每当有热门电影或电视剧上映的时候，网上就会出现一群“剧透党”，到处搜集相关情节，在剧集开播之初就告诉大家最终的结局。这样的行为你会反感吗？

Spoiler is a piece of information about a film, book or electronic game which can spoil the enjoyment of someone experiencing it for the first time.

Spoiler指与电影、书籍或者游戏内容有关的信息，即我们所说的“剧透”，这类信息会大大减少初看者了解剧情或者参与游戏的兴致。

This sense of spoiler has been around since the mid-1990s, and initially referred to pieces of information which reveal elements of the plot of a film or book. Since proper enjoyment of a plot depends on dramatic tension and suspense, prematurely discovering what is going to happen "spoils" the experience that the viewer or reader has when watching or reading for the first time. The usage was later applied in the gaming world, where it refers to pieces of information which signal the solution to a game or puzzle and therefore deny the user the pleasure of working things out for themselves.

Spoiler用作“剧透”之意始于上世纪90年代，最初指透露电影或书籍情节的信息。故事情节的欣赏主要有赖于扣人心弦的紧张气氛和悬念，如果提前得知后面的情节发展就会“破坏”（spoil）初看者欣赏故事的体验。后来，spoiler一词也被用于游戏领域，指对游戏通关有提示性作用的信息，有了这样的信息，游戏玩家就完全丧失凭借自己的实力玩通关的乐趣了。

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（中国日报网英语点津 Helen）

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