9-7 见证西班牙斗牛（在线收听）

An Experience of Watching a Bullfight in Spain

We were staying at one of the nicest resort hotels we could find in the south of Spain. We noticed bullfight posters all over town, but didn't pay much attention to them. Finally the man at the hotel reception asked us if we would like to see the most famous woman bullfighter in the world. She was to fight this coming Sunday. So, we bought tickets, and they weren't cheap either, about ＄150.00 each. Of course we bought front row seats figuring that if we were going to see a real bullfight once, we should see it right.

The beginning of the fight was colorful and festive. Everyone paraded¹ out. I had my telephoto lens² and immediately got a good picture of the famous lady bullfighter. The procession was led by two young girls riding beautiful Andalusian horses. We particularly enjoyed this as we had owned Andalusian horses ourselves. The parade continued on for several minutes and we got to see everyone that was going to participate in the event.

When the ring was empty, a trumpet³ played that familiar tune. Then a door opened directly across the ring from us and a bull came out of a dark tunnel. They must have done something to him because he was pissed⁴. He charged around the ring as the crowd yelled and clapped. There were others dressed in matador costumes that jumped out and taunted⁵ the bull. They would then jump behind a barrier to escape the bull's charge.

After a short time, Christina Sanchez came out and performed the traditional waving of the cape to attract the bull, then stepping aside at the last moment. This is what we always think of bullfighting. There were two different performers this Sunday, but Christina Sanchez was definitely the favorite. Christina worked the bull for a few minutes. Then some other guy came out and stuck four colorful sticks in the back of the bull’s neck. The practice is not always successful and matadors might need to do it many times.

A little later, two huge, heavily padded⁶ draft horses⁷ came out. As soon as the bull saw the horses, he began to charge again. The rider of each horse carried an 8-foot pole with a silver point in the end, and poked a huge hole in the back of the bull’s neck. As soon as this was done, the horses would leave the ring. Now the bull was bleeding profusely⁸. Again the matadors would tease⁹ him relentlessly. By this time, the bull was plenty tired and often would have to be prodded¹⁰ to go after the matador's cape. For a time, the bull was so weak that he would collapse. One time the bull just laid down. He would not get up so a bunch of guys ran into the ring to poke at him and bend his tail to get him up. Finally he did get up.

This seemed to be the most proud time for the matador. With the bull completely broken down, Christina showed us how brave she was, by kneeling down in front of the bull. At a later point in time, when the bull could hardly stand up, it was time for the kill. The matador stood there proudly, sword in hand, poised¹¹ to make the kill. Then Christina lunged at the half dead bull with a three-foot long sword. Rarely would matadors get the sword in on the first attempt. This Sunday afternoon, they killed 6 bulls. Only Christina killed the bull without several tries. After the bull was killed, a guy would run out and cut off both of the bull’s ears. Patiently a team of horses waited to drag the dead bull out of the ring.

After it was all over, both of us felt very despondent¹² instead of excited. Is this some sort of sport? An art form? We couldn't believe the barbaric¹³ nature of the event. There was no respect for the bull, and certainly no consideration for the pain the bull was in. We both agreed we were glad to have had the experience, but also agreed that we had both lost our respect for those that would enjoy such an event.

