VOA常速英语2016--漫画迷加奇幻的服装——角色扮演（在线收听）

Comic Book Fans Combine Fantasy Costumes, Role Playing 漫画迷加奇幻的服装——角色扮演

HOUSTON—

Several decades ago, fans of comic books and science fiction and fantasy genres in the United States started dressing up as characters from their favorite books and movies to attend gatherings. After the practice caught fire in Japan and came back to the United States, along with the anime and manga craze of the 1990s, it came to be known as cosplay, a mashup of costume and role play. The colorful cosplayer outfits have now become a major attraction at events such as Comicpalooza, a multiformat pop culture convention held this past weekend in Houston.

Underneath their makeup, cosplayers are ordinary people, who, now and then, get to be extraordinary.

在他们的装扮下，角色扮演者都是普通人，他们时不时变得很特别。

“You get into the costumes, you get into a new character. You get to be somebody else for a day.”

“你穿上表演服，你变成一个新的人物，你可以这一天变成另一个人。”

Cosplayers sometimes buy costumes and masks, but most of them create their own outfits and often compete in contests at events such as Comicpalooza, a convention that showcases genres including comic books, science fiction and fantasy, as well as gaming.

角色扮演者有时会购买表演服或者面具，但是他们中的大多数都是自己制作服装，而且通常会参加诸如Comicpalooza（德州动漫展）中的比赛，Comicpalooza是一场展示包括漫画书、科幻小说、以及游戏等不同题材的盛会。

“They get to really show off different types of craftsmanship and there is a lot of pride in that and a lot of professionalism for some of them.”

“他们会展示不同的手工艺，他们都很自豪，而且有些人很专业。”

“We’re part of a group of leather smith, we work under a master of smith. And everything you see here we actually had a part in creating.”

“我们是皮匠的一员，我们在一名皮匠大师手下工作，你在这里看到的一切实际上我们都参与到制作之中。”

While many cosplayers may seem like extroverts who enjoy showing off in public, quite a few are introverts who are more comfortable with a mask or makeup covering their face.

尽管许多角色扮演者看似是喜欢向公众展示自己的外向的人，但是有不少人都比较内向，他们在脸上带上面具或者画上脸妆更自在。

One self-proclaimed introvert is Jim, who came to Comicpalooza from San Antonio, Texas.

吉姆自称是个内向的人，他从德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥来参加Comicpalooza。

“It helps me socialize and it’s really helped me a lot.”Jim says he often recommends it to young people he meets who may suffer from shyness.

“角色扮演帮我进行社交活动，真的帮了很多。”吉姆说他常常把角色扮演介绍给他遇到的腼腆害羞的年轻人。

“Because they might be, you know, introverted just like I was. So, [I am] kind of helping them come out and be able to talk and socialize.”

“因为他们可能像我以前一样内向，因此，我想帮他们走出来，能够说出来并且参与社交。”

Cosplay help this year-old get the girl. But for most players, the real thrill is just getting into costume.

角色扮演让他也找到了女朋友。但是对于大多数角色扮演者来说，真正的乐趣在于穿上表演服。

“It’s really exciting to step outside of your life and really be somebody new.”

“走出你自己的现实生活然后成为一个新的人物真的很让人兴奋。”

There are cosplay events all over the world now and an international competition is held every year at the World Cosplay Summit in Japan.

现在全世界都有角色扮演的活动，每年在日本的世界角色扮演峰会上还有一场国际性的比赛。