹤

topiary [ˋtopɪ͵ɛrɪ] n. 林木造型艺术; 林木造型  the art of cutting bushes into attractive shapes

 

 

 

 

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Monarchs no longer rule: butterflies battered by bad weather  坏天气作梗，帝王蝶大驾不光临

 

The monarch population is typically measured by the number of acres of pine trees the butterflies fill. This year, scientists found the smallest area of monarchs overwintering in the 16 years they have been looking – down to 4.7 acres from an average of 18.3 acres, says Chip Taylor, a professor of entomology.

帝王蝶数量一般是依所占满松树面积的英亩数来计算。昆虫学教授奇普．泰勒指出，科学家发现，在进行观察的十六年间，过冬帝王蝶所占的面积以今年最小，从平均十八点三英亩降到四点七英亩。

 

Lincoln Brower, a zoologist and monarch specialist, inspected one of the principal colonies, which had been 1.2 acres in size. “All we found was two trees with butterflies in them.”

林肯．布饶尔是动物学家暨帝王蝶专家，他探察过一个面积一点二公顷的主要栖息区，「结果我们只找到两棵树上有帝王蝶。」

 

Each female flies 1,000 miles or more on her way north from Mexico, depositing her eggs along the way only on milkweed leaves. She dies, but her eggs hatch and her offspring continue the migration.

每只雌蝶从墨西哥向北飞，要飞行一千英哩以上，沿途只在马利筋（或译乳草）叶上产卵。雌蝶会死亡，但卵孵化后，牠们的下一代会继续迁徙之旅。

 

It can take three to four generations for the monarchs to reach Canada, Taylor says. Then in the fall, that final generation begins its migration back to Mexico, and those butterflies live for eight months.

泰勒表示，帝王蝶需花上三、四个世代的时间才能抵达加拿大，到了秋天，最后一个世代又开始迁徙飞回墨西哥，那批蝴蝶的寿命为八个月（译注：帝王蝶随着诞生季节和生活方式的不同，寿命也会不同，而以过冬迁徙的帝王蝶寿命最长）。

 

Monarch populations have fallen dramatically because of three things, says Brower:  布饶尔指出，帝王蝶数目急遽减少的原因有三：

• Illegal logging in Mexico has destroyed the butterflies’ mountain habitats.  

  墨西哥境内非法伐木毁掉了蝴蝶在山中的栖息地。

• Climate change is causing severe weather.  

  气候变迁造成恶劣天候。

• There has been a significant increase in the planting of corn and soybeans in the Midwest that have been genetically engineered to be herbicide-resistant. This allows farmers to spray weed killer without hurting the crops, but it also means almost no milkweed survives in the fields. 

  美国中西部种植具有除草剂抗性的基因改造玉米与黄豆的情形大增，使农人可以喷洒除草剂而不会伤害作物，不过却意味着马利筋在田野中几乎无法存活。

“They’ve literally eliminated 100 percent of the milkweed of what once was prime breeding habitat of the butterflies,” Brower says.

布饶尔表示，「这等于是百分之百灭绝了原本是帝王蝶主要繁殖场所的马利筋。」

 

Monarch Watch has begun a milkweed-planting campaign to encourage the certain of monarch way stations across the nation.

「帝王蝶观察」组织已经开始推动马利筋种植计划，鼓励全国各地建立帝王蝶中途站。

 

Monarchs are beautiful, but creating habitats where they can thrive also benefits humans, Taylor says. Those habitats also “protect other insects, the little guys whose life’s work is to pollinate our nuts, our fruits and our vegetables.”

泰勒表示，帝王蝶很美丽，建立可供帝王蝶繁衍的栖息地对人类也有好处，因为这些栖息地同时也能「保护其他昆虫，保护这些终生汲汲于为我们食用的坚果、水果和蔬菜授粉的小家伙。」

 

−by Elizabeth Weise

 

单词发音

 

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monarch [ˋmɑnɚk] n.  [动]黑脉金斑蝶; 帝王蝶

overwinter [͵ovɚˋwɪntɚ] v. 过冬  to spend the winter in a particular place

entomology [͵ɛntəˋmɑlədʒɪ] n. 昆虫学

deposit [dɪˋpɑzɪt] v. 存放; 寄存

milkweed [ˋmɪlk͵wid] n.【植】马利筋属植物；乳草；野参类  a flowering plant that secretes a milky sap and has pods that split open to allow silky-tufted seeds to be released

logging [ˋlɔgɪŋ] n. 砍伐  the activity of cutting down trees for wood

herbicide [ˋhɝbə͵saɪd] n. 除草剂   a chemical which is used to destroy plants, especially weeds

way station 中途站；中转站 a station between principal stations on a route, as of a railroad

 

 

 

 

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At 35, Hello Kitty has earned untold millions  三十五岁的凯蒂猫赚进无数财富

 

Lina Garcia remembers her first Hello Kitty purchases at age 15: a wallet, a trash can and alarm clock, all with the image of the sweet-faced feline, three whiskers sprouting from each round cheek and a bow over her left ear. Twenty years later, she’s buying Hello Kitty for her daughter.

莉娜．贾西亚记得十五岁时第一次购买的凯蒂猫产品：皮夹、垃圾桶和闹钟，上面都有那只甜美猫咪面孔的图像，圆圆脸颊上各冒出三根须须，左耳朵上还有个蝴蝶结。二十年后，莉娜也买凯蒂猫的产品给女儿。

 

Sanrio, which is making the 35th anniversary of its top-selling brand, has marketed thousands of Hello Kitty products and built a following that extends far beyond the tween set. The Japanese company, which won’t break out Kitty figures, reports annual retail sales of $5 billion.

