Sometimes it feels as though(好像，仿佛) horrific world events and the malicious(恶意的，恶毒的) entities(实体，存在物) behind them are reaching into every aspect of our lives, from heatwaves that keep me shut away indoors, to generative AI that makes it increasingly difficult to trust what I read online. I can no longer even retreat(撤退，躲避) into my favourite video game without funding(资助，提供资金) human rights abuses across the world.
有时感觉，可怕的世界事件及其背后的恶意势力正渗透进我们生活的方方面面：热浪让我只能困在室内，生成式人工智能让我越来越难以相信网上读到的东西。我甚至不能再躲进最爱的电子游戏里，而不去资助世界各地的侵犯人权行为。
I’ve been playing The Sims series of life-simulation games since its first release(发布，发行) at the turn of the millennium(在千禧年之交), when I sat with my sister in the corner of the sitting room using money cheats to build mansions(豪宅，大厦) for our digital dolls. Over the years, these games have helped me make friends: from the schoolmate who taught me to play more efficiently with hot keys, to the local fan who watched me stream The Sims 4 online and now meets me for lunch every week. In the last quarter of a century(四分之一个世纪) I’ve sunk(投入，沉没) thousands of hours into these games.
从千禧年之交《模拟人生》系列首次发布时起，我就一直在玩这款生活模拟游戏。那时我和妹妹坐在客厅角落里，用金钱作弊码为我们的数字小人建造豪宅。多年来，这些游戏帮我交到了朋友：从教我如何用快捷键更高效玩游戏的校友，到在网上看我直播《模拟人生4》的本地粉丝，如今我们每周都会共进午餐。在过去的四分之一个世纪里，我在这款游戏上投入了数千小时。
But all of that stopped, with the sudden snap of a clean break, when it was revealed last year that a group of private investors planned to acquire Electronic Arts (EA), the publisher of some of the world’s most popular video game series: FC (previously Fifa), Battlefield, Dragon Age, and many more – including my beloved The Sims.(但这一切在去年戛然而止，当时有消息披露，一群私人投资者计划收购EA——这家发行商旗下拥有许多热门游戏系列，包括我心爱的《模拟人生》。) There are several reasons why I – and many others – object(反对，不赞成) to this deal, which was completed after regulatory approval this month, but it mostly comes down to the who, why and how.
但这一切在去年戛然而止，当时有消息披露，一群私人投资者计划收购电子艺界（EA）——这家发行商旗下拥有一些世界上最受欢迎的游戏系列：FC（前身为FIFA）、战地、龙腾世纪等等，包括我心爱的《模拟人生》。我和其他许多人反对这笔交易有几个原因，该交易本月在监管批准后完成，但主要归结为“谁、为什么、如何”这三个问题。