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Revelers throw tomatoes during the annual 'tomatina' tomato fight fiesta in the village of Bunol, near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. [Agencies] |
Tens of thousands of revellers from around the world pelted each other with tonnes of tomatoes Wednesday in a mushy festival in the eastern Spanish town of Bunol. The one-hour bloodless battle, known as the Tomatina, left the town awash in a sea of tomato pulp. The town council brought in some 100 tonnes of ripe tomatoes on trucks for the estimated 40,000 tourists who descended on the town of just 9,000 inhabitants for the annual festival, which has taken place for more than 60 years. Many of the participants were shirtless while others wore old clothes, hard hats or goggles. Afterwards, workers hosed down the walls and streets to remove the tomato pulp. Spanish media said the tomatoes cost the town council around 28,000 euros (35,000 dollars), about one third of the overall budget of 70,000 euros for the festival, most of which goes to pay for security, cleaning services, mobile toilets and civil protection. More than 100 police and 120 civil protection volunteers were on hand in case of incidents. The "Tomatina" is held each year in Bunol, located in a fertile region some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the coastal city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, on the last Wednesday in August. The origins of the event are unclear although it is thought to have its roots in a food fight between childhood friends in the mid-1940s in the city. It has grown in size as international press coverage brought more and more people to the festival. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
一年一度的“西紅柿大戰(zhàn)”于本周三在西班牙東部小鎮(zhèn)布諾爾舉行,當(dāng)天,來自世界各地的數(shù)萬名狂歡者互相扔擲熟透的番茄。被扔砸的番茄達(dá)好幾噸。 這場(chǎng)不流血的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)持續(xù)一小時(shí),把整個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)變成了一片紅色的海洋。 布諾爾鎮(zhèn)政廳用卡車運(yùn)送了約100噸熟透的西紅柿。布諾爾小鎮(zhèn)僅有九千個(gè)居民,“西紅柿大戰(zhàn)”每年在此地舉行一次,至今已舉辦了60多屆,今年共有約4萬名游客來參加。 參加西紅柿大戰(zhàn)的很多人赤裸著上身,有的人穿著舊衣服、戴著頭盔或護(hù)目鏡。 活動(dòng)結(jié)束后,市政工人用水沖洗粘滿了西紅柿漿汁的街道和墻面。 據(jù)西班牙媒體報(bào)道稱,今年活動(dòng)所用的西紅柿耗資約2.8萬歐元(3.5萬美元),相當(dāng)于整個(gè)活動(dòng)7萬歐元總預(yù)算的三分之一,這些預(yù)算的大部分主要用于安保、清洗服務(wù)、流動(dòng)廁所和群眾防護(hù)等方面。 為防止發(fā)生事故,活動(dòng)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)安排了100多名警察和120名民防志愿者。 “西紅柿大戰(zhàn)”于每年八月的最后一個(gè)星期三在布諾爾小鎮(zhèn)舉行。布諾爾地處一個(gè)富饒的地區(qū),距離西班牙第三大城市、重要港口瓦倫西亞北部約40公里(25英里)。 西紅柿大戰(zhàn)的起源至今尚不清楚,但傳說是起源于上世紀(jì)40年代中期當(dāng)?shù)睾⑼g用食物互相扔擲打鬧的習(xí)俗。 由于國(guó)際媒體的報(bào)道,越來越多的人前來參加這一狂歡節(jié),“西紅柿大戰(zhàn)”的規(guī)模也越來越大。 相關(guān)閱讀: (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 蔡姍姍 編輯:馮明惠) |
Vocabulary: pelt: throw sth. at(投擲物件以撞擊某人或某物) hose down:用水管里的水沖洗 on hand: 在場(chǎng) |