潘普洛納奔牛節(jié)——勇敢者的游戲

If you go to Pamplona， Spain， during the Festival of San Fermín， be sure to wear all white and tie a red handkerchief about your neck. Get dressed， look at yourself in the mirror and laugh if you must. But if you don’t dress appropriately1， you will most likely feel as self-conscious2 as a 12-year-old child on his first day in a new school.

The Festival of San Fermín， first made famous outside of Spain by Ernest Hemingway in his novel The Sun Also Rises (1926)， takes place each year from July 6th to July 14th. No adjustment3 is made for the day of the week on which the dates fall. Therefore， if July 6th is a Tuesday， the festival starts on a Tuesday. Regardless of the day， the town literally4 celebrates non-stop for the entire duration of the festival. The only discernable5 break between one day and the next is the running of the bulls (“el encierro” in Spanish)， which takes place each morning at 8 am.

Every kind of person can be found at the festival， but there are two major types of San Fermín revelers6. The most common is the one who parties all night and finishes the day by queuing up at 6 am to get a good view of the running of the bulls. Many of these partiers are encouraged both by the festive spirit and the alcohol to complete their day by joining the run.

Immediately after the running of the bulls has finished and the bulls have entered the bullring7 (“Plaza del Toros” in Spanish)， this group collects their sleeping bags from the bus station and wanders off to any piece of available green grass to have a sleep.

The other type of San Fermín reveler is the one who has spent the night in a car， a campground or a nearby town (hotel rooms in Pamplona are usually booked out one yearin advance8 of the festival)， and who join the previous9 night’s partiers in the “encierro” viewing queue at 6 am. They then begin to party just after the last bull has passed through the narrow streets and entered the arena10. The bars in Pamplona， during the festival， are as hopping11 at 9 am as are most bars in Spain at 2 am on a Saturday and that is no small feat12.

One should not think that San Fermín is reserved13 only for those intent on damaging their livers with excessive14 drinking. San Fermín is also a family festival with various areas set aside for children’s entertainment. There is at least one square that allows children the opportunity to be chased by a pretend bull. There is also a carnival15 and traditional Basque Country sports such as stone lifting and tug-of-war.

For those who decide to run with the bulls， acommand16 of the Spanish language will most likely not be needed to make friends with the other runners. The majority of people running are foreign tourists.

One should also be aware that valor17 is taken seriously during the running of the bulls. Therefore， any attempt by a participant18 to jump out of the fenced-off corridor19 before being in serious danger from a bull is likely to get that person pushed right back. Those choosing the safe route， and running well ahead of the bulls from the start， can expect to be booed20 upon entering the Plaza del Toros. A list of injuries， along with the runner’s nationality， can be found in the local newspaper each day.

Bullfights， with the bulls who participated in the running of the bulls that morning， take place daily at 6:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased for the following days’ bullfights beginning at 8:00 each morning. If you are unable to purchase a ticket， they can be had from scalpers21 outside of the arena during the fight. These tickets can be expensive.

After the festival has concluded， the locals put away their white shirts， white pants and red handkerchiefs until next year. While doing so， a smile may curl22 on their faces as they remember the novices23 who arrived so inappropriately dressed.

What happens during the festival?

Nothing can prepare you for your first Pamplona experience. The Spanish sure know how to party and the famous Festival San Fermín is no exception. Truly something that must be experienced first hand there is a whole lot more to this festival than running with the bulls!

Opening Ceremony24 the“Fiesta25 San Fermín” is officially opened at midday.

Traditional dress for the Festival consists of a white shirt and trousers with a red waistband and neckerchief.

During the day you can expect atmospheric26 singing， dancing， copious27 amounts of sangria28 and non-stop partying in the streets.

The Bull Runs the best-known event of the festival is the “encierro.” This event is held each morning at 8 am from July 7th to 14th.

Runners do not need to enter， simply turn up before 8 am in preparation for the run， which is approximately29 830 metres long.

The runners begin and are followed by six Spanish Fighting Bulls， which are herded30 by sixsteers31.

The bulls run through the streets and on into the arena.

Parade32 of the Giants held each morning with giant-sized figures dancing and swirling33 in the streets.

Bullfights are held each evening from 6:30 pm in the arena when three matadors34 fight two bulls each.

At 11 pm each evening， fire bull is let loose for the children to play with. (Firecrackers are placed on the horns of a bull. Nowadays， the bull is often replaced by a runner carrying a frame on which fireworks are placed.)

A firework display is put on each evening near the old Citadel35 at 11 pm.

Closing Ceremony the locals gather in the main square， the Plaza de Castillo， to form a candle light procession36 to the old church to bid farewell to the festivities for another year.

