英国卫报：残酷的斗羊世界(1)

The brutal¹ world of sheep fighting: the illegal sport beloved by Algeria’s 'lost generation' . -By Hannah Rae Armstrong

残酷的斗羊世界：阿尔及利亚“迷失的一代”所钟爱的非法运动。汉娜-雷-阿姆斯特朗

Last August in Algiers, one week before the holiday of Eid al-Adha, men in tracksuits and trainers were guarding their sheep in anticipation² of the fights to come.

去年8月，在阿尔及尔，宰牲节假期前一周，穿着运动服和培训师的男子正在看守他们的羊群，期待着即将到来的战斗。

Kbabshis, as these men are known, scour³ villages looking for lambs that are fast, belligerent⁴ and shock-resistant.

这些人被称为Kababshis，他们在村庄里寻找速度快、好斗和抗震的羊羔。

Then they spend years raising them to be champion fighters.

然后花数年时间将它们培养成冠军战士。

Coaches are tough but also surprisingly tender.

教练们很坚强，但也很温柔。

They treat their sheep like mistresses, stopping by the garages where they install them, bringing food, caressing⁵ and massaging⁶ them before they head out together for long walks on the beach.

他们像对待情人一样对待羊，他们把羊安置在车库前停下来，给它们食物，抚摸和按摩它们，然后一起去海滩上散步。

Professional trainers toughen their sheep by chaining their horns to a wall: as they pull and twist to break away, the resistance thickens their sinewy⁷ necks.

专业训练员通过将羊的角拴在墙上来训练它们：当它们拉扯和扭动以挣脱时，阻力会使它们筋肉发达的颈部变粗。

Unlike with cockfighting, there is no gambling⁸ on sheep fights, but speculation⁹ on the sheep market can make it a lucrative¹⁰ trade.

与斗鸡不同，斗羊不存在赌博，但对羊市场的投机可以使其成为一个有利可图的行业。

Each fight lifts the value of its victor and sentences the loser to slaughter¹¹.

每场比赛都会提升胜利者的价值，并将失败者送入屠宰场。

A champion ram¹² might fetch as much as $10,000 – although most sheep trainers on a winning streak¹³ prefer to chase glory than cash.

一只冠军公羊的价格可能高达1万美元——尽管大多数连胜的驯羊师更喜欢追逐荣誉而不是金钱。

The sheep are given names that inspire fear, like Rambo, Jaws¹⁴ or Lawyer.

这些羊被赋予了令人恐惧的名字，如兰博、大白鲨或律师。

In the third round of one recent match, Hitler delivered a brutal defeat to Saddam.

在最近的一场比赛中，希特勒在第三轮比赛中击败了萨达姆。

Combat taa lkbech, which means sheep combat in the Algerian Arabic dialect, is a bit like football.

“Combat taa lkbech”，在阿尔及利亚阿拉伯语方言中意为羊群战斗，有点像足球。

It releases the pent-up energies of otherwise unoccupied men and allows them to safely act out potentially divisive strains of nationalism, regionalism and neighbourhood pride.

它释放了原本无事可做的人被压抑的能量，使他们能够表现出潜在的民族主义、地区主义和邻里自豪感的分裂倾向。

But sheep fighting lacks the artistry, skill and precision that make football so enthralling¹⁵: a sheep confronts an identical opponent and bludgeons him into submission¹⁶ using only his face.

但是，斗羊缺乏艺术性、技巧性和精确性，而这正是羊群战斗的魅力所在：一只羊面对一个相同的对手，只用脸就能把他打倒在地。

Matches are a festival of brute¹⁷ force and domination.

比赛是一个蛮力和统治的节日。

When the sheep lose interest in a match, or prefer palling¹⁸ around with each other to smashing heads, the trainers take over, whispering and urging their beasts back into combat until they lock eyes once more and attack.

当羊群对比赛失去兴趣，或者喜欢互相打闹而不是砸头时，训练员就会接手，低声催促它们的野兽重新投入战斗，直到它们再次对视并发动攻击。

The men who train sheep for combat belong to a lost generation of Algerians, now in their 20s and 30s, moulded by an era of fear, fighting, corruption¹⁹ and curfews.

训练羊群作战的人属于阿尔及利亚迷惘的一代，他们现在20多岁和30多岁，生活在一个充满恐惧、战斗、腐败和宵禁的时代。

There are few jobs and no productive roles for them to play in society.

他们在社会上几乎没有工作可做，也没有生产性的角色可供发挥。

They lack relevant skills and education.

他们缺乏相关的技能和教育。

Most are unmarried.

大多数人都是未婚的。

They are not poor by most standards, but they depend on state subsidies²⁰ that allow them to buy fuel, food and housing for next to nothing.

按照大多数标准，他们并不贫穷，但他们依赖国家的补贴，几乎不花一分钱就可以购买燃料、食品和住房。

They feel disposable, purposeless, humiliated²¹.

他们觉得自己是可有可无的，没有目标，受到羞辱的。

Most feel the future lies elsewhere.

大多数人看不到未来。

1 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

2 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。

3 scour   

v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷

参考例句：

• Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
• We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。

4 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

5 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

6 massaging   

按摩，推拿( massage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He watched the prisoner massaging his freed wrists. 他看着那个犯人不断揉搓着刚松开的两只手腕。
• Massaging your leg will ease the cramp. 推拿大腿可解除抽筋。

7 sinewy   

adj.多腱的，强壮有力的

参考例句：

• When muscles are exercised often and properly,they keep the arms firm and sinewy.如果能经常正确地锻炼肌肉的话，双臂就会一直结实而强健。
• His hard hands and sinewy sunburned limbs told of labor and endurance.他粗糙的双手，被太阳哂得发黑的健壮四肢,均表明他十分辛勤，非常耐劳。

8 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

11 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

12 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

13 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

14 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

15 enthralling   

迷人的

参考例句：

• There will be an enthralling race tomorrow. 明天会有场吸引人的比赛。
• There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. 在这样地施加影响时，令人感到销魂夺魄。

16 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

17 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

18 palling   

v.（因过多或过久而）生厌，感到乏味，厌烦( pall的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It's good to see the two boys palling up so well. 看见这两个男孩这么要好真是惬意。 来自互联网

19 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

20 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。