庆视届满三十五周年的凯蒂猫是三丽鸥公司最畅销的品牌，推出商品达数千种，吸引猫迷无数，年龄层远超出吞世代（译注：指八到十二岁间的孩子）。这家日本公司宣称每年零售销售金额达五十亿美元，但不愿细分出凯蒂猫的销售数字。

 

“She really goes from 4 to forever,” said Janet Hsu, president of Sanrio Global Consumer Products. “She’s always represented friendship, love, all of those good things. Every consumer interprets her in a different way.”

「凯蒂猫迷涵盖四岁以上的所有年龄层，」三丽鸥全球商品部门主管珍娜．徐（音译）指出，「她是友谊、爱和所有美好事物的永久象征，每位消费者对凯蒂猫都有不同的诠释。」

 

Hello Kitty got her start in 1974 with her image on a change purse. She moved onto pens and pencils, stationery and T-shirts, created to make people “feel good and smile,” Hsu said. “She only continues to get stronger.”

凯蒂猫是从一九七四年一个零钱包上的图案开始，然后出现在各种笔类、文具和T恤上，目的是要让人们「感觉美好而绽放笑容，」徐女士表示，「结果凯蒂猫愈来愈受欢迎。」

 

Given her staying power, Kitty has a “thin backstory,” said Ken Belson, a New York Times reporter. “Really she has no voice. She’s just an image.”

纽约时报记者肯．贝尔森表示，虽然凯蒂猫魅力历久不衰，背景故事却乏善可陈。「其实她没有发声表达什么，她只是个图像而已。」

 

Christine Yano, an anthropology professor at the University of Hawaii has been studying Hello Kitty for more than a decade.

克里斯廷．矢野（音译）是夏威夷大学的人类学教授，研究凯蒂猫超过十年。

 

“She’s narrativeless in effect,” Yano says. “In my mind she’s pure product. They’ve made a few cartoons. They’ve given her a backstory about her family in London, but none of that is critical to her purchase. I’m guessing a lot of people who buy Hello Kitty don’t know and don’t care that much.”

「她确实是没有故事、没有声音，」矢野表示，「我认为她纯粹是个商品，他们为凯蒂猫制作了一些卡通，编了一个凯蒂猫家人在伦敦的背景故事，但是这些对于消费者购买凯蒂猫商品完全无关紧要，我想很多买凯蒂猫的人既不知道也不在意这些。」

 

Sanrio has placed its best-selling character on almost every product imaginable, from toasters to cars, bathroom scales, shoelaces and fruit baskets. She’s gone upscale with a Sanrio Luxe store in Manhattan and appearances at New York’s Fashion Week.

凯蒂猫是三丽鸥公司最畅销的卡通人物，几乎所有想得到的商品上都有凯蒂猫的芳踪，从烤面包机、汽车、体重机、鞋带到水果礼篮，应有尽有。随着三丽鸥在曼哈顿开设精品店以及参加纽约时尚周的活动，看来凯蒂猫也开始走高级路线了。

 

−by Jennifer Lebovich

 

单词发

 

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untold [ʌnˋtold] adj. 数不清的；无限的；无法形容的

whisker [ˋhwɪskɚ] n.【古】小胡子

sprout [spraʊt] v. 长出; 使发芽

following [ˋfɑləwɪŋ] n. 一批追随者（或拥护者、部下等）

tween [twin] n. 吞世代 a child, usually between 8 and 12 years old, considered too old to be a child and too young to be a teenager

interpret [ɪnˋtɝprɪt] v. 诠释

stationery [ˋsteʃən͵ɛrɪ] n. 文具；信纸

anthropology [͵ænθrəˋpɑlədʒɪ] n. 人类学

narrativeless [ˋnærətɪvlɪs] adj. 缺乏故事的 devoid of narrative

in effect 在功效方面；实际上 in essence

scale [skel] n. 秤盘; 天平; 秤; 磅秤

shoelace [ˋʃu͵les] n. 鞋带

luxe [lʊks] n.【法】华美；奢侈

 

 

 

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Vocabulary Focus

bare-bones adj. 梗概，本质，不加渲染的 the most basic parts of something, without any detail

ballpark figure 大约，大略估计 a number which is only approximate, but which should be near to the correct number

differentiate [͵dɪfəˋrɛnʃɪ͵et] v. 区别，区分 to make someone or something different

time is money 时间就是金钱 said to emphasize that one should not waste time, but rather use it to earn money

batter [ˋbætɚ] v. 捣毁，打碎 to damage something by hitting it forcefully and repeatedly

pollinate [ˋpɑlə͵net] v. 给……授花粉 to carry pollen, a powder that makes other flowers produce seeds, from a male part of a flower to the female part of another flower of the same type

break out 爆发；突然发生 to cause something to be known, especially to the public

staying power (想法或产品)长期受欢迎，经久不衰 the ability to always manage to endure or last

backstory [ˋbæk͵storɪ] n.（电影、小说等的）幕后故事，故事背景 a narrative that provides a history for a fictional character; a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot

upscale [ˋʌp͵skel] adv. 面向高端消费者地 describes goods and products that are of very high quality and intended to be bought by people who are quite rich

 

 

Monarch butterfly - amazing migration

 

 

Complete Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly