英语六级阅读理解精炼:我为奔牛狂

　　Craze In First Run Of Bulls

　　Bulls and humans alike slipped and slid on the cobblestone streets, but the first of Pamplonas 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 days 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 citys 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 citys 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 Hemingway5s novel The Sun Also Rises. Tens of thousands from all over the world have been pouring into Pamplona for the annual festival ever since .

　　阅读自测

　　Ⅰ. 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 ( )

　　Ⅱ. Are these statements True or False a ccording to the article?

　　1. On the first day of Pamplonas 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.

　　参考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. annual 2. scary 3. dash 4. cover 5 . pour

　　Ⅱ. 1. T 2. F 3 . F 4 . T 5 . F

　　参考译文

　　我为奔牛狂 在 鹅卵石铺成的街道上, 人牛混杂, 跌爬滚打。潘普洛纳一年一度的奔牛节拉开了帷 幕, 第一天就有数以万计的冒险家与重达半吨的公牛比赛冲刺, 所幸基本没有人员伤亡。 一些参加了奔牛的人略带失望地表示, 他们希望在未来几天里能体验到更多惊险。这 个广受欢迎、历史悠久的圣 佛尔明节在一周内还将举行六轮奔牛。

　　来自新西兰的26 岁青年约翰尼说: 老实说这只是有一点吓人, 但根本不能和书上惊 036 心 动魄的描写相提并论。他是在网上了解了圣 佛尔明节后第一次来这里参加奔牛的。 约翰尼的朋友 26 岁的理查德手捧当天的第一杯啤酒补充说: 明天我们会跑得离 公牛更近一点儿, 寻找更多的刺激。 沾有晨露的路面有些湿滑。六头大公牛和六头小公牛冲出牛栏, 沿着从旧城区到斗牛 场的900 码跑道狂奔不止。 在两个急转弯处, 几头公牛滑倒并

　　在两个急转弯处, 几头公牛滑倒并重重地跌在地上, 有两头公牛掉了队; 与此同时, 在 通向斗牛场的巷道里, 奔跑中跌倒的人们又造成了一点小混乱。公牛或跃过人堆, 或直接 踩踏而过。 当这群公牛穿过旧城区时, 街道上和阳台上数以万计的观众都欢呼大叫。公牛跑完全 程只用了两分半钟多一点。 整个奔牛过程中没有人被牛顶伤, 只有四个人被牛踩伤。他们已住院接受头部、胸部、 肋骨和腿部等伤处的治疗, 但伤势都不严重。 奔牛时放逐一些小公牛是为了尽可能使大公牛聚集成群, 那些因为受惊而离群的公牛 是相当危险的。 圣 佛尔明节以彻夜街头狂欢而闻名。这个庆典的历史可以追溯到16 世纪末, 但真 正使其声名大噪的是厄内斯特 海明威的小说《太阳照样升起》。从那以后, 每年都会有 数以万计的游客从世界各地云集潘普洛纳, 参加一年一度的庆典。

　　阅读导评

　　人有时真是很矛盾, 在享受安乐生活的同时, 又渴望冒险活动所带来的刺激, 现在不是 流行这么一句话嘛玩的就是心跳。因此西班牙一年一度的奔牛节吸引了世界各地 数以万计的奔牛爱好者, 他们在人与牛之间的危险游戏中尽情享受欢乐与刺激。那种被公 牛追逐的刺激感觉想必非常 爽。读罢此文, 你是否心动, 也想调节调节你平淡的生活?

　　阅读导释

　　1. 奔牛节的历史可以追溯至公元1591 年前。据说当初对潘普洛纳人来说, 要将6 头高大 的公牛从城郊的牛棚赶进城里的斗牛场是件非常困难的事情。17 世纪, 某些旁观者突 发奇想, 斗胆跑到公牛前, 将牛激怒, 使其冲入斗牛场。后来, 这种习俗就演变成了今天 的奔牛节。奔牛节每年7 月7 日至14 日举行, 属于圣佛尔明节的重头戏。节庆的第 一天会由市政厅燃放火箭炮拉开序幕, 在此后7 天7 夜里, 人们会举行各项庆典活动。 年轻人通宵纵酒放歌、开心享乐, 白天则兴趣盎然地参加奔牛节的各项活动。

　　2. 胆大包天的人, 蛮勇之人。在西班牙, 人们为显示勇敢, 参加奔牛赛时系着传统的红 围巾在公牛前面奔跑。那些不怕死的奔牛手涌在牛群周围, 边跑边喊。其中出色的奔牛 手巧妙地让自己的腰部与牛角之间保持着1 米左右的距离, 既要跑在牛前面, 又要不让 牛顶着。能做到这一点的, 将被视作真正的勇敢者, 名字刊登在第二天的报纸上。而那 些跟在牛后面的人, 只配称作起哄的胆小鬼。

　　3. 圣佛尔明, 奔牛节的正式名称是圣佛尔明节。圣佛尔明是西班牙东北部潘普 洛纳市的保护神。

　　4. 节日( 特指在西班牙和拉丁美洲以游行和舞蹈来庆祝的节日) 。

　　5. 厄内斯特海明威( 18991961 ) , 美国著名作家。他一生喜欢冒险, 经历过西班牙斗 牛、非洲狩猎大象和海上冒险等。1923 年, 海明威首次来到潘普洛纳观看奔牛并写成了 著名小说《太阳照样升起》, 他在作品中详细地描述了奔牛节, 奔牛节因而声名远扬。 1954 年海明威获得诺贝尔文学奖后, 西班牙奔牛节更是名声大噪。当地居民为了感谢 海明威为奔牛节做出的贡献, 特地在斗牛场的大门口为他竖起了一座雕像。