英语访谈对话 365 Pachinko

 　　Todd: OK, Kawabe, can you explain Pachinko? Foreigners don't understand pachinko.

　　Kawabe: OK. Explain pachinko.

　　Todd: Yeah, because when we get off the train and go home we often we often walk past pachinko parlours, or in the morning even.

　　Kawabe: It's everywhereTodd: And there's a big line of people waiting to get in, so we don't understand it, like, why do people like pachinko?

　　Kawabe: OK, pachinko is, 1) it's a gamble¹, you know, you pay a lot of money to play that and if you win you can get a lot of money back, and 2) it's a, there's no 2. It's only 1). It's the gamble. That's it.

　　Todd: Well, how do you win money? Like, you just, you take the ball and you put it in the slot² and it trickles³ down?

　　Kawabe: Yeah, um, there is a slot you put your money, bill, into it, and OK, let's say I go into the pachinko shop and I pick out one of the seats and then, "OK, I'll play with this." And I, you know, take out my wallet and pick up a thousand yen⁴ and put the bill into the slot and then the machine gives you a certain amount of the, you know, silver balls, and you play with it. What you do is just, roll, or touch the...

　　Todd: Dial!

　　Kawabe: Yeah, dialTodd: Dial!

　　Kawabe: And move like 5 centimeters.

　　Todd: Uh-huh!

　　Kawabe: That's it!

　　Todd: What happens?

　　Kawabe: And the silver balls go up to the top and you know it comes down to the holes and sometimes it, you know, the balls get into the really nice hole and then I don't know how they work, exactly but anyway, if you got a good hole, you got the money. That's it! So, it's a really, that's too simple to enjoy. That is why you never see people smiling in front of pachinko. You know every one is making a grimace⁵ in front of the pachinko machine. Have you ever seen people smiling?

　　Todd: No, I've never been in a pachinko parlour. I just walk by.

　　Kawabe: You know they just sit in the machine and staring at one place and spend like 20, 30 minutes and when you're money's gone it's the time to you know, stand up.

　　Todd: Have you ever played?

　　Kawabe: Many times. Why not? Many times.

　　Todd: That's cool! Well, thanks, Kawabe!

1 gamble   

n.冒险；v.赌博，孤注一掷

参考例句：

• Setting up this business was a bit of a gamble.开办这样的公司有点冒险。
• Drive carefully and don't gamble with your life.小心驾驶，别拿你的生命冒险。

2 slot   

n.（口）位置，职位，狭长孔，狭槽

参考例句：

• Put a coin in the slot.将硬币放入投币口。
• He's been given a regular ten-minute slot on the radio.电台定期给他十分钟的节目广播时间。

3 trickles   

n.细流( trickle的名词复数 )；稀稀疏疏缓慢来往的东西v.滴( trickle的第三人称单数 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Trickles of sweat rained down my head and neck. 我颈上头上的汗珠，更同盛雨似的，一颗一颗的钻出来了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
• Water trickles through an underground grotto. 水沿着地下岩洞流淌。 来自辞典例句

4 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

5 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。