Craze In First Run Of Bulls
Bulls and humans alike slipped and slid on the cobblestone streets, but the first of Pamplona's annual runs with the bulls was largely free of injury as thousands of daredevils2 sprinted with the half-ton animals.
Some runners, sounding disappointed, said they would seek out greater danger in coming days as the widely popular, centuries-old San Fermin3 festival serves up six more runs this week.
“ It was a bit timid, to be honest. Nowhere near as scary as in the books, ”said Johnny, 26, from New Zealand, here for the first time after reading about San Fermin on a website.
“Tomorrow we are going to try and run a bit closer to the bulls and get a bit more adrenaline, ”added his friend, Richard, 26 , cradling the day's first beer.
The streets were slightly slick with morning dew as six fighting bulls and six steers dashed from a corral along the 900 -yard course through the city’s old quarter to the bull ring.
At two sharp turns, several bulls slipped and went down with a heavy thud, and two bulls were separated from the pack. And a minor pileup of fallen runners formed at the tunnel leading into the bullring. Bulls jumped or stepped over the runners.
Thousands of people watching in the street and from balconies shouted as the bulls rumbled through the city’s old quarter, taking just over two and a half minutes to cover course.
No one was gored, although four people who were trampled were hospitalized for treatment of head, chest, rib or leg injuries. None was seriously hurt.
The steers are meant to keep the bulls more or less in a cluster — a spooked, isolated bull is very dangerous
The fiesta 4, famed for its all-night street parties, dates back to the late 16 th century but gained world fame from Ernest Hemingway5's novel The Sun Also Rises. Tens of thousands from all over the world have been pouring into Pamplona for the annual festival ever since .
閱讀自測
?、? Find the words in the pass age with meaning similar to the following phrases :
1. happening every year ( )
2. causing fear and alarm ( )
3. move suddenly and quickly; rush ( )
4. travel a certain distance ( )
5. ( cause people or things to) come or go in a continuous stream ( )
?、? Are these statements True or False a ccording to the article?
1. On the first day of Pamplona's annual runs with bulls, no one was serious hurt.
