【翻译原文】

　　打麻将(mahjong)有时被描述成现实生活的翻版，既需要策略，也需要运气。 在中国玩麻将通常还需要下或大或小的赌注(bet)。一个世纪前，麻将主要是富人 的消遣(pastime),但如今已被认为是大众游戏。麻将在20世纪20年代引人美国，一股麻将热潮随之而来。学习打麻将最好的方式是与朋友坐在一起，让他们示范 玩一次，把麻将牌面向上，看大家怎么玩。

　　【参考译文】

　　Playing mahjong, which is sometimes described as ametaphor of real life， needs a mix of strategies andluck. Typically in China，it also involves placing largeor small bets.A century ago，it was mainly a pastimefor wealthy people，but today it is considered agame of the people. When it was first introduced to the U.S.A. in the 1920s，a craze ofmahjong ensued The best way to learn playing mahjong is to sit with friends and ask them toplay a demonstration game: ask them to turn their pieces upwards and watch what everybodyis doing.