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Second Life 虚拟人生，无限可能

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It seems like another day at the office. But while scanning through your morning emails, you are also snorkeling underwater, swimming with exotic fish. This is not a daydream. You are really there, in a sense at least. Every day, more and more people are ___1___ the virtual world of Second Life to create additional lives for themselves.

今天似乎不过是另一个上班日，但在浏览电子邮件时，你同时也在水面下浮潜，和珍奇鱼儿们一同悠游。这可不是白日梦，你确实身历其境，至少就某种程度而言。每天有愈来愈多人跳进第二人生的虚拟世界，为自己开创另一个人生。

Second Life is the most popular virtual 3-D world. Everything inside, including storefronts, clothes and luxury homes, has been created ___2___ by users. Second Life’s founders, Linden Labs, were inspired by the Metaverse, an idea from cyberpunk novelist Neal Stevenson. Their goal was to create “a user-defined world of general use in ___3___ people can interact, play, do business, and otherwise communicate.” And this idea is certainly ___4___.

第二人生为最受欢迎的虚拟立体世界。里面的一切，包含店面、服装及豪宅，全由使用者自创。创办第二人生的林登实验室，从网络科幻小说家尼尔．史帝文生的虚拟现实取得灵感。他们的目标是要创造一个「使用者定义的世界，让人们可从事一般的互动、游戏、做生意或沟通。」且此概念确实已蔚然成风。

Over five million people have ___5___ to create a second version of themselves from scratch. In this world, people are ___6___ to choose their name and physical appearance. And unlike real life, if you’re unhappy with things, you can start over again in a matter of ___7___.

从开始至今，已有五万余人注册，为自己从头创造另一个人生。在此世界里，人们可以自由选择姓名及外貌。和真实人生不同的是，若对哪些事不满意，只需几分钟便可重新来过。

Second Life is beginning to merge with real life in more ways than ___8___. A major reason for this is that Second Life’s currency, the Linden dollar, can be exchanged and ___9___ for real money. In fact, some Second Life residents are making more money in their virtual careers as fashion designers, instructors, and architects than they are from their real job! With unlimited ___10__ for real opportunity, virtual lives are sure to keep giving people a second chance at being themselves.

第二人生在某些方面，已开始和真实人生结合，主要原因是第二人生的货币林登币可和真实钱币兑换或进行交易。实际上，有些第二人生的居民，以服装设计师、讲师及建筑师这类虚拟事业赚的钱，甚至超过他们真实职业的收入。由于具有真实机会的无限潜力，虚拟人生势必将不断给人们展现自我的机会。

−by Jamie Blackler

Vocabulary

单词发音

exotic [ɛgˋzɑtɪk] adj. 异国情调的；奇特的

virtual [ˋvɝtʃʊəl] adj.【计算机】虚拟的

merge [mɝdʒ] with 与…合并

currency [ˋkɝənsɪ] n. 货币

catch on 变得流行; 流行

More Information

单词发音

snorkel [ˋsnɔrk!] v. 使用呼吸管潜泳

daydream [ˋde͵drim] n. 白日梦，空想

in a sense 在某种意义上 considering a situation in a particular way

storefront [ˋstɔr͵frʌnt] n.〔临街的〕店面﹐铺面

Metaverse【计算机】指一网在线呈现的虚拟现实

cyberpunk [ˋsaɪbɚ͵pʌŋk] n. 科幻小说的一种，其特性为：（一）以完全依赖计算机的未来世界为题材，（二）情节发展快速

otherwise [ˋʌðɚ͵waɪz] adv. 再者; 另外

from scratch 从头开始 from the very beginning

a matter of  差不多, 大约  an amount that can be measured

Answer