我們先來看標題。文章的主副標題用極其凝練的語言概括了文章的主要內容：
1. 劇本殺火爆中國，淚水與盜版並存
2.年輕人從中可以逃避現實、結交朋友
3.政府對劇本殺的火爆表示擔憂
China’s Latest Craze: Scripted Murders, With Real Tears and Piracy
在中國爆紅的劇本殺，淚水與盜版並存
「Scripted homicide」 clubs have opened around the country as young people look for ways to escape and connect. Naturally, the government has questions.
劇本殺俱樂部在中國遍地開花，年輕人從中可以逃避現實，與他人產生聯繫。當然，政府也有疑問。
《紐約時報》把「劇本殺」譯為：scripted homicides / murders 。craze 為crazy的名詞形式，表示「一時的狂熱」。我們平時說XX熱，就可以譯為n.+ craze。比如：
「考研熱」：the graduate exam craze
「直播熱」：the live-streaming craze
piracy [ˈpaɪrəsi] 為不可數名詞，指「盜版行為，非法翻印」。
接下來我們來看正文。
劇本殺在中國有多火？
The murders are scripted. The money is real.
謀殺是虛構的，賺的卻是真金白銀。
In cities throughout China, young people are flocking to clubs to play a game that can be translated as 「scripted homicide,」 where they become different characters and spend hours solving fake murders.在中國各地的城市，年輕人成群結隊地去俱樂部玩一種叫「劇本殺」的遊戲，在遊戲中，他們扮演不同的角色，花數個小時破解虛構的謀殺案。flock to sth 是一個動詞短語，表示一群人或動物「成群結隊地走向...，湧入...，蜂擁到...」。
比如「越來越多的年輕人從農村湧入城市」，我們就可以說：
A growing number of young people flock to cities from rural areas.[寫作推薦]
fake 作形容詞，指「假的，虛構的」。fake murders 即「虛構的謀殺案」。
murder 作名詞，指「謀殺，謀殺罪」，和上文的homicide互為同義替換。
This macabre entertainment is expected to generate more than $2 billion in revenue this year, by one count. The growing popularity has sparked some concerns from Chinese government officials about their sometimes gothic or gory content. It has also led to a proliferation of clubs and competition for new and compelling scripts that players and owners alike say has become, well, cutthroat.
據統計，這種恐怖娛樂今年預計將創造20多億美元的收入。劇本殺越來越受歡迎，時而哥德式時而血腥的劇本內容引發了中國政府官員的擔憂。劇本殺的流行使得俱樂部的數量出現激增，也引發了店家對優質新本的爭奪。玩家和店家都說這種競爭已經變得相當殘酷。
「There’s a huge demand for good scripts that’s just not met,」 said Zhang Yi, 28, a Shanghai resident who played more than 90 games in just over a year. 「The script is the foundation to everything in this game.」
28歲的上海人張毅說，「好本供不應求。」一年多來，他玩了90多次劇本殺。「劇本是整個遊戲的根本。」
by one count 指「據某次統計顯示，據統計」。類似的表達還有by one estimate 據估計。
popularity 來源於形容詞popular，指「普及；流行」(the state of being liked, enjoyed or supported by a large number of people)。
the growing popularity (of sth) 即「某事物的越來越流行」。
文中省略了of sth，補充上即：the growing popularity of scripted homicides 指「劇本殺的越來越流行」。
如果想表達「某事物越來越流行」，我們可以說sth grows in popularity. 完美替換小學生表達sth is more and more popular.
比如《經濟學人》一篇關於火鍋的文章這樣說道：But Chengdu’s plans for a museum suggest that Sichuan hotpot is not only growing in popularity, but is also becoming iconic.但成都的博物館計劃表明，四川火鍋不但越來越受歡迎，而且正在成為標誌性的東西。
我們拿熱點話題「電商直播」造個句：
The live-streaming ecommerce grows in popularity. 電商直播越來越流行。[寫作推薦]spark concerns from sb about sth 指「引發某人關於某事的擔憂」。這個表達大家積累下來。proliferate 為動詞，本指生物的「繁殖」，引申為「激增；擴散」(if something proliferates, it increases quickly and spreads to many different place)，比如在過去幾年，中國湧現了大量網際網路創業公司，我們可以說 Over the past couple of years, internet startups proliferated in China. 類似的表達還有 mushroom, sprout up, spring up。
compelling [kəmˈpelɪŋ] 為形容詞，指「引人入勝，扣人心弦的」(very exciting and interesting and making you want to watch or listen)。
cutthroat 是個特別形象的小詞兒，cut throat 掐對方脖子，連起來cut-throat / cutthroat 便形容「爭得你死我活的，競爭激烈的」。比如：畢業後你不得不面對殘酷的競爭：You have to face cutthroat competition after graduation.
