节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-01-30
难易度:Medium
关键字:rake in, landlord, midst, consent, monopoly, real estate, Great Depression


























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(Music).
Hello, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us.
My name is Steve.
Now many of you may have played it.
This complex game of real estate uses pretend money has confused players for
decades and is the best-selling board game in the world.
Can you guess what it is?
We're talking, of course, about Monopoly.
With over 275 million games sold in over 103 countries around the world, it's no
surprise that this game of fortune appeals to players of all kinds.
So when did this thrilling pastime start its domination?
You can find out on page 50 of your Studio Classroom magazine.
(Music).
The History of Monopoly.
This classic is still winning in the board game market.
The early years.
After over 75 years in production, the popular board game Monopoly continues to
delight players and rake in money.
With more than 275 million games sold, Monopoly is the best-selling board game
in the world.
But this game's history traces back to humble beginnings.
It was a game of real estate invented in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie.
Her game, called The Landlord's Game, was moderately successful, often copied
and revised to suit the players.
(Music).
One, two, three, four.
Yes!
No...
Free parking.
My name is Kaylah.
And I love playing Monopoly.
And my name is Ryan, and I am losing this game.
But that doesn't stop it from being incredibly fun.
This game, Monopoly, has been around for over 75 years and is one of the
best-selling board games of all time.
This classic is still winning in the board game market, just like I'm winning.
All right. So today we're talking about "The History of Monopoly" and how it got
its start, and how it is now overtaking the board game market.
That's right.
This game has been around for a very long time but is still very popular.
All right. So first, Kaylah, let's talk about what a "monopoly" is.
Well, "monopoly," we see here is the name of the game.
But it is also an English word that means to have complete control over a
specific area.
Yeah. And usually when we're talking about monopoly in business, that means you
have control over an area of business.
For example, you can have a monopoly on sandwiches.
That means you own all of the sandwich shops in a certain area.
In the game, we are talking about owning property, owning land.
So you want the monopoly on all of the land that is available.
OK. And it is a board game, which means it is a game that has a large, flat
surface that you play on a table just like this.
That's right. Here in our studio, Ryan and I are playing a game of Monopoly.
All right. Now we'll start with the history of how Monopoly became the success
that it is by looking at The Early Years.
After over 75 years in production, the popular board game Monopoly continues to
delight players and rake in money.
Yeah. It delights, I think, the players that are winning but maybe not those
that are losing.
But it does delight many people.
That means they enjoy it, they like it.
It makes them happy.
But it's also raking in money.
That's right. When we say you "rake in" money, that means you earn a lot of or a
large amount.
Now usually this does refer to money.
But if you are in the business of getting people to go to things, you could rake
in people.
So you get a lot of people to go to something.
In Monopoly, we try to rake in money, just like the game rakes in money for the
company.
Exactly.
Now Kaylah, you can actually think of this as the word "rake." It means a tool
that you use to pull leaves on the ground.
And so in the same way, if you say you're raking in money, it's almost like
you're using that tool to get a lot of money.
That's right. It's a great way to think about it.
Well, this game has been around for 75 years and with more than 275 million
games sold.
Ryan, that is an absolutely unbelievable amount of games.
Yes, it's a huge amount of games that have sold.
And you can tell it really is a popular game, it must be fun to play.
I think it's fun to play.
Monopoly is the best-selling board game in the world.
OK. So it's no surprise.
It has sold 275 million copies, making it the best-selling board game.
It's meaning it is sold more than any other board game on earth.
It is a very popular game.
It's been around for a long time.
So Ryan, did you own a Monopoly board?
I did, yes.
We had a board game at home, Monopoly.
We played it all the time.
I usually didn't win, though.
Well, I'm sorry.
I didn't usually win it with my sisters either.
But I still enjoy the game.
That's what makes this so fun is this game is enjoyable even if you don't win.
That's why it's popular.
That's true. That is very true.
It has become extremely popular and is sold very well.
But this game's history traces back to humble beginnings.
OK. So even though it's popular now, it's a big deal now, it didn't start that
way.
"Humble beginnings" mean when it started, it was small, it was very simple.
Yeah. It was not a very big or very popular game.
And so it started in a very simple way.
And we'll get to see how that happened now.
It was a game of real estate invented in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie.
OK. "Real estate" is referring to property or land that people sell or buy.
So it's still that kind of game; it's about buying and selling land.
But it was invented in 1904.
So it's changed over the years.
Yes. So it's been over 75 years since it's been invented, and it started as a
very different game.
Her game, called The Landlord's Game, was moderately successful.
When it's moderately successful, that means it was a little bit successful, not
very successful but not a failure.
But it was a Landlord's Game, not Monopoly at the time.
That's right. And "landlord" is someone who owns land and has control of it, and
people pay them to use it similarly to how you play Monopoly.
Now that game was often copied and revised to suit the players.
So the revisions, how it has changed, turned it into what we play today, the
different Monopoly board as opposed to The Landlord's Game.
That's right. So this game has changed over time and it has improved over time.
And we'll get to see how exactly that happened after the break.
First, let's watch the skit.
Hey, I know you!
You're... you're...
Oh, I'm Mr. Monopoly.
Yes! Yes! Your picture is here on the Monopoly box.
That's me.
I love Monopoly!
Lots of people do.
And after 75 years, Monopoly continues to delight players and rake in the money.
It's the best-selling board game in the world.
Oh, lucky for you that you invented Monopoly.
Actually, I didn't exactly invent the game.
You didn't?
No. Elizabeth Magie invented it.
She called it The Landlord's Game.
Oh. Lucky for her that she invented Monopoly.
Actually, it was only moderately successful.
It was often copied and revised.
Years later, Charles Darrow played it and saw its potential.
He invented a new version.
Oh. Lucky for him that he invented Monopoly.
Yes! He presented the game to Parker Brothers, but they rejected it.
Oh. Unlucky for him.
But he wasn't discouraged.
He made his own games and sold them throughout a department store.
Oh. Good for him.
The next year, he presented the game to Parker Brothers again.
This time they consented to produce it.
And?
And it swiftly became the best-selling game in America.
Oh. Lucky for him!
And lucky for me!
I'm Mr.Monopoly!