如果你在圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)期間來(lái)到西班牙的潘普洛納，記得要身著純白衣褲，并在脖子上系一方紅手帕。穿好衣服，照照鏡子，如果實(shí)在忍不住的話(huà)，盡管大笑一番。不過(guò)如果你穿戴不合宜，就很有可能像一個(gè)第一天走進(jìn)新學(xué)校的12歲孩子那樣渾身不自在。

圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)最早是因?yàn)闅W內(nèi)斯特·海明威的小說(shuō) 《太陽(yáng)照常升起》(1926年)而走出西班牙國(guó)門(mén)并聲名遠(yuǎn)播的，在每年的7月6日開(kāi)始，7月14日結(jié)束。無(wú)論開(kāi)始的那天是星期幾，日期從不作調(diào)整。所以，如果7月6日是星期二，那么節(jié)日就從星期二開(kāi)始。不論是白天還是黑夜，這座小城在節(jié)日期間都會(huì)毫不停歇地慶祝狂歡。唯一能夠明顯將一天和下一天區(qū)分開(kāi)來(lái)的，就是每天早上8點(diǎn)開(kāi)始的奔牛環(huán)節(jié)了(西班牙語(yǔ)為“el encierro”)。

你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)在節(jié)慶上各色人等皆有，但是在圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)上狂歡作樂(lè)的人主要有兩種:最常見(jiàn)的是那些整晚宴飲作樂(lè)，第二天一早6點(diǎn)就開(kāi)始排隊(duì)，等著找個(gè)好位置欣賞奔牛的人。大多數(shù)宴飲者都會(huì)受到鼓動(dòng)——不僅是節(jié)日的氣氛，還有酒精的作用——去親身參加奔牛來(lái)結(jié)束這一天。

奔牛結(jié)束、牛群進(jìn)入斗牛場(chǎng)(西班牙語(yǔ)為“Plaza del Toros”)之后，這群人會(huì)立刻從車(chē)站領(lǐng)回自己的睡袋，溜達(dá)去任何一塊可以容身的綠草地睡上一覺(jué)。

而另一種在圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)上狂歡作樂(lè)的則是那些在車(chē)上、露營(yíng)地或附近城鎮(zhèn)度過(guò)了一夜的人(潘普洛納的酒店房間通常在節(jié)慶的前一年就被提前預(yù)訂完)，他們會(huì)加入到前一晚的宴飲者隊(duì)伍當(dāng)中，從6點(diǎn)開(kāi)始排隊(duì)等著看奔牛。接著，當(dāng)最后一頭牛奔過(guò)狹窄的街道進(jìn)入斗牛場(chǎng)之后，他們開(kāi)始加入到派對(duì)當(dāng)中。節(jié)慶期間， 潘普洛納的大小酒吧在上午9點(diǎn)時(shí)的忙碌狀況就如同西班牙大多數(shù)酒吧在周六凌晨?jī)牲c(diǎn)時(shí)一樣——這可不是一件小事。

你可不要把圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)看成是只為那些豪飲傷肝的人而設(shè)的。圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)也是一個(gè)合家歡慶的節(jié)日，它也為孩子們的游樂(lè)預(yù)留了各種場(chǎng)地。至少有一個(gè)廣場(chǎng)讓孩子們有機(jī)會(huì)被一只假牛追趕。同時(shí)還會(huì)有嘉年華會(huì)和傳統(tǒng)的巴斯克地區(qū)運(yùn)動(dòng)，如舉石頭和拔河。

對(duì)于那些決心要與牛同奔的人來(lái)說(shuō)，想和其他奔牛者結(jié)交朋友不一定要掌握西班牙語(yǔ)，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)奔跑者都是外國(guó)游客。

還需注意的是，在與牛同奔的時(shí)候，英勇無(wú)畏是必不可少的。因此，如果一個(gè)參與者在被公牛撞成重傷之前試圖跳出由柵欄隔出的通道，他很可能會(huì)被人們推回去。而那些選擇安全路線(xiàn)，自始至終都輕松跑在公牛前面的人，進(jìn)入斗牛場(chǎng)時(shí)可能會(huì)遭到噓聲一片。每天早上，在當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)紙上都能找到傷者的名單及其國(guó)籍。

斗牛于每天下午六點(diǎn)半開(kāi)始，牛則是當(dāng)天早上進(jìn)行過(guò)奔牛的公牛。每天早上8點(diǎn)鐘可以購(gòu)買(mǎi)后幾天斗牛節(jié)目的門(mén)票。如果買(mǎi)不到門(mén)票，你也可以在斗牛進(jìn)行期間從場(chǎng)外的黃牛黨那里購(gòu)買(mǎi)。這些票可能相當(dāng)貴。

節(jié)慶結(jié)束后，當(dāng)?shù)厝藭?huì)收起他們的白襯衣、白褲子和紅手帕，留待來(lái)年再用。收拾衣物時(shí)，他們想起那些初到此地、衣著不合宜的新手們，臉上也許會(huì)漾起一絲微笑。

節(jié)慶期間有什么節(jié)目?