A and B alike 強調A和B兩者都… 我們在寫作中可以使用這一單詞表示用一類事物的兩方，替換both和equally，比如：women and men alike, the young and the old alike, teachers and students alike, employers and employees alike等等。[寫作推薦]It has also led to a proliferation of clubs and competition for new and compelling scripts (that players and owners alike say has become, well, cutthroat.)
這句話涉及一個很重要的語法點：帶有插入語的定語從句。
句中that引導定語從句that players and owners alike say has become, well, cutthroat修飾先行詞 competition for new and compelling scripts。
這句話的特殊之處在於，作者在關係代詞that後面，插入了一個主謂結構：players and owners alike say 玩家和店家都說，作插入語，表明這是玩家和店家的觀點，而不是作者觀點。
這種句子就叫作帶有插入語的定語從句。
當我們遇到帶有插入語的定語從句時，可以把插入語去掉，直接理解句子：It has also led to a proliferation of clubs and competition for new and compelling scripts (that has become, well, cutthroat).
這樣是不是又變回我們最熟悉的定語從句了？
我們再來看一個簡單的例子：
句中關係詞which引導的定語從句本身的結構是 which is also my fault
但關係詞後面插入了一個主謂結構I guess，於是便有了帶有插入語的定語從句：She could go to jail, which I guess is also my fault. 表明這是我的猜測。
帶有插入語的定語從句是一個非常高頻的語法點，考研英語、雅思託福都經常考，大家重點掌握。
meet the demand 指「滿足需求」。the demand that is not met 即「未被滿足的需求」。Scripted homicides, known as jubensha in Chinese, require players to gather in a group to discuss a fake murder or other crime. Each player is assigned a character from a script, including one who plays the murderer. Then they engage in an elaborate role-playing game, asking questions of the host and each other, until they determine which one of them did the deed.
be known as sth 指「被稱為...」，常用來引出某個外來名詞的音譯。
比如戶口，外媒在介紹時就常寫作：China’s system of household registration, known as hukou。
再比如外媒在介紹吳亦凡時，也常說：Kris Wu, also known as Wu Yifan。
assign sb sth 指「把某物分配給某人」，如果以sb為主語，即sb is assigned sth 指「某人被分配到某物」。文中assign roles 即「分配角色」。
engage in sth 指「參與，從事」(to take part in sth; to make sb take part in sth)，可以替換我們熟悉的take part in sth。
elaborate [ɪˈlæbərət] 為形容詞，表示「複雜的，精心製作的」(containing a lot of careful details or many detailed parts)。
In one club in Beijing, for example, players descend into a fantastical martial arts school where they don robes and assume roles like a peach fairy or a dragon. The script offers character backgrounds, relationships and potential storylines. The plot develops as the players go around the table, talking in character, taking hooks from the script and the host. In the end, they vote on who they think the murderer might be. (In that particular game, it was the kung fu student who practiced on a mountaintop.)
