The Queen’s Gambit

2020/12/10 04:12:54 網誌分類: 生活

10 Dec

        　　Sometimes, a TV drama series can cause a resurgence of public interest in something. That happened recently with the Netflix drama series The Queen's Gambit. After four weeks of viewing, it became the most watched miniseries on Netflix. The Queen's Gambit is about the game of chess. It caused a resurgence of public interest in chess. I watched all seven episodes last week and became really interested in chess although I know nothing about the game except the names of the chess pieces. I played a few times with a friend when I was very young but gave up when I realized I was lousy at chess. The word "resurgence" means a new increase of interest in a particular subject.

        　　The word "gambit" means a clever action in a game to achieve an advantage even though it involves risk. The word "queen" in The Queen's Gambit does not mean a human queen. It is the name of one of the chess pieces. There are six different types of pieces: king, rook, bishop, queen, knight, and pawn. Chess players must have good memories, accurately guess what their opponents will do, and think at least eight moves ahead, according to some experts. The Queen's Gambit is a fictional drama series that begins in the mid-1950s and continues into the 1960s. It is about a young and orphaned chess prodigy who became the world's greatest chess player despite her drugs, alcohol, and emotional problems.

        　　The word "prodigy" means someone with great skills who shows these skills as a young child. Episodes of The Queen's Gambit have songs from the 1960s. One song was "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" by the 1960s rock band The Monkees. The expression "stepping stone" means a raised stone that helps people cross a stream. But it also means something that helps people succeed in what they want to succeed. The meaning of "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" by the Monkees is the boyfriend will not let his girlfriend use him to achieve success.

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        　　有時候，一套電視劇可以重新激發（resurgence）公眾對某事物的興趣。最近Netflix電視劇《后翼棄兵（Gambit）》就發生了這樣的情況。經過四個星期的播放後，它成為了Netflix最多人收看的迷你劇集。《后翼棄兵（Gambit）》是關於國際象棋的，亦重燃（resurgence）公眾對國際象棋的興趣。我上星期看畢全部七集，也對國際象棋興致盎然，即使我除了那些棋子的名稱，便對這個棋盤遊戲一竅不通。我年輕的時候跟一位朋友玩過幾次，但當我知道自己很不擅長玩國際象棋之後就放棄了。Resurgence一字是指對某一特定事物的興趣再度復興。

        　　Gambit是棋局中取得優勢的聰明一着，即使那涉及風險。The Queen's Gambit中的 "queen"，並非指現實中的皇后，那是其中一枚棋子的名稱。國際象棋有六種不同的棋子：王、城堡、主教、后、騎士以及兵。根據專家所言，棋手必須有很好的記性，準確估算對手會怎樣做，而且至少要想到八步之後。《后翼棄兵（Gambit）》是一套虛構的電視劇，故事由一九五○年代中開始，延續至一九六○年代；它講述一個年幼時成為孤兒的國際象棋奇才（prodigy），儘管有着濫藥、酗酒及情緒問題，仍能迎難以上成為世上最頂尖的棋手。

        　　Prodigy是指天賦異稟的神童。《后翼棄兵（Gambit）》各集都有一些一九六○年代的歌曲，其中一首歌是一九六○年代搖滾樂隊猴子樂團的 "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone"。習語"stepping stone"即助人過河的踏腳石，但它也解作助人成功的跳板或敲門磚。猴子樂團的"I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone”，說的是一個男孩不會容讓女朋友為求成功而把他自己當做踏腳石。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯：七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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