英国卫报：残酷的斗羊世界(12)

Arriving in Annaba the next morning, we paid a visit to the reigning¹ champion sheep in what used to be the Jewish quarter.

第二天早上到达安纳巴，我们在过去的犹太人区拜访了卫冕冠军羊。

Half a dozen men in athletic² attire³ were leaning against the wall, olive-skinned and overfed, tense with their efforts to look hard.

半打身着运动装的男人靠在墙上，他们皮肤黝黑，吃得过饱，他们努力使自己看起来很紧张。

The sheep's owner, Ala was so stressed that he hadn’t slept for three nights – his other sheep, El Hadj (Pilgrim), was in a championship match that afternoon.

羊的主人阿拉的压力很大，他已经三个晚上没有睡觉了——他的另一只羊El Hadj（朝圣者）当天下午要参加一场冠军赛。

A few hours later, Sofiane and I met Ala and El Hadj at the outdoor pitch, a sandy lot with two football goals near an abandoned factory.

几个小时后，苏菲安和我在室外球场见到了阿拉和艾尔哈吉，这是一块沙地，有两个足球门，靠近一个废弃的工厂。

We had to park half a mile away because the whole street was lined with double- and triple-parked cars.

我们不得不把车停在半英里外，因为整条街都是双排和三排的车。

Ala looked queasy⁴. El Hadj, on the other hand, perfectly⁵ relaxed, sucked reflectively on his underbite.

阿拉看起来很不安，另一方面，哈吉则完全放松，反思地吮吸着他的下颚。

The lot was unkempt and illicit⁶, like the arena⁷ in El Harrach, but there were far more spectators.

这块场地不整洁，不合法，就像艾尔-哈拉赫的竞技场一样，但观众要多得多。

Men were massed as far as the eye could see, perched atop walls, sitting on cars and trucks, balanced on the goalposts.

目光所及之处都是男人，他们栖息在墙顶，坐在汽车和卡车上，在门柱上保持平衡。

Some had brought their pet caged birds with them.

有些人还带着他们的宠物笼子里的鸟。

(Algerian men sometimes like to keep caged birds, and carry the cages out for walks on a sunny spring day, or set the cage on a car outside so the bird can breathe new air and hear new sounds.)

(阿尔及利亚男人有时喜欢养笼子里的鸟，在阳光明媚的春天，把笼子拎出来散步，或者把笼子放在外面的汽车上，这样鸟就可以呼吸新的空气，听到新的声音）。

A few brought a daughter or niece.

有几个人带来了一个女儿或侄女。

As we stood around waiting, word suddenly spread that the organisers had cancelled the match.

当我们站在一旁等待时，突然传来消息，组织者取消了比赛。

There had been some problem with the organisation⁸.

在组织上出现了一些问题。

The league had booked too many matches, and afraid of an outbreak of chaos⁹, had cancelled the whole thing.

联盟预定了太多的比赛，担心会出现混乱，所以取消了整个比赛。

We were beginning to disperse¹⁰ when a commotion¹¹ broke out at the far edge of the crowd.

我们开始散去，这时人群的最边缘发生了骚动。

It wasn't clear what had started it.

不清楚是什么引起的。

All the tension and anticipation¹², all the fear and adrenaline that the men had been holding in snapped like an overstretched band.

所有的紧张和期待，所有的恐惧和肾上腺素，这些人一直憋着的东西，就像一个捉襟见肘的带子一样，断了。

The whole herd¹³ of men began to run all at once.

整群人开始一下子跑起来。

Sofiane grabbed me and we sprinted¹⁴ to the car.

苏菲安抓住我，我们冲刺到车上。

On the way back to Algiers, Sofiane was quiet, and angry that the match – which he, having forsworn sheep fighting, wouldn’t have watched anyway – had been cancelled.

在回阿尔及尔的路上，苏菲安很安静，并对比赛被取消感到愤怒——他已经放弃了斗羊，反正也不会看。

He was upset that the organisation that ran the league wasn’t what it used to be.

他对管理联赛的组织不再像以前那样感到不安。

Eventually, he began talking again, telling me about how the greatest joy he ever experienced was when his sheep Black Jet won a regional championship in 2007.

最后，他又开始说话，告诉我他所经历的最大快乐是他的羊 "黑捷 "在2007年赢得了一个地区冠军。

Sofiane couldn’t explain precisely¹⁵ why he had renounced¹⁶ sheep fighting.

苏菲安无法准确地解释他为什么放弃了斗羊。

“I wasted my life,” he said of his days raising champions.

他说："我浪费了我的生命，"他谈到他饲养冠军的日子。

“I'm full of regrets.”

"我充满了遗憾"。

His reasons were vaguely¹⁷ religious, but as I understood it, he had reverted¹⁸ to principle, in a very Algerian – which is to say idealistic – way.

他的理由含糊不清，但据我了解，他以一种非常阿尔及利亚的方式——也就是理想主义的方式——恢复了原则。

He could no longer ignore that his fun was a form of idolatry, a stand-in battle where a real one was needed.

他再也不能忽视他的乐趣是一种偶像崇拜，是需要真正的战斗的替身。

He takes pleasure now from the caged birds he collects.

他现在从他收集的笼中鸟中获得乐趣。

He loves their song.

他喜欢它们的歌声。

They sing and are trapped, just like him.

它们唱歌并被困住，就像他一样。

1 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

2 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

3 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

4 queasy   

adj.易呕的

参考例句：

• I felt a little queasy on the ship.我在船上觉得有点晕眩想呕吐。
• He was very prone to seasickness and already felt queasy.他快晕船了，已经感到恶心了。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

7 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

11 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

12 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

13 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

14 sprinted   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sprinted for the line. 他向终点线冲去。
• Sergeant Horne sprinted to the car. 霍恩中士全力冲向那辆汽车。 来自辞典例句

15 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

16 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

18 reverted   

恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还

参考例句：

• After the settlers left, the area reverted to desert. 早期移民离开之后，这个地区又变成了一片沙漠。
• After his death the house reverted to its original owner. 他死后房子归还给了原先的主人。