'Blind box' craze grips China's youth and mints toymakers a fortune
盲盒热潮：牢牢抓住中国年轻群体，让玩具制造商赚得盆满钵满
Tiny unicorns and cartoon girls in clown costumes line the shelves of Wang Zhaoxue's study in Beijing — tokens of China's mania for "blind boxes" that have made fortunes for toymakers and even caught the attention of those in power.
在王昭雪（音）位于北京的书房里，展示架上摆着一排排小独角兽和身穿小丑服装的卡通女孩——这是当下中国“盲盒热”的缩影。“盲盒热”给玩具制造商带来了巨大的财富，甚至受到了政府的关注。
The 18-year-old music student is one of the legions of young Chinese hooked on snaffling up the toys to complete whole "ranges" through endless purchases.
中国有大批年轻人都痴迷于抢购各种玩具，并为了集齐整个“系列”而不停地购买，那位学习音乐的 18 岁女生王昭雪就是其中的一员。
The blind box market was worth 7.4 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) in 2019, according to market research firm Qianzhan Intelligence, which added that could soar to 30 billion yuan by 2024.
市场研究机构前瞻产业研究院的数据显示，2019 年，中国盲盒行业市场规模达 74 亿元人民币（约 11.4 亿美元）；报告还显示，到 2024 年预计将飙升至 300 亿元人民币。
The craze has not escaped criticism, with state media earlier this year comparing the trend to gambling and warning that the products bred addiction.
“盲盒热”并没有逃过批评的声音。今年早些时候，官媒曾把“盲盒热”与赌博相提并论，并警告称盲盒会让人上瘾。
In a commentary in January, Xinhua called for more regulation of the sector and said the boxes should not be sold "blindly" to consumers, accusing some brands of "persuading consumers to keep buying and even hyping up a speculative second-hand market".
在一月份的评论文章中，新华社呼吁对该行业加强监管，并表示“盲”盒不能“瞎”卖，指责某些品牌“诱导消费者一直买下去，甚至炒作投机二手交易市场”。
"One of the reasons behind the success of blind boxes is that they divide their products into different categories of rarity," Steffi Noel, a consumer analyst told AFP. "They set a barrier, expressing the idea that not everyone can get the most special boxes. It generates a sense of competition."
消费分析师施特菲·诺埃尔（音）告诉法新社：“盲盒成功背后的一大原因是，商家把盲盒分门别类成不同的稀有程度。他们设置了一道屏障，释放了不是每个人都能得到最特别的盲盒的概念，这就产生了一种竞争意识。”
主编：木子
品控：木子
审核：桃子
Photo credit:
WANG ZHAO / AFP
China Daily
Photo by Chen Yuyu / For China Daily
重点词汇
craze
/kreɪz/
n. 疯狂，狂热；风行一时的东西
相关词汇：crazy（adj. 疯狂的，狂热的）
例句：She started a craze for the little black dress.
搭配短语：the fitness craze
搭配短语：the jogging craze
grip
/ɡrɪp/
v. 使入迷，吸引……的注意力；紧握，紧抓
词义辨析：grip, grasp, grab
grab 表示粗暴而急迫地抓住，比如 I grabbed a cake from the plate.（我从盘子中抓过一块蛋糕）。而 grasp 和 grip 意思相近，但 grip 抓的力气更大，强调用手的最大力量紧紧抓住，词典的英文释义中也有体现——grip 的意思是 to grasp tightly，抓得更紧、语气也更强。
英文释义：to hold someone's attention and interest
搭配短语：It's a story that really grips you.（吸引……的注意力）
mint
/mɪnt/
v. 铸造（硬币）
词性拓展：mint（n. 薄荷；铸币厂）
口语表达：a mint（一大笔钱）
例句：A friend of mine made a mint on the stock market last year.
line
/laɪn/
v. 沿着……形成一排
例句：Crowds of people lined the streets to watch the race.
token
/ˈtoʊ.kən/
n. 象征，标志；代币；礼券，代金券
搭配短语：token coin（代币）
搭配短语：a token of one's gratitude or appreciation（象征）
mania
/ˈmeɪ.ni.ə/
n. 狂热，痴迷
近义词：craze
搭配短语：fitness mania
legion
/ˈliː.dʒən/
n. 众多，大量（人或物）；军团
英文释义：a large number of people or things
搭配短语：a legion of stories about six lovely friends
词性拓展：legion（adj. 众多的，大批的）
例句：His fans are legion.
(be) hooked on
对……上瘾，对……着迷
相关词汇：hook（n. 钩子；吸引人的东西；v.（用钩子）钩住；吸引）
搭配短语：a fish hook（钩子）
搭配短语：a coat hook（钩子）
例句：Companies are looking for a sales hook.（吸引人的东西）
例句：What's the best way to hook customers? （吸引）
例句：She's really hooked on gardening.
snaffle up
贪婪地抓住
相关词汇：snaffle（v.（尤指抢先）攫取，抓取（某物））
近义词：grab
例句：I managed to snaffle a couple of biscuits.
英文释义：to take possession of sth. for oneself very eagerly and greedily
soar
/sɔːr/
v. 猛增，骤升
英文释义：to increase quickly to a high level
breed
/briːd/
v. 招致，滋生；（动物）交配繁殖
英文释义：to produce or lead to something, typically over a period of time
例句：Poor living conditions breed violence and despair.
搭配短语：born and bred（土生土长）
例句：Well, she was born and bred in Fujian province.
commentary
/ˈkɑː.mən.ter.i/
n. 评论文；（广播或电视所播事件的）解说，实况报道
相关词汇：comment（n. 评论）
词根词缀：-ary（表示“与……有关”，用于构成形容词和名词）
call for
公开提倡，呼吁
英文释义：to say publicly that something must happen
regulation
/ˌreɡ.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/
n. 规章，规则
搭配短语：to comply with the regulations
搭配短语：rules and regulations
sector
/ˈsek.tɚ/
n. 领域，行业
hype up
大肆宣传，炒作
相关词汇：hype（n. & v. 大肆宣传，炒作）
搭配短语：media hype
例句：The director is just using the controversy to hype his new movie.
speculative
/ˈspek.jə.lə.t̬ɪv/
adj. 投机的
英文释义：done in the hope of making a profit but involving the risk of losing money
rarity
/ˈrer.ə.t̬i/
n. 稀有，罕见；罕见的东西
相关词汇：rare（adj. 稀少的，罕见的）
例句：The value of antiques will depend on their condition and rarity.
