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

　　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 the se sta tements True o r Fa lse a ccording to the ar ticle ?

　　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

　　Ⅱ. 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, 人牛混雜, 跌爬滾打。潘普洛納一年一度的奔牛節拉開了帷 幕, 第一天就有數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· 佛爾明節在一周內還將舉行六輪奔牛。

　　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。”他是在網上了解了圣· 佛爾明節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, 沿著從舊城區到斗牛 場的900 碼跑道狂奔不止。 在兩個急轉彎處, 幾頭公牛滑倒并

　　在兩個急轉彎處, 幾頭公牛滑倒并重重地跌在地上, 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。公牛或躍過人堆, 或直接 踩踏而過。 當這群公牛穿過舊城區時, 街道上和陽臺上數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斯特· 海明威的小說《太陽照樣升起》。從那以后, 每年都會有 數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。