And if I say to you, Catherine, fortnight, what do you think of?
如果我对你说，凯瑟琳，两周，你会怎么想呢？
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
Well, that’s easy, Neil. A fortnight is a period of two weeks.
嗯，这很容易，Neil。两周是两周。
Neil(尼尔)
Well, fortnight, spelt f-o-r-t-n-i-g-h-t, is indeed a period of two weeks. But Fortnite, spelt F- o-r-t-n-i-t-e, is an online computer game that has become incredibly popular in a very short period of time.
As well as popular, it’s also very competitive. And you're soon going to be able to make big money playing it and you can even hire people to be your Fortnite coach.
Well, before we hear a little more about this topic, it’s time for our quiz. These days we play computer games on our phones, we can hold them in our hands. In1950 Bertie the Brain was the name of one of the very first computer games. It played a simple game of noughts and crosses, also called tic-tac-toe. But how tall was this computer? Was it… a) one metre tall;; b) about four metres tall or c) about ten metres tall?
Well, if it was the 1950s, computers were huge, so I’m going to go for ten metres.
嗯，如果是 1950 年代，计算机是巨大的，所以我要走 10 米。
Neil(尼尔)
OK. Well, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. eSports or computer games competitions are now a thing. In some markets they are huge and they are even discussing including them in the Olympic Games. Kyle Jackson is a 13-year-old gamer who's been asked to join a team. How long does he say he's been playing video games?
还行。好吧，我们会在节目结束时了解您是否正确。电子竞技或电脑游戏比赛现在已经流行起来。在一些市场，他们是巨大的，他们甚至正在讨论将它们纳入奥运会。Kyle Jackson 是一名 13 岁的游戏玩家，他被要求加入一个团队。他说他玩电子游戏多久了？
Kyle Jackson, gamer(Kyle Jackson，游戏玩家)
I’ve played video games all my life, basically. I started playing competitively when I was around nine or ten. I got into like Halo, Call of Duty, games like that. And I just… I realised that I could probably like go to a pro (professional) level, if I keep playing at the level I am.
基本上，我一辈子都在玩电子游戏。我大约在九岁或十岁的时候开始参加比赛。我喜欢 Halo、Call of Duty 之类的游戏。而我只是......我意识到，如果我继续保持现在的水平，我可能会想达到职业水平。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
He said that he's been playing computer games all his life. Now that might be a little exaggeration, but he’s probably been playing them ever since he can remember. When he was nine or ten he started playing competitively, which means he started playing in competitions against other people.
He talks about a number of games that he got into. This is a good expression. If you are into something you are very interested in it and to get into something describes the process of becoming interested in that thing.
In Kyle's case, it was computer games and he got so good that he's thinking about playing at a professional level. Doing something as a professional means that it's more than a hobby or pastime. It’s something someone pays you to do because you are really good at it.
George Yao is a former gaming champion who is now Director of Media of Team Secret. Team Secret are like a regular sports team. They have a group of players who play matches and competitions against other teams. Except these are not regular sports. These are eSports and they are big business. Here’s George Yao.
George Yao 是前游戏冠军，现在是 Team Secret 的媒体总监。Team Secret 就像一个普通的运动队。他们有一群球员与其他球队进行比赛和比赛。除了这些不是常规的运动。这些是电子竞技，他们是大生意。这是 George Yao。
George Yao, Director of Media of Team Secret(George Yao，Team Secret 媒体总监)
It’s becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry: just games, production of games, publishing of games and the eSports scene. So it's not just one thing now, it’s a whole industry.
So George Yao says that online gaming is becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry. We usually think of industry as factories and manufacturing. But it can also apply to other areas as well that involve a lot of different elements that come together to make a business.
George Yao 说，在线游戏正在成为一个价值数十亿美元的产业。我们通常认为工业是工厂和制造业。但它也适用于其他领域，这些领域涉及许多不同的元素，这些元素结合在一起构成了一项业务。
Neil(尼尔)
Different elements that he mentions as part of this industry are creating games, publishing games and the eSports scene. The word here scene here refers to the world of eSports: the events, the competitions and the players. And many people want to be part of that scene. Right, now, let’s get the answer to our quiz question about the size of that 1950s computer game. Was it… a) one metre tall; b) four metres tall or c) ten metres tall? What did you say, Catherine?
Multi-player video game competitions which people pay to go and watch are known as eSports. Playing against other people is playing competitively. Do you like to play multi- player video games, Catherine?
I've never really got into them even though I've tried one or two. And that was one of our other expressions, to get into something – to become really interested in something.
Same here, I enjoy playing a little bit but I could never be a professional. I couldn’t get paid to do it as a job.
这里也是一样，我喜欢玩一点，但我永远不可能成为职业球员。我不能因为做这份工作而得到报酬。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
Of course not, you’re already a professional broadcaster, Neil. An area of business that is made up of different parts can be described as an industry. The video game industry is a multi-billion-dollar business. And we also talk about, for example, the fashion industry and the movie industry.
And finally there was the word scene. This noun is used to describe the world of a particular activity.
最后是单词场景。这个名词用于描述特定活动的世界。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
So the eSport scene, for example, is the world of eSports. The games, the teams, the competitions, the audiences. It’s all part of the scene.
因此，例如，电子竞技场景就是电子竞技的世界。比赛、球队、比赛、观众。这都是场景的一部分。
Neil(尼尔)
Well, that’s all from the 6 Minute English scene today. Do join us again, but if you can’t wait, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and of course on our website bbclearningenglish.com. Thanks for joining us and goodbye.
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