In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, there’s a famous saying, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” The surprise is part of the fun. Now blind box toys are bringing the magic of surprise to online shopping.
在1994年上映的影片《阿甘正傳》中，有句名臺詞：“生活就像一盒巧克力，你永遠不知道下一顆是什么。”這樣的驚喜也是一番樂趣。如今，盲盒玩具將這股驚喜的魅力帶到了網(wǎng)購中。

A blind box toy is hidden inside uniform packaging but invisible from the outside. You don’t know what will be inside, although the toys typically come from pop culture, ranging from movies to comics and cartoons.
盲盒都有著統(tǒng)一的外包裝，從外邊看不見里面。你不知道里面的玩偶是什么，但這些玩偶一般都來源于流行文化，比如電影、漫畫、動畫等。

Blind boxes have caught on since they were first introduced from Japan to China in 2014. According to a 2019 Tmall report, the mini-series of Labubu blind box, designed by Hong Kong-born Kasing Lung, was named Champion of Unit Sales with 55,000 sold in just 9 seconds during the Singles Day shopping event. Most customers for blind boxes are young people aged 18 to 35.
盲盒自2014年從日本首次進入中國后便風(fēng)靡開來。據(jù)天貓2019年的一份報告顯示，由出生于香港的龍家升所設(shè)計的Labubu迷你系列盲盒在“雙十一”購物節(jié)期間9秒鐘就售出了55000個，成為全網(wǎng)斷貨王。大多數(shù)盲盒消費者都是18-35歲之間的年輕人。

According to The Paper, blind box toys are popular in part because of their cute appearances. The typically cute cartoon figurines come in miniature sizes, making them suitable for display almost anywhere.
據(jù)澎湃新聞報道，盲盒玩偶備受歡迎的原因之一是它們可愛的外表。這些以可愛作為特色的卡通小人偶個頭迷你，幾乎可以在幾乎任何地方擺放。

Even if blind boxes are not their top choice for decorations, the mystery and uncertainty of the process also attracts people. It’s the dominant reason why people buy blind boxes one after another.
即便盲盒并非是大家裝飾的首選，開盲盒時的神秘感與不確定性卻讓人欲罷不能。這便是人們買盲盒買到停不下來的主要原因。

“Fear of the unknown is always a part of the box-opening process,” said Miss Cao, 24, who lives and works in Shenyang. Speaking to Sina News, she said: “Until you open all the boxes, you cannot know what it is inside.”
“開盒的過程中，心里帶著未知的緊張，”24歲的沈陽女孩小曹表示。在接受新浪新聞采訪時，她表示：“不打開所有的盲盒，你是不會知道里面都有些什么的。”

Opening a blind box is a delightful little surprise for our mundane daily lives, something small but fun to wait for each day, week or month. When people open this simple little box, they may be disappointed, but the uncertainty is part of the fun. People will open more blind boxes and hope for a better outcome.
在我們平淡無奇的日常生活中，開盲盒是個令人開心的小驚喜，這件小事成了每天、每周或者每月都值得期待的樂趣。當人們打開這個小小的盒子時，他們或許會感到失望，但這種不確定性正是其中的樂趣所在。人們會打開更多盲盒，期待得到心屬之物。

When someone re-makes Forrest Gump, don’t be surprised if he says, “Life is like a blind box ...”
如果有人翻拍了《阿甘正傳》，把臺詞改成了“生活就像一個盲盒……”，也就不足為奇了。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀學(xué)生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學(xué)生英文報高中版》高一773期