你根本無(wú)法想象你的首次潘普洛納之旅。西班牙人對(duì)聚會(huì)玩樂(lè)果然很在行，著名的圣·費(fèi)爾明節(jié)當(dāng)然也不例外。這確實(shí)是必須親身經(jīng)歷的事情——除了奔牛，這場(chǎng)節(jié)慶還有更多節(jié)目值得你去體驗(yàn)哦!

開(kāi)幕式——“圣·費(fèi)爾明狂歡節(jié)”于正午時(shí)分正式開(kāi)始。

傳統(tǒng)的節(jié)日服裝包括一件白襯衫和一條白褲子，以及一條紅腰帶和一塊紅頸巾。

在白天，你能欣賞到激動(dòng)人心的歌曲和舞蹈，品嘗到大量的桑格利亞汽酒，參加街上永不停頓的派對(duì)。

奔牛——節(jié)慶中最有名的節(jié)目就是“奔牛”。該節(jié)目在7月7日至14日的每天早上8點(diǎn)開(kāi)始。

奔牛者無(wú)需入場(chǎng)，只要在8點(diǎn)前到場(chǎng)為奔牛做好準(zhǔn)備，所跑距離約為830米。

奔牛者開(kāi)跑，后面跟著6頭西班牙斗牛，由6頭閹牛帶領(lǐng)向前沖。

公牛沿著街道狂奔，一直沖進(jìn)斗牛場(chǎng)。

巨人游行——每天早上舉行，有巨大的人像在街道中起舞旋轉(zhuǎn)。

斗牛于每天傍晚六點(diǎn)半在斗牛場(chǎng)舉行。有3名斗牛士參加，每人斗兩頭公牛。

每天晚上11點(diǎn)，放出火牛給小朋友玩耍。(人們?cè)谝活^公牛的角上綁上煙花。如今，公牛通常由一位奔牛者舉著綁著煙花的模型代替。)

煙花表演于每天晚上11點(diǎn)在舊城堡舉行。

閉幕式——當(dāng)?shù)厝司奂谥鲝V場(chǎng)——卡斯蒂羅廣場(chǎng)上，組成一支燭光游行隊(duì)伍一直走到老教堂，向慶典告別，期待來(lái)年節(jié)慶的到來(lái)。

注釋

1)Appropriately adv. 適當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

2)Self-conscious adj. 不自然的，忸怩的

3)adjustment n. 調(diào)整，調(diào)節(jié)

4)literally ad. 確實(shí)地，真正地

5)discernable a.可辨別的

6)reveler n.飲酒狂歡者

7)bullring n.斗牛場(chǎng)

8)in advance 預(yù)先

9)previous a.早先的

10)arena n.競(jìng)技場(chǎng)

11)hopping a.忙碌的

12)feat n.功績(jī)，壯舉

13)reserved a.保留的

14)excessive a.過(guò)度的

15)carnival n.狂歡節(jié)

16)command n.支配，使用

17)valor n.勇猛，英勇

18)participant n.參與者

19)corridor n.通道，走廊

20)boo v.發(fā)出噓聲

21)scalper n.黃牛黨

22)curl v.(使)卷曲

23)novice n．新手

24)ceremony n.儀式

25)fiesta n．宗教節(jié)日

26)atmospheric a.有……氣氛的

27)copious a.豐富的，很多的

28)sangria n.桑格利亞汽酒

29)approximately ad，約，近似地

30)herd Y.使聚集在一起

31)steer n.閹牛

32)parade n.游行

33)swlrl v.旋轉(zhuǎn)

34)matador n.斗牛士

35)citadel n.城堡，要塞

36)procession n.行列，隊(duì)伍

A Good Boy

Little Robert asked his mother for two cents. “What did you do with the money I gave you yesterday?”

“ I gave it to a poor old woman，” he answered.

“ You’re a good boy，” said the mother proudly. “Here are two cents more. But why are you so interested in the old woman?”

“ She is the one who sells the candy.”

小羅伯特向媽媽要兩分錢(qián)。 “昨天給你的錢(qián)干什么了？”

“我給了一個(gè)可憐的老太婆，”他回答說(shuō)。“你真是個(gè)好孩子，”媽媽驕傲地說(shuō)。

“再給你兩分錢(qián)。可你為什么對(duì)那位老太太那么感興趣呢？”

“她是個(gè)賣(mài)糖果的。”