Inside the "deadly serious" world of esports in South Korea
“极度认真”：揭秘韩国电竞圈
The students ate lunch in silence before gathering in a dimly lit room packed with high-powered computers. There, coaches helped them learn to outmaneuver opponents in a digital fantasy world fraught with ambushes and monsters. School was over by 5 p.m., but individual practice continued well into the night — all in a hard day's work for the students at one of South Korea's many esports academies.
学生们默默地吃完午饭，然后聚到一间灯光昏暗、塞满了大功率电脑的房间里。在那里，有教练教他们如何在布满伏击和怪物的数字幻想世界中击溃对手；学院下午五点就放学了，不过学生的个人练习会一直持续到深夜——这些是韩国众多电竞学院里学员们一天的工作内容，很辛苦。
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"South Korean gamers are deadly serious," said Jeon Dong-jin, Korea head of Blizzard Entertainment.
“对于电竞，韩国玩家极度认真。”暴雪娱乐公司韩国区的负责人全东真（音）这样说道。
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The 10 franchised professional esports teams in South Korea competing in League of Legends hire only 200 players total. Those who do not make the cut have few alternatives. Lacking good grades — and often high school diplomas — gamers will find themselves with limited job prospects.
在韩国，打英雄联盟联赛的 10 支拥有特许经营权的职业电竞战队，总共只招收 200 名电竞选手。而那些没能通过选拔的玩家几乎没有什么退路；他们由于成绩欠佳（通常为高中文凭），往往会发现自己的工作前景很有限。
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When Gen.G, a California-based esports company, opened its Gen.G Elite Esports Academy in Seoul in 2019, it wanted to address some of those challenges. The school trains young students on how to turn pro and helps gaming buffs find opportunities as streamers, marketers and data analysts. Together with educational company Elite Open School, it opened an English-only program that offers students a chance to earn an American high school diploma so they can apply to universities in the United States on esports scholarships.
Gen.G 是一家总部位于（美国）加利福尼亚州的电竞公司；2019 年，当它在（韩国）首尔创办 Gen.G 精英电竞学院时，就想要解决这其中的一些问题。该学院培养年轻学员如何成为一名职业选手，并帮助电竞高手寻找转型成为直播主播、营销人员和数据分析师的机会。此外，它还和一家名叫“翌立开放学校”的教育公司合作，开设了全英教学项目；该项目为学员们提供获得美国高中学位的机会；这样他们就能去申请美国的大学，并拿到电竞奖学金。
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Bazire, the French gamer, joined Gen.G's League of Legends team as a trainee player in March. But becoming a trainee is little more than securing a toehold. With younger and nimbler talents catching up constantly, the career of most esports athletes in South Korea ends before they turn 26.
法国玩家 Bazire 今年 3 月以“电竞练习生”的身份加入了 Gen.G 的英雄联盟战队。但是成为一名“练习生”只不过是初步站稳了脚跟。年纪更小、操作更敏捷的电竞人才一直在奋起直追；在韩国，大部分电竞选手的职业生涯在他们满 26 岁以前就结束了。
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"It's a hard and lonely life," said Kim Min-soo, 17, a trainee on a pro team. "But I am happiest because I am doing what I enjoy the most."
“这条路很苦也很孤独，”金敏洙说道，他今年 17 岁，是一支职业战队里的“练习生”。“不过我也非常开心，因为我在做我最享受的事情。”
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主编：Felicity
品控：Felicity
审核：虾仁
Photo Credit:
Fabrizio Bensch / REUTERS
Jung Yeon-je / AFP
Florian Olivo / unsplash
重点词汇
deadly
/ˈded.li/
adv. 极度，极其
词性拓展：deadly（adj. 致命的，致死的）
搭配短语：a deadly weapon
近义词：extreme
例句：They sat in deadly silence.
近义词：extremely（adv. 极其，极度）
be packed with
塞满、挤满……
近义词：to be packed full of sth.
例句：The restaurant was packed with diners.
派生词缀：-packed（表示“充满……的”）
相关词汇：an information-packed book
相关词汇：a fun-packed day
outmaneuver
/ˌaʊt.məˈnuː.vər/
v. 制胜，打败
词根词缀：out-（表示“超越，超过”）
相关词汇：maneuver（v.（技术娴熟地、谨慎地）移动…… ; 操作，控制）
例句：She maneuvered the car carefully into the garage.
例句：She maneuvered her way to the top of the company.
英文释义：to defeat by greater skill in maneuvering
例句：He outmaneuvered his rivals by offering a higher price.
be fraught with
充满……的（尤指不愉快的事）
近义词组：to be packed with sth.；to be filled with sth.
英文释义：to be filled with something unpleasant
例句：The task was fraught with difficulties.
ambush
/ˈæm.bʊʃ/
n. 埋伏，伏击
academy
/əˈkæd.ə.mi/
n. 专科院校；（艺术、文学、科学等的）研究院，学会
文化补充：著名的电影奖项“奥斯卡金像奖” （Oscars），又名“美国电影艺术与科学学院奖” （Academy Awards，中文简称“学院奖”），是由美国电影艺术与科学学院（The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences）主办的电影类奖项，创办于 1929 年。该奖项是美国历史上最为悠久、最具权威性和专业性的电影类奖项，也是全世界最具影响力的电影类奖项之一。
英文释义：a school for special training
搭配短语：a police academy
franchise
/ˈfræn.tʃaɪz/
v. 给予......经营权
词性拓展：franchise（n. 特许经营品牌）
搭配短语：the Friends franchise
make the cut
（高尔夫球四场制赛）取得进入后两场比赛的资格
英文释义： to meet the requirements necessary for an application or to be selected from a group of candidates
反义词：to miss the cut…（未能取得……资格）
例句：Because of his poor grades in math, he ended up not making the cut for Harvard.
diploma
/dɪˈploʊ.mə/
n. 学位证书，毕业文凭
buff
/bʌf/
n. 行家；爱好者，……迷
文化补充：buff 在游戏领域指“玩家通过某种手段增强游戏角色的技能”；也可以指“游戏开发者在更新游戏版本时，对游戏中的人物、场景等内容进行迭代升级”。
搭配短语：a film buff
搭配短语：a computer buff
streamer
/ˈstriː.mɚ/
n. 直播主播
相关词汇：stream（v. 流式传播）
相关词汇：live-stream（v. 直播）
搭配短语：live-streaming platforms（直播平台）
词根词缀： -er（表示“人”）
trainee
/ˌtreɪˈniː/
n. 接受培训者，训练生
相关词汇：trainer（n. 教练，教员）
little more than
仅仅，只不过
近义词：no / nothing more than
例句：She had little more than a salad all day.
secure
/səˈkjʊr/
v. 获得，取得
词性拓展：secure（adj. 安全的）
英文释义：to obtain or achieve something, especially with difficulty
例句：The company managed to outmaneuvered the competitor and secure the contract.
toehold
/ˈtoʊ.hoʊld/
n.（初步的）立足点
相关词汇：toe（n. 脚趾，足尖）
搭配短语：to gain a toehold in……
例句：The company has gained a toehold in the competitive food and beverage market.
搭配短语：to secure a toehold
nimble
/ˈnɪm.bəl/
adj.（动作）灵活的，敏捷的；（头脑）机敏的
搭配短语：a nimble climber
搭配短语：a nimble brain / mind