2. A lot of runners were gored by bulls.
3. It only took the bulls two minutes to cover the 900-yard course .
4. The annual San Fermin festival attracts thousands of people all over the world to Pamplona. 5. The fiesta gained world fame in the late 16 th century.
參考答案
Ⅰ. 1. annual 2. scary 3. dash 4. cover 5 . pour
?、? 1. T 2. F 3 . F 4 . T 5 . F
參考譯文
我為奔牛狂 在 鵝卵石鋪成的街道上, 人?;祀s, 跌爬滾打。潘普洛納一年一度的奔牛節(jié)拉開了帷 幕, 第一天就有數(shù)以萬計的冒險家與重達半噸的公牛比賽沖刺, 所幸基本沒有人員傷亡。 一些參加了奔牛的人略帶失望地表示, 他們希望在未來幾天里能體驗到更多驚險。這 個廣受歡迎、歷史悠久的圣· 佛爾明節(jié)在一周內(nèi)還將舉行六輪奔牛。
來自新西蘭的26 歲青年約翰尼說:“ 老實說這只是有一點嚇人, 但根本不能和書上驚 036 心 動魄的描寫相提并論。”他是在網(wǎng)上了解了圣· 佛爾明節(jié)后第一次來這里參加奔牛的。 約翰尼的朋友——— 26 歲的理查德手捧當天的第一杯啤酒補充說:“ 明天我們會跑得離 公牛更近一點兒, 尋找更多的刺激。” 沾有晨露的路面有些濕滑。六頭大公牛和六頭小公牛沖出牛欄, 沿著從舊城區(qū)到斗牛 場的900 碼跑道狂奔不止。 在兩個急轉(zhuǎn)彎處, 幾頭公?;共?/p>
在兩個急轉(zhuǎn)彎處, 幾頭公?;共⒅刂氐氐诘厣? 有兩頭公牛掉了隊; 與此同時, 在 通向斗牛場的巷道里, 奔跑中跌倒的人們又造成了一點小混亂。公?;蜍S過人堆, 或直接 踩踏而過。 當這群公牛穿過舊城區(qū)時, 街道上和陽臺上數(shù)以萬計的觀眾都歡呼大叫。公牛跑完全 程只用了兩分半鐘多一點。 整個奔牛過程中沒有人被牛頂傷, 只有四個人被牛踩傷。他們已住院接受頭部、胸部、 肋骨和腿部等傷處的治療, 但傷勢都不嚴重。 奔牛時放逐一些小公牛是為了盡可能使大公牛聚集成群, 那些因為受驚而離群的公牛 是相當危險的。 圣· 佛爾明節(jié)以徹夜街頭狂歡而聞名。這個慶典的歷史可以追溯到16 世紀末, 但真 正使其聲名大噪的是厄內(nèi)斯特· 海明威的小說《太陽照樣升起》。從那以后, 每年都會有 數(shù)以萬計的游客從世界各地云集潘普洛納, 參加一年一度的慶典。
閱讀導評
人有時真是很矛盾, 在享受安樂生活的同時, 又渴望冒險活動所帶來的刺激, 現(xiàn)在不是 流行這么一句話嘛———“玩的就是心跳”。因此西班牙一年一度的奔牛節(jié)吸引了世界各地 數(shù)以萬計的奔牛愛好者, 他們在人與牛之間的危險游戲中盡情享受歡樂與刺激。那種被公 牛追逐的刺激感覺想必非常“ 爽”。讀罷此文, 你是否心動, 也想調(diào)節(jié)調(diào)節(jié)你平淡的生活?
閱讀導釋
1. 奔牛節(jié)的歷史可以追溯至公元1591 年前。據(jù)說當初對潘普洛納人來說, 要將6 頭高大 的公牛從城郊的牛棚趕進城里的斗牛場是件非常困難的事情。17 世紀, 某些旁觀者突 發(fā)奇想, 斗膽跑到公牛前, 將牛激怒, 使其沖入斗牛場。后來, 這種習俗就演變成了今天 的奔牛節(jié)。奔牛節(jié)每年7 月7 日至14 日舉行, 屬于圣·佛爾明節(jié)的重頭戲。節(jié)慶的第 一天會由市政廳燃放火箭炮拉開序幕, 在此后7 天7 夜里, 人們會舉行各項慶典活動。 年輕人通宵縱酒放歌、開心享樂, 白天則興趣盎然地參加奔牛節(jié)的各項活動。
2.“ 膽大包天的人, 蠻勇之人”。在西班牙, 人們?yōu)轱@示勇敢, 參加奔牛賽時系著傳統(tǒng)的紅 圍巾在公牛前面奔跑。那些不怕死的奔牛手涌在牛群周圍, 邊跑邊喊。其中出色的奔牛 手巧妙地讓自己的腰部與牛角之間保持著1 米左右的距離, 既要跑在牛前面, 又要不讓 牛頂著。能做到這一點的, 將被視作真正的勇敢者, 名字刊登在第二天的報紙上。而那 些跟在牛后面的人, 只配稱作起哄的膽小鬼。
3. 圣·佛爾明, 奔牛節(jié)的正式名稱是“圣·佛爾明節(jié)”。圣·佛爾明是西班牙東北部潘普 洛納市的保護神。
4. 節(jié)日( 特指在西班牙和拉丁美洲以游行和舞蹈來慶祝的節(jié)日) 。
5. 厄內(nèi)斯特·海明威( 1899—1961 ) , 美國著名作家。他一生喜歡冒險, 經(jīng)歷過西班牙斗 牛、非洲狩獵大象和海上冒險等。1923 年, 海明威首次來到潘普洛納觀看奔牛并寫成了 著名小說《太陽照樣升起》, 他在作品中詳細地描述了奔牛節(jié), 奔牛節(jié)因而聲名遠揚。 1954 年海明威獲得諾貝爾文學獎后, 西班牙奔牛節(jié)更是名聲大噪。當?shù)鼐用駷榱烁兄x 海明威為奔牛節(jié)做出的貢獻, 特地在斗牛場的大門口為他豎起了一座雕像。
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