例如，在北京的一家劇本殺俱樂部，玩家來到了一個奇幻的武林門派。他們穿上長袍，扮演桃仙或龍等角色。劇本交代了人物背景、關係和潛在的故事線。玩家圍成一桌，從劇本和主持人那裡得到提示，以角色的身份對話，推動情節發展。最後，他們票選出兇手。在那個劇本中，真兇是在山頂練功的武術學徒。
descend 為動詞，指「下降，下來」。動詞短語descend into sth 指「下降到...內，降入」。文中descend into a fantastical martial arts school 即「走進一個奇幻的武林門派」。再舉個例子：She descended into a cellar.她走進地窖。
fantastical 為形容詞，指「虛構的，荒唐的」(strange, unreal, and magical )。注意與fantastic區分，fantastic 詞義更廣，除了表示「怪誕的，荒誕的」，還可表示「極好的，了不起的」。
don 為動詞，指「穿上，披上」(put clothing on one’s body)。
robes 則是「長袍」，通常指比較寬鬆，飄逸的袍子。
assume 為動詞，指「承擔」，後面跟某個職責、責任。文中assume roles 承擔角色，意思就是「表演角色」。
fairy 指童話故事裡的「小仙子，小精靈」。a peach fairy 即「桃花仙子」。
fairy tale 為可數名詞，指「童話故事」。加上連字符後的fairy-tale，為形容詞，指「童話般的」，比如：童話般的婚禮：a fairy-tale wedding。
plot 作名詞，指電影、書籍的「情節」。the plot develops 便表示「情節推進」。
A successful, dramatic scripted homicide offers laughs, tension and maybe even tears. 「They will cry,」 said Poker Zhang, who owns a script-writing business in the city of Chengdu. 「Players cry a lot.」一次成功的、富有戲劇性的劇本殺會給玩家帶來歡笑、緊張甚至淚水。「他們會哭，」在成都市擁有一家劇本創作公司的張撲克說，「玩哭的玩家很多。」The whodunits may be imaginary, but they provide a real-world alternative for young Chinese people who spend increasing amounts of time on their screens.謀殺案可能是虛構的，但它們為日漸沉迷電子設備的中國年輕人提供了一個現實世界的選擇。The country’s one billion internet users spend much of their time on their phones, spurring worries from the public and the government alike about excessive screen time. The government’s concerns over children in particular have led it to restrict video game time for minors .中國有10億網際網路用戶，大部分時間都花在手機上，刺激了公眾和政府對過度使用電子產品的擔憂。政府尤其擔心電子設備對兒童的影響，因此限制了未成年人玩電子遊戲的時間。whodunit [huˈdʌnɪt] 為名詞指「偵探小說，偵探電影」。文中指劇本殺中的劇本。大家把這個詞讀出聲，就會發現它的發音特別像Who done it（正確的語法應該是Who did it），是不是我們在讀偵探小說、看偵探電影時腦子裡懸著的一個問題？特別有意思的一個詞。
imaginary [ɪˈmædʒɪˌneri] 指「虛構的，想像中的」(existing only in your mind or imagination)。
alternative 作名詞，指「替代品，可供選擇的東西」。a real-world alternative 即「現實生活中的另一種選擇」。screen time 指「屏幕時間」，這是英文裡非常高頻的一個用法，指的就是看電視、玩手機、玩電腦等等看著電子屏幕的時間。excessive screen time 「過多的屏幕時間」，即「過度使用電子產品」。 [寫作推薦]minor 作名詞， 指「未成年人」，尤其是指法律上的未成年人。
restrict video game time for minors 指「限制未成年人的電子遊戲時間」，這個表達大家直接背住，電子遊戲、電子產品、近視、教育相關話題都可以用。 [寫作推薦]
The games also provide free-flowing opportunities for young people to mingle, something that can be rare in China, according to Kecheng Fang, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
香港中文大學新聞與傳播學院助理教授方可成表示，這些遊戲還為年輕人提供了暢所欲言的機會，這在中國是很少見的。
The games provide 「a participatory experience and a way of socializing, which is missing from the life of many Chinese young people,」 Dr. Fang said. 「They lack participation in civic affairs, community engagement and meaningful socialization.」遊戲提供了「一種參與式的體驗和社交方式，這是現在中國的年輕人非常缺乏的，」方可成說，「他們缺乏對公民事務的參與，缺乏社區生活和有意義的社交。」free-flowing 為形容詞，指「自由自在的」(happening or done in a continuous and natural way)。比如 ：a free-flowing discussion 一場輕鬆順暢的討論。
mingle 為不及物動詞，指在聚會中「應酬，交際」(to move around and talk to other people at a social event)。
關於mingle 有一個地道的表達：mingle area，指大型活動中主場地之外的遊樂休息區、茶歇區，比如音樂節上除了主舞臺，還有其他的互動、美食、休息區，這些都統稱為Mingle Area，可以理解為人們社交的區域。