| 簡介：◎ 奔牛節小詞典 ◎「宣傳」的英語怎麼說？ ◎ contend 除了「競爭」還有什麼意思？ San Fermin: Spain's Biggest Fete
Every July 7, the city of Pamplona in Navarre, Spain, begins San Fermin. Named after Navarre's co-patron saint, Saint Fermin, the festival was once held in October but later moved to take advantage of better, summertime weather. For a week, there are daily parades, traditional sports and fireworks. However, Pamplona is most famous for its encierro — the running of the bulls — a pre-existing tradition, which was merged with San Fermin. It may have been the mistaken belief that the saint was martyred by being dragged behind a bull (that fate actually befell his teacher Saturninus). Violent history notwithstanding, in 2015, 1.4 million revelers partied at San Fermin. Ever since Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises introduced the event to the English-speaking world, many of the visitors have been coming from overseas.
At 8 a.m. for eight days, six steers and six bulls charge for 825 meters along narrow cobblestone streets to the bullring. In front of them, runners madly scramble to stay ahead and avoid getting gored or trampled, though every year there are life-threatening injuries. Worse still, the disoriented bulls are tortured and killed that evening in highly publicized bullfights, then sold to the local butchers. Despite ongoing outrage at this inhumane treatment, Spain stubbornly contends that the tradition enriches its culture and brings significant revenue, especially in these lackluster economic times. And so, the encierro continues.
狂熱西班牙──聖費爾明奔牛節
每年的七月七日，聖費爾明節在西班牙納瓦拉自治區的潘普洛納市展開。以納瓦拉共同主保聖人聖費爾明來命名的這個節慶曾在十月舉辦，但後來為圖更好的夏日天氣而更改時間。一星期中，這裡每天都有遊行、傳統運動和煙火。然而潘普洛納最有名的是奔牛節──一個早已存在、已與聖費爾明節合併的傳統。人們可能誤以為這名聖人是被公牛拖行在後，迫害而死的（這不幸的命運其實是降臨在他的老師賽特奈勒斯身上）。這樣的歷史儘管殘酷，但 2015 年有 140 萬名狂歡者參與聖費爾明節。自從厄內斯特．海明威 1926 年的小說《太陽依舊升起》將此盛事介紹給英語系國家後，許多海外遊客紛湧而至。
為期八天的每天早上八點，都有六隻小公牛與六隻成年公牛沿著狹窄的鵝卵石街道猛衝 825 公尺至鬥牛場。在牠們前面的跑者瘋狂搶著要跑在前頭，避免遭頂傷或踩踏，但每年還是有危及性命的重傷事故。更糟的是，那些迷失方向的公牛會在當晚大肆宣傳的鬥牛比賽中遭虐待並殺死，再賣給當地的屠夫。儘管對這個非人道作法的激憤從未停止，西班牙仍頑固地辯稱這項傳統能豐富其文化，並帶來可觀的收入，特別是在經濟表現如此死氣沉沉的時刻。於是，奔牛節就這樣一直舉辦下去了。
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