China’s e-sports players are challenging South Korea’s dominance 中国电竞选手挑战韩国霸主地位

But legal changes in both countries may help South Korea reclaim its crown

 The finals of the Mid-Season Invitational 《英雄联盟》季中冠军赛

 As the battle raged, T1 soon sputtered. 一番激战过后，T1很快开始显露败相。█ ①rage: to happen or continue in a destructive, violent, or intense way（战斗、争论）激烈进行 e.g. A storm was raging outside, but we were warm and comfortable indoors. 屋外疾风骤雨，而我们待在屋子里暖和又舒适。②sputter：疲软地进行 e.g. How did this company, which as recently as a year ago was widely considered a model of success, sputter so badly? 这一家公司仅仅在一年前还被公认为是成功的典范，现在怎么表现地如此差劲？

 The mood in the hall grew sombre. 大厅里的气氛凝重起来。█ sombre： If someone is sombre, they are serious or sad. 沉痛的

 Since the 1990s players have honed their skills in PC bangs(internet cafés), where children would go straight after school. 自上世纪90年代以来，孩子们一放学就会直奔网吧。那是玩家们聚集在一起磨炼技能的地方。█hone: If you hone something, for example, a skill, technique, idea, or product, you carefully develop it over a long period of time so that it is exactly right for your purpose. 磨砺 e.g. Leading companies spend time and money on honing the skills of senior managers. 龙头公司会花费时间和金钱提高高层管理人员的技能。以后improve skills 可以用hone 替换啦！

 “Skilled Korean players and coaches played a role in cultivating the e-sport scene in China” 高水平的韩国选手和教练在发展中国电竞圈子方面发挥了一定作用。█scene：圈子/领域 e.g. Sandman's experimentation has made him something of a cult figure on the local music scene. 桑德曼的实验使他在当地音乐圈里颇受崇拜。

 Given that serious players start as young as 14 and practise some 70 hours a week, Chinese e-sports are bound to suffer. 鉴于专业选手14岁就开始训练，每周要练习约70个小时，中国的电竞运动势必会受影响。

 South Korea, meanwhile, last year scrapped a decade-old law banning under-16s from playing online games in the dead of night. 与此同时，韩国在去年废除了一个实施了十年的条例，不再禁止16岁以下青少年半夜玩网络游戏。█scrap： If you scrap something, you get rid of it or cancel it. 取消; 放弃 e.g. President Hussein called on all countries in the Middle East to scrap nuclear or chemical weapons. 侯赛因总统呼吁中东各国放弃核武器或化学武器。

注：外刊观点与本人无关，仅用于英语学习