VOA常速英语:Want to Be a Detective? Escape Rooms May Help(翻译)

WASHINGTON— The timer is running. These people have 60 minutes to escape from a room they paid to be locked inside of.
华盛顿 -- 计时器在倒数，人们有60分钟逃离这个他们付钱被锁在里面的房间。

“It is a game with clues that are spread throughout the room. And there is no starting point. You start wherever you feel like. It is up to you to put the clues together in order to find the key to get out,” Smith says.
逃脱吧（Escape Lounge）老板蒂莫西·史密斯说：“这个游戏中的线索散落在房间的各个角落，而且没有一个起点。你从哪里开始都可以，最重要的就是把所有线索放在一起，找到钥匙逃出去。”

This room - one of two offered by Timothy Smith's Escape Lounge is designed to mimic the Oval Office in the White House. It features a presidential seal embossed rug, an iconic desk, presidents’ portraits and other props.
这个房间是史密斯的逃脱吧的两个房间中的一个，它是仿照白宫的椭圆形办公室建造的。这里有总统印章的地毯、总统办公桌、总统照片和其他道具。

The fun part of Escape the Oval Office is that anything here could be a clue to solving the puzzle: This antique typewriter from the 1930s. Or this vintage turntable that plays records. Or this map of Washington, D.C. And then there are hidden messages that can only be seen under a black light.
逃脱椭圆形办公室的有趣之处就是任何物品都可能是解开谜团的线索：包括这台上世纪30年代的古董打字机、播放唱片的古董留声机或是这张华盛顿特区的地图，以及只有在暗光灯下才能看到的隐秘信息。

Sometimes, the hot line rings.
有时候，热线电话会响起。

“Would you guys like a clue?” the voice on the line asks.
电话里问道，“你们想要点线索吗？”

The game master monitors the progress on a camera and calls to offer hints as needed.
游戏监控人员通过摄像头监控团队进展，并在需要的时候给他们打电话给出提示。

Teams can be made up of co-workers, families, tourists, or a group of six friends and two strangers who just met before the game starts.
团队可以由同事、家人或者游客组成，或是这样一群在游戏开始前才刚刚碰面的六位朋友和两位陌生人。

"We have never been on any of the Escape Rooms before. So it was a lot of fun. And I think that it was actually great that we didn't know each other because it really forces you to have to learn how to work with one another." says one of the participants, Kat Matus.
其中一位参与者凯特·马图斯（Kat Matus）说：“我们原来从来没玩过密室逃脱，所以特别有意思。我觉得大家彼此不认识非常棒，因为这迫使你必须学会如何跟其他人一起合作。”

It is estimated that there are about 600 Escape Room adventures across the country. When Smith opened the Escape Lounge a year ago, there were two others in the Washington area. Now there are 12 and growing.
预计美国各地现在有大约600个密室逃脱探险场所。史密斯一年前开办这个逃脱吧的时候，华盛顿地区只有其他两家。现在这里有12家而且这一数字还在增长。

While each experience has different themes and settings, the formats are similar, and solving the puzzle requires social and physical engagement and quick, creative thinking.
虽然每个游戏有不同的主题和设置，但是游戏设计是相似的，解开谜团需要社交参与和身体力行，以及敏捷的创意思维。

"It was a little stressful. Some of the clues seemed really complex. But it was a lot of fun, and we had no idea what to expect. None of us have ever done it before," says Demetrios Psihopaidas.
顾客德米特里·斯赫佩达斯说：“有点紧张，有些线索特别复杂，但是也很有趣，我们完全不知道接下来会发生什么，之前我们都没玩过。”

With seven minutes left, the team finally found the key.
还剩下7分钟的时候，团队终于找到了钥匙。

"I was a little worried that we were not going to find all the clues and we weren't going to get out in time," Psihopaidas admits, "So I was happy that we were finished. "
斯赫佩达斯承认：“我有点担心我们找不到全部线索无法按时逃出去。很高兴我们做到了。”

Smith says the escape success rate is between 30 and 40 percent.
史密森表示，密室逃脱游戏的成功率为30%到40%。

"So it is pretty challenging. Escape the Oval Office is not an easy game. I think this game is popular because it gives an individual a chance to be a detective or to be a James Bond."
他说：“所以这很有挑战性，逃出椭圆形办公室并不简单。这个游戏很受欢迎，我认为原因是它给了每个人一个机会来当侦探，来当詹姆斯·邦德。”

But, Smith says, like most team sports, this game is really all about being a good teammate and having a good time.
不过史密斯说，跟所有团体运动一样，这个游戏的重点其实是团队合作和享受其中。