西班牙掀西红柿大战 砸掉120吨西红柿

More than 40,000 revellers threw 120 tonnes of tomatoes in the annual Tomatina tomato fight fiesta in the village of Bunol, Spain.(Agencies)

TENS of thousands of revellers hurled 120 tonnes of squashed tomatoes at each other, drenching the streets in red in a gigantic Spanish food fight known as the Tomatina.

A sea of more than 40,000 alcohol-soaked men and women packed into the Plaza Mayor square of Bunol, eastern Spain, many with their shirts off and wearing swimming goggles to keep out the stinging juice.

Spectators peered over the balconies of surrounding buildings, some also chucking tomatoes on chanting, dancing food-fighters below, who covered the square like a carpet.

Five trucks loaded with the tomatoes struggled to find space in the human tomato soup to enter the square.

But as they unloaded the edible ammunition, the square and surrounding streets were suddenly awash in a sea of tomato sauce, covering the crowds of festival goers.

"I can't throw fast enough. This is crazy. It's my third year," said one battler, Angel, as he pelted others with tomatoes, which must be squashed before being chucked so as to minimise the pain.

Many wore yellow T-shirts that read "Fanatic of the Tomatina".

"Long live the Tomatina!" cried one Japanese tourist wrapped in a scarf decorated with a huge tomato picture, alongside a friend who protected himself with a tomato-shaped helmet.

The Tomatina is held each year in Bunol, in the heart of a fertile region some 40 kilometres north of the coastal city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, on the last Wednesday in August.

The town says it expects the fight to bring in 300,000 euros ($362,000) to the local economy, a welcome financial boost as the country suffers from a recession and a jobless rate of nearly 25 percent.

"We don't have much space but there is no other way," said Rafael Perez, spokesman for the town of 10,000 inhabitants. "It's been here since 1945."

Though the origins of the event are unclear, 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, with tourists flocking in this year from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

在西班牙举行的西红柿食物大战

西班牙东部的布诺市长广场上人山人海，4万多名喝得醉醺醺的男人和女人聚集在那里，许多人脱掉了衬衫，只戴着泳镜来遮挡刺目的西红柿汁液。

有些人在四周楼房的阳台上观看这场大赛，有些人还向楼下边唱边跳的食物大战者扔西红柿。这些食物大战者就像红地毯一般覆盖了整个广场。

五辆装载着西红柿的卡车艰难地在“西红柿人汤”中找寻进入广场的路。

但当卡车人员把这些可食用的炸弹从车上卸下时，广场和周围的街道刹那间被西红柿酱淹没了，把参加盛会的人群“炸”开了花。

其中一位食物大战者安杰尔说：“我还是扔的不够快。这太疯狂了。这是我第三年参加西红柿大战。”他一边说一边向其他人扔西红柿。这些西红柿必须被压烂再扔，才能把疼痛感降到最低。

许多人穿着上面写有“西红柿大战狂人”的黄色T恤。

“西红柿大战万岁！”一位裹着有特大西红柿图案的围巾的日本游客喊道。他身边的朋友用一个西红柿形状的头盔保护自己。

西红柿大战每年都于八月的最后一个星期三在布诺举行。布诺是一个物产丰饶的地区的中心，该地区在西班牙第三大城市、沿海的巴伦西亚以北40公里处。

该镇表示，它期望西红柿大战能给当地经济带来30万欧元

“我们的地方不大，但也没有其他能促进经济的方法了。”该镇1万名居民的发言人拉斐尔•佩雷茨说道。“自从1945年以来就一直延续着西红柿大战的传统。”

尽管西红柿大战的起源不清楚，但据认为它根源于20世纪40年代中期该城镇童年伙伴的一场食物大战。

随着国际报道的增多，西红柿大战的规模逐渐变大，也吸引越来越多人来参加这一盛会。每年都有许多来自日本、韩国、澳大利亚、新西兰和印度的游客聚集到这里。

Vocabulary:

reveller: 纵酒狂欢者

drench: 使湿透，浸湿

chuck: 扔，抛

pelt:

fertile: 富饶的，丰产的