英语听力精选进阶版 6151

What’s the Next Big Thing? 09年哪个游戏会大红大紫？

2008 was a bumper¹ year for videogame sales in the UK, with British consumers forking out more than ￡4bn (40bn yuan) on games and consoles.

Nintendo dominated the UK market, outstripping² their competitors by creating a new market for their family-based gaming systems. Existing game franchises³ also performed well with titles such as GTA IV and Halo 3 smashing sales records on the days of their release.

So what does 2009 hold for the games industry?

Some of the most influential⁴ people in videogame production spoke⁵ to the BBC to give their predictions of where gaming might be heading over the next twelve months.

Will Wright, the creator of The Sims and Spore⁶, predicts a merging⁷ of game worlds with reality. He can foresee a "mobile game that interacts with a GPS (global positioning system) so that where you physically⁸ play the game in the real world will have a direct effect on the game you are playing".

Paul Barnett, the creative director on Warhammer Online, said the industry would struggle to find a coherent identity, predicting "a continuing fight between games defining themselves as 'art', 'design' and 'entertainment'".

Some commentators⁹ believe that games played communally¹⁰ online by large numbers of people will become more like social-networking than game-playing.

Peter Ryan, the creator of the website which supports the Guitar Hero series of games, says, in the future, the online "community will be as critical to the overall experience of a game as the game itself".

So what do you think? What are your predictions for the future of videogames this year? If you would like to share your ideas with us, email us at [email protected]. The best ideas could be published on the bbcchina.com website.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

bumper year 丰收年

forking out 支付

consoles 操纵器

outstripping 超过，胜过

game franchises 游戏的多个版本

sales records 销售记录

influential 有影响力的

predictions 预测

merging 合并

foresee 预见，预知

mobile game 手机游戏

GPS 全球定位系统

physically 身体上的

creative director 创意总监

coherent identity 一致的身份

online 线上

social-networking 社交

critical 决定性的

overall experience 总的体验

published 发表

1 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

2 outstripping   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Demand is outstripping supply. 需求快超过供给了。
• Demand is outstripping current production. 现在需求逐渐超过了生产能力。 来自辞典例句

3 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 spore   

n.(无花植物借以繁殖的)孢子，芽胞

参考例句：

• A spore can quickly spread and form a mould.一个孢子能迅速蔓延并形成霉。
• The cation penetrates the spore.这种阳离子能透入孢子。

7 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 communally   

adv.共同地

参考例句：

• Only when the means of production were communally owned would classes disappear. 只有当生产工具公有时，阶级才会消失。
• The mills were owned communally. 工厂是公有的。