注释：

1. parade [pE5reid] vi. 队列行进

2. telephoto [5teli5fEutEu] a. 摄远的，远距照相的；～lens摄远镜头

3. trumpet [5trQmpit] n. 小号，号角，喇叭

4. pissed [pist] a. [英俚] 恼火的，厌烦的

5. taunt [tC:nt] vt. 逗弄，嘲弄

6. pad [pAd] vt. 包护垫于

7. draft horse = draughthorsen. 役马

8. profusely [prEJ5fjU:sli] ad. 大量地，极充分地

9. tease [ti:z] vt. 戏弄，逗弄

10. prod [prCd] vt. 刺激，惹起

11. poised [pCizd] a. 镇定的，作好准备的

12. despondent [dis5pCndEnt] a. 沮丧的，泄气的，失望的

13. barbaric [bB:5bArik] a. 野蛮的，半开化的

见证西班牙斗牛

我们当时住在西班牙南部旅游胜地我们所能找到的一家最好的饭店里。我们注意到城里到处都贴满了斗牛的宣传海报，但却一直没有对此上心。终于有一天，饭店前台的那位先生问我们是否要看看世界上最著名的女斗牛士。她将在这个周日表演斗牛。于是我们买了票。票并不便宜，每张大约150美元。当然，我们买的是前排，心想既然打算看一场真正的斗牛，那就得看个究竟。

斗牛表演的前奏既五彩纷呈又热闹异常，每个演员都列队出场。我通过长焦镜头一下子便捕捉到了那位著名女斗牛士的英姿。演员队列由两位骑着漂亮的安达卢西亚马的少女引导。由于我们自己也养过安达卢西亚马，因此见到这个场景尤为高兴。整个亮相持续了数分钟，我们得以扫描到每一位即将参加斗牛的演员。

当斗牛场清空后，一曲熟悉的小号旋律传来。随即，我们正对面的斗牛场的一扇门打开了，一头公牛从黑暗的地道中冲了进来。那牛一定被人做了手脚，因为它显得异常烦躁。它沿着斗牛场狂奔着，引来人们阵阵欢呼和掌声。随后，一些身着斗牛士服装的人闪现出来，开始逗弄那头牛，然后跳到障碍物后去躲开公牛的攻击。

过了一会儿，克里斯蒂娜·桑切斯登场了。她进行了传统的表演，挥动红披风吸引公牛，然后在公牛冲到跟前的一瞬间闪身躲开。这就是一直以来我们想像中的斗牛。这个周日有两位不同的斗牛士表演，但克里斯蒂娜·桑切斯肯定是最受欢迎的。克里斯蒂娜就这样逗弄了公牛几分钟。这时，又有一位小伙子进入场内，将四根彩色的棍子插进公牛的脖颈子。这一过程并不总是成功，斗牛士或许要做好多次才能完成。

又过了一会儿，两匹高大的戴有很厚护垫的马进入了斗牛场。公牛一见到马又开始猛冲起来。每匹马的骑手手持一根8英尺、一端是银尖的长棍，在公牛的脖颈子里戳了一个大洞。随后，两匹马立即退出了斗牛场。此时，公牛血如泉涌，而斗牛士又一次不停地挑逗它。到这个时候，公牛已是筋疲力尽，往往得经过刺激才会扑向斗牛士的披风。一段时间内，公牛几乎虚弱到了极点。有一次它干脆卧地不起了。一群小伙子见状冲入斗牛场去戳它，撅它的尾巴，逼它起身。公牛终于又站了起来。

这似乎就是斗牛士最为自豪的时刻了。公牛完全被斗垮了，克里斯蒂娜于是在公牛身前跪下，向观众显示她的勇敢。最后，公牛再也无法起身之际，就是它丧命之时。斗牛士自豪地站在那里一手持长剑，泰然自若地准备完成最后一击。克里斯蒂娜用一把3英尺的长剑刺向奄奄一息的公牛。很少有斗牛士一剑便能刺入牛的体内。这个周日的下午，他们总共杀死了6头牛，只有克里斯蒂娜一下子便把牛杀死。公牛被杀死后，一个小伙子跑出来将牛的双耳割下。一列马静静地等在一边将死牛拖出斗牛场。

斗牛结束后，我们俩感到的是沮丧而不是兴奋。这也是一项运动、一种艺术形式吗？其野蛮性真令我们难以置信。整个过程没有对牛的丝毫尊重，当然也没有考虑过牛所经受的痛苦。我们俩都感到有这样一次经历是一件幸事，但同时对那些热衷于斗牛的人却不再存有丝毫敬意了。