閱讀前先看 Before you read
- 主題
- The rise of competitive video gaming
- 文章重點
- Esports grew from a 1972 student tournament into a multi-million-dollar industry, driven first by South Korean broadband investment and then by Twitch streaming — though whether they count as "sport" remains contested.
- 難度
- 中等 · Intermediate
- 建議時間
- 17 分鐘
重要單字
- tournament — an organised competition / 錦標賽
- broadband — high-speed internet access / 寬頻網路
- gatekeeping — controlling who has access / 守門、把關
- concurrent — happening at the same time / 同時的
- contested — argued about, disputed / 有爭議的
- philanthropy — giving money for public good / 慈善捐助
30 秒快速理解 30-second summary
Esports began as a 1972 Stanford Spacewar! tournament. South Korea pioneered the modern professional model after 1997 by investing in broadband and embracing StarCraft. Twitch's 2011 launch let Western players reach a global audience without traditional broadcasters. Prize pools rose from under $15m in 2010 to over $220m in 2023, and the IOC ran its first Olympic Esports Series in 2023.
逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph
1
段落 1 — From a student contest to an industry
In 1972 a small group of computer-science students at Stanford University held what is now generally regarded as the first competitive video-game tournament — a contest of Spacewar! with a one-year subscription to Rolling Stone magazine as the prize. Half a century later, the descendants of that informal contest fill stadiums and pay seven-figure salaries. Esports, the umbrella term for organised competitive video gaming, is one of the fastest-growing entertainment categories of the past decade.
本段重要單字 (3)
- tournament — an organised competition / 錦標賽
- descendants — later forms developed from earlier ones / 後代
- umbrella term — a general term covering many things / 統稱
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
How does the writer characterise modern esports compared with the 1972 Stanford event?
- It is much smaller and more amateur today.
- It has grown into a stadium-filling industry with seven-figure salaries.
- It still uses Spacewar! as its main game.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — It has grown into a stadium-filling industry with seven-figure salaries.
The text contrasts the 1972 informal contest with descendants that "fill stadiums and pay seven-figure salaries" — a huge growth in scale and money.
2
段落 2 — South Korea: the pioneer
The shift from amateur curiosity to professional industry came earliest in South Korea. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean government invested heavily in nationwide broadband, and the strategy game StarCraft, released by the American studio Blizzard the following year, became a cultural phenomenon. By 2000, dedicated cable channels broadcast StarCraft matches around the clock, top players signed contracts with sponsors such as Samsung and SK Telecom, and the country had effectively invented the modern professional gaming league.
本段重要單字 (3)
- broadband — high-speed internet access / 寬頻網路
- phenomenon — a remarkable, widely noticed thing / 現象
- sponsors — companies that pay to support / 贊助商
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
Why did South Korea become the early centre of professional esports?
- Because StarCraft was banned everywhere else.
- Because government broadband investment plus StarCraft's popularity created the right conditions.
- Because the IOC chose South Korea to host its first events.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — Because government broadband investment plus StarCraft's popularity created the right conditions.
The paragraph links post-1997 broadband investment with the rise of StarCraft and concludes the country "had effectively invented the modern professional gaming league".
3
段落 3 — Twitch and the Western catch-up
The Western industry caught up more slowly, accelerating only after the launch of the streaming platform Twitch in 2011. Twitch made it possible for amateur players to broadcast directly to a global audience without the gatekeeping of traditional broadcasters, and the resulting attention drew sponsorship money into Western teams. League of Legends, released by Riot Games in 2009, has hosted an annual world championship since 2011; its 2018 final filled the 40,000-seat Incheon stadium and drew a peak online concurrent audience of nearly 100 million.
本段重要單字 (3)
- streaming — broadcasting live online / 串流
- gatekeeping — controlling who has access / 把關
- concurrent — simultaneous, at the same time / 同時的
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
According to the writer, why did Twitch matter for esports?
- It replaced all traditional broadcasters worldwide.
- It let amateur players reach a global audience and pulled in sponsorship money.
- It was created by professional esports leagues.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — It let amateur players reach a global audience and pulled in sponsorship money.
The text says Twitch "made it possible for amateur players to broadcast directly to a global audience without the gatekeeping of traditional broadcasters" and that "the resulting attention drew sponsorship money".
4
段落 4 — Money, careers and recognition
Esports earnings have followed the audience. The total prize money awarded across all professional events rose from under fifteen million US dollars in 2010 to more than 220 million in 2023. Salaries at the top of the industry now rival those of mid-tier traditional athletes, although career length is typically much shorter — most professional gamers retire by their late twenties. Whether esports should count as "sport" in the same sense as football or athletics remains contested. They lack the obvious physical exertion, but the same is true of chess, which the International Olympic Committee recognises. The IOC itself launched its first official Olympic Esports Series in 2023, suggesting that the question is being settled in practice if not in principle.
本段重要單字 (3)
- rival — to be comparable to / 比得上
- exertion — physical effort / 用力
- contested — argued about / 有爭議的
Quick Check · 隨堂小測
What does the writer suggest about whether esports counts as a sport?
- The question has been clearly answered "no".
- It is being settled in practice rather than in principle, e.g. by the IOC's 2023 series.
- No one in authority has ever taken the question seriously.
看答案 · Show answer
答案：B — It is being settled in practice rather than in principle, e.g. by the IOC's 2023 series.
The final sentence says the IOC's Olympic Esports Series suggests "the question is being settled in practice if not in principle".
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