美剧《纸牌屋》在Netflix网站一经推出便引发热议。政治剧往往因为剧情晦涩，节奏缓慢而令观众难以提起兴趣，而《纸牌屋》的魅力究竟是什么呢？
Say hello to House of Cards, the critically acclaimed new US TV drama series that, ironically, isn’t being aired on TV.
让我们一起来欢迎备受赞誉的全新美剧《纸牌屋》的到来吧！而有意思的是，这部剧不是在电视上播出的。
Since most fans of American TV series in China watch episodes online instead of on their TV sets, it probably doesn’t matter.
但鉴于国内大多数美剧迷都是在网上而非电视上追剧，这可能也无所谓。
What is worth mentioning is the format in which the show was launched: the 13 episodes of the first season all aired at once on Netflix (a US company that legally streams videos through the Internet for a monthly fee), causing widespread discussion on "binge-viewing".
值得一提的是这部剧集的播出形式：第一季全部13集在Netflix（一家按月收费，合法提供网络视频播放服务的美国公司）上一口气播完，引起人们对"狂看片"（编者注：指在一个时间段内将之前播过的电视节目一次看完）的热烈讨论。
In short, it’s like the marathon run of The Legend of Zhenhuan on TV during the Spring Festival holiday. It’s a special treat for devoted fans who don’t want to wait an entire week until they can see the next episode.
总之，就像《甄嬛传》在春节期间马拉松式的连播一样，这是给那些不想苦等一周才能收看下一集的铁杆剧迷的一份特殊大礼。
Now for the show itself. The story is about Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a congressman who has been promised the post of Secretary of State in the newly elected president’s administration. When the president breaks that promise, Underwood embarks on a campaign of revenge.
现在，我们就来说说这部剧。整个故事围绕国会议员弗兰克•安德伍德（凯文•史派西饰）展开，新任总统内阁曾许诺让他担任国务卿一职。而总统最终没有兑现诺言，于是安德伍德开始实施一系列复仇行动。
Despite the big names, including director David Fincher (The Social Network) and Oscar-winning Spacey, I wasn’t fully taken in at first.
尽管本片阵容豪华，导演大卫•芬奇曾执导《社交网络》，主演则由奥斯卡得主凯文•史派西担纲，但一开始我对该剧并不"感冒"。
Political drama is a tricky genre. Often it’s obscure and very slow. For those used to watching more exciting series, like Homeland, it can be hard to feel intrigued by, say, an education bill. But the more I watched, the more I liked the series; whether it was the beautifully shot scenes or Spacey’s excellent acting.
政治剧是一种十分复杂的戏剧类型，通常情节晦涩，节奏缓慢。对于那些看惯了像《国土安全》这样富有激情的剧集的人来说，比如教育法案这种情节可能很难吸引他们。但是对于这部剧，我是越看越喜欢；不论是那些出色的场景还是凯文•史派西精湛的演技。
Underwood’s goal is to quietly destroy the president, without having any blood on his hands. At certain points you wonder: how can he have so much power without anybody being suspicious? It’s a bit like the unstoppable Emily Thorne in ABC’s Revenge. But with Spacey, you somehow believe he could get anyone to do anything.
安德伍德的目标是不动声色地搞垮总统，并将自己摘得干干净净。有时你可能会发问：他怎么能在不被人怀疑的情况下拥有如此巨大的权力？这有点像ABC剧集《复仇》里无坚不摧的艾米丽•索恩。但是看着凯文•史派西的表演，你就会不知不觉地相信，他能够让任何人去做任何事情。
Throughout the series he explains his plans by directly speaking into the camera ― a technique that has been used in many TV series, often to bad effect. But Spacey’s natural and skillful acting makes it work.
整部剧中，凯文•史派西总是直面镜头径直说出自己的计划……尽管许多电视剧里都采用这一手法，但效果往往并不理想，可是凯文•史派西自然和纯熟的演技却让这一手法颇为奏效。
One of the more common comments about the show is that "it makes TV network executives nervous". If a TV series that didn’t even air on TV can do that, I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t give House of Cards a try.
关于本剧，人们听到最多的评论是："它让各大电视台的高管们捏了把汗"。如果一部甚至没有在电视上播出过的剧集能够如此受欢迎，实在没理由拒绝《纸牌屋》的魅力。
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