英国卫报：残酷的斗羊世界(4)（在线收听）

I wandered on until I found a space that looked like it had, until quite recently, been an electronics or dried goods shop.

我继续往前走，直到我发现一个空间，直到临近，它看起来还是一个电子产品或干货店。

It was now brimming with sheep.

现在这里满是羊群。

Two men watching over them greeted me with curiosity.

两个看守羊群的人好奇地问候我。

Sofiane was over 6ft tall, built like a water tower, with a wide belly and spindly legs.

索菲恩身高超过6英尺，身材像一座水塔，腹部宽大，腿部骨节粗壮。

Hafid, with his bulging, veiny neck and sweet eyes set in a flat-nosed, unbreakable face, bore an uncanny resemblance to a fighting sheep.

哈菲德的脖子鼓鼓的，长满了青筋，甜美的眼睛镶嵌在平坦的鼻梁上，牢不可破，与一只斗羊有着惊人的相似之处。

Neither appeared to notice when two young men across the street started pounding one another.

当街对面的两个年轻人开始互相殴打时，两人似乎都没有注意到。

When I introduced myself as a writer researching sheep fighting, Sofiane looked faintly disturbed, and suggested it wasn't an appropriate sport for women.

当我介绍自己是研究斗羊的作家时，索菲恩显得有些不安，并表示这不是一项适合女性的运动。

"Do research on peacocks instead," he sniffed.

“不如研究一下孔雀吧，”他说道。

Nevertheless, they led me around the corner, lifted the clattering shutters of a garage door, and took me inside.

尽管如此，他们还是把我领到拐角处，掀开车库门上哗哗作响的百叶窗，把我带进去。

Two burly four-year-old rams rattled their chains and tried to butt at us.

两只粗壮的四岁公羊摇晃着它们的链子，试图向我们靠拢。

The sheep belonged to Hafid.

这些羊是属于哈菲德的。

Sofiane had retired from sheep fighting five years ago.

索菲德五年前就已经退出了斗羊的行列。

It was against Islam, he said, to be cruel to animals; sheep were for slaughter, not sport.

他说，残酷对待动物是违反伊斯兰教的；羊是用来宰杀的，不是用来运动的。

Although he had quitit was clear he couldn't quite leave it behind.

虽然他已经退出了，但很明显他不能完全抛开它。

He still lived on the margins of the sport, pouring his broad-bellied frame into the same Lacoste tracksuits and Adidas trainers as the other handlers,

他仍然生活在这项运动的边缘，把他宽大的身躯塞进和其他驯兽师一样的拉科斯特运动服和阿迪达斯运动鞋里，

calling and messaging at all hours to track the ram market, and hosting kbabshis who sometimes drove 500 miles to see a match.

随时打电话和发信息来跟踪公羊市场，并接待有时驱车500英里来看比赛的kbabshis。

He drew the line, though, at watching fights and raising fighters.

不过，他对观看比赛和养育斗士划清了界限。

When a ram turns three, he is ready to fight, and his trainer shaves him and decorates him with henna.

当公羊长到三岁时，它就可以参加比赛了，他的训练师会给它剃毛，并用指甲花装饰它。

Designs range from the minimalist – a touch of red here and there – to the baroque.

设计的范围从极简主义——这里和那里的一抹红色——到巴洛克风格。

I once saw a sheep with a great white shark stencilled on his flank.

我曾经看到一只羊的侧腹上印有一条大白鲨的图案。

Another was led out wearing what looked like a freshly skinned cheetah.

另一只羊被牵出来时，身上穿着看起来像刚剥了皮的猎豹。

The ram will toughen with age and experience, peaking around age seven.

公羊会随着年龄和经验的增长而变得坚韧，在7岁左右达到顶峰。

Lentils and long walks, Sofiane told me, were the keys to success.

Sofiane告诉我，扁豆和长时间的散步是成功的关键。

The ram reaches champion status when he has defeated a dozen foes.

当公羊击败了十几个敌人时，它就达到了冠军的地位。

Then, the sport's most passionate fans will tell you, the mere mention of his name instils fear across all 48 provinces of Algeria.

然后，这项运动最热情的粉丝会告诉你，只要提到他的名字，在阿尔及利亚的所有48个省份中人们都会感到恐惧。

Heated neighbourhood and regional rivalries play out on the pitch, with a particularly fierce enmity between sheep from the capital, Algiers, a latecomer to the sport, and the more established and deadly rams of Annaba, birthplace of champions and reigning capital of sheep combat.

激烈的邻里关系和地区竞争在球场上上演，来自首都阿尔及尔的羊与来自安纳巴的更成熟和致命的公羊之间有着特别激烈的敌意，安纳巴是冠军的诞生地和羊群战斗的卫冕之都。

Sofiane and Hafid started excitedly listing champions' names: "Vagabond!" "Macro!" "Sirocco!" Sofiane caught himself and grew quiet.

苏菲安和哈菲德开始兴奋地列出冠军的名字：“Vagabond！” “Macro！” “Sirocco！”索菲恩抓住自己，渐渐安静下来。