House of Cards

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With its thirteen episodes released all at once, Season Two ofHouse of Cardshas proven no less a hit than its first season as the game of power continues in the American political TV thriller1. political TV thriller: 政治惊悚片。.

House of Cardsis an American political drama series developed and produced by Beau Willimon. It is an adaptation of a previous BBC miniseries of the same name which is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs.2. miniseries: 电视连续短剧；Michael Dobbs:《纸牌屋》的作者迈克尔·道布斯，1948年出生于英国，是英国的保守党政客和畅销书作者，并于2010年被英国王室册封为男爵。他的作品无论虚构还是纪实，笔下人物都与官场和政治人物密不可分。

Set in present day Washington, D.C.,House of Cardsis the story of Francis Underwood, an ambitious Democrat from South Carolina’s 5th congressional district and the House Majority Whip.3. congressional district: 国会选区，选举区；the House Majority Whip: 众议院多数党督导（或称党鞭），指传达该党领袖旨意与联络党内议员的人。Following his assistance in ensuring the election of President Garrett Walker, Underwood is informed by Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez that the existing agreement to appoint him Secretary of State will not be honored.4. 成功辅佐加勒特·沃克接任美国总统后，安德伍德却从幕僚长琳达·瓦斯奎兹那里收到一个坏消息——他无法按之前的约定担任国务卿一职。Furious at Walker’s betrayal, Underwood and his wife Claire, an environmental activist, begin seeking out pawns in a protracted political war against Walker.5. furious: 大发雷霆，暴怒的；betrayal: 背叛，背叛行为；pawn: 走卒，喽 ；protracted: 持久的，长期的。Soon brought into the fray6. fray: 争论。are troubled Congressman Peter Russo and Zoe Barnes, a young political reporter for theWashington Heraldnewspaper.

连《纸牌屋》都没看过？你out了亲！当下在互联网最热播的电视剧，非《纸牌屋》莫属！这部电视剧由大卫·芬奇、鲍尔·威利蒙联合制作，凯文·史派西主演，改编自英国同名政治惊悚小说，是Netflix的首部原创剧集，开创了互联网公司投拍剧集的先河。凭借错综复杂的剧情、演员精彩的表演，《纸牌屋》在2013年艾美奖上获得9项大奖提名，并最终斩获最佳导演和最佳选角两项大奖。这部剧集不但放大了美国政坛的阴暗面，还提到了各种整人手段，连美国总统奥巴马都表示出对该剧的喜爱，还在个人推特上求不要剧透哟！

The series has a huge, loyal fan base. Average Joes who enjoy a well-written story and superb acting have binge-watched the show,which has also taken the real-life Washington by storm.7. 由于故事情节精彩、表演夺人眼球，这部电视剧受到广大观众的热捧，同时也在现实生活中的华盛顿引起轰动。average Joe:平常人，大众；binge-watch: 狂看，连续看电视剧集。

Obama Likes House of Cards

President Obama has made no secret of the fact he’s a big fan of the Net flix8. Net flix: 奈飞公司，美国的一家在线影片租赁提供商，因发行《纸牌屋》而受到广泛关注。seriesHouse of Cards.

But the commander in chief said he wishes real-world Washington worked in the same “ruthlessly ef ficient” manner it does in the hit show, which stars Kevin Spacey as the cunning congressman and top political power-broker Frank Underwood.9. commander in chief: 总司令，主帅；ruthlessly ef ficient: 雷厉风行；cunning:狡猾的，诡计多端的；power-broker: 政治掮客。

During a meeting with top CEOs, Mr. Obama asked a Net flix executive whether he brought “advance copies” of the show’s second season, before comparing actual D.C. with the fictional version depicted on screen.10. advance copies: 新剧样本；depict: 描述，刻画。

“I wish things were that ruthlessly ef ficient,” Mr. Obama said of the political landscape11. political landscape: 政治局面。seen inHouse of Cards.

Of Kevin Spacey’s character—who manipulates other lawmakers and top of ficials on a daily basis, allowed a fellow congressman to die from carbon monoxide poisoning and cheats on his wife regularly,12. manipulate: 操纵，控制；carbon monoxide poisoning: 一氧化碳中毒。among other questionable behavior—Mr.Obama said: “This guy’s getting a lot of stuff done.”

Net flix executives also reportedly asked Mr. Obama to do a cameo appearance13in the show. It’s unclear whether he’ll accept the invitation.

Entertains with Power Game

With the politician rising to power, plot twists happening one after another keep viewers on the edge of their seats.14And this may help explain whyHouse of Cardshas also found a large audience outside of the U.S. despite that15it requires some level of understanding of American politics. In China, the show has been streamed millions of times on Sohu.com, which purchased exclusive rights to the show in mainland China.16

If you have watched the show, you may wonder whether Washington in reality is as it’s depicted on the show. According to Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill,House of Cardsis “highly entertaining fiction but not very realistic.”

Realistic or not, the show has done an excellent job in keeping viewers entertained, and will likely continue to do so when it returns with the third season next year.

台词精选

A person’s character isn’t determined by how he or she enjoys victory, but rather how he or she endures defeat. （一个人的品行不取决于这人如何享受胜利，而在于他如何忍受失败。）

There are two kinds of pains, sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain, sort of pain that’s only suffering.（痛苦分两种，一种让你变得更强，另一种毫无价值，只是徒添折磨。）

After all, we are nothing more or less than what we choose to reveal.（毕竟我们跟所表现出来的模样相差无比。）

Take a step back. Look at the bigger picture. One bite at a time. That’s how you devour a whale.（退一步海阔天空。纵览大局，逐步蚕食，才能蛇吞象。）

Power is a lot like real estate. It’s all about location, location, location. The closer you are to the source, the higher your property value.（权力正如地产，位置是重中之重。你离中心越近，你的财产就越值钱。）