“西红柿大战”染红西班牙小镇

Tens of thousands of people from around the world hurled tonnes of ripe tomatoes at each other Wednesday in an annual food fight that leaves the eastern Spanish town of Bunol covered in red pulp.

More than 40,000 people, including many visitors from Australia, Britain and the United States, took part this year in the food fight known as the "Tomatina", now in its 64th year, a spokeswoman for Bunol's town hall said.

They were provided with over 100 tonnes of tomatoes by the town council for the battle which lasted about one hour and left participants covered in pulp and standing ankle-deep in red mush.

Many men were shirtless while others wore old clothes, hard hats, goggles or protective plastic sheets.

Shopkeepers put up huge plastic covers on their store fronts or boarded them up to protect their properties from the sea of red mush.

After a battle, municipal workers and local residents used giant hoses to clear the walls and streets of the tomato pulp in just half an hour while the participants headed to a nearby river where temporary showers were set up.

The event cost the town of some 10,000 residents 28,000 euros (40,000 dollars) to stage, Spanish media reported.

The "Tomatina" is held each year in Bunol, located in a fertile region some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the coastal city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, on the last Wednesday in August.

The origins of the event are unclear although it is thought to have its roots in a food fight between childhood friends in the mid-1940s in the city.

It has grown in size as international press coverage brought more and more people to the festival.

一年一度的西红柿大战于本周三在西班牙东部小镇布诺尔上演，来自世界各地的数万人互相扔掷熟透的番茄，把小镇变成了一片红色的海洋。

“西红柿大战”至今已举行了64届，布诺尔市政厅的女发言人说，共有4万多人参加了今年的活动，其中包括许多来自澳大利亚、英国和美国的游客。

市政厅共提供了100多吨番茄供人们扔砸，整个活动持续了约一个小时，参与大战的人浑身糊满了番茄浆，而且都站在深及脚踝的番茄泥中。

很多男性赤膊上阵，其他一些人则穿着旧衣服，戴着头盔、眼罩或披着塑料防护布。

店主们都在自家店面前挂上了大幅塑料罩布，或是用木板挡住店面，以免这场红色战争殃及店内货品。

活动结束后，市政工人和当地居民用巨型水管冲洗沾满了西红柿浆汁的墙壁和街道，整个过程仅用了半个小时；而参与番茄大战的人们则前往附近的一条河进行冲洗，那里搭建了临时的淋浴喷头。

西班牙媒体报道说，布诺尔小镇为筹办这一活动共耗资2.8万欧元（合4万美元）。该小镇共有约1万个居民。

“西红柿大战”于每年八月的最后一个星期三在布诺尔举行。布诺尔小镇地处一个富饶的地区，距意大利第三大城市、重要港口瓦伦西亚北部40公里（25英里）。

西红柿大战的起源至今尚不清楚，但传说是起源于上世纪40年代中期当地孩童之间用食物互相扔掷打闹的习俗。

由于国际媒体的报道，越来越多的人前来参加这一狂欢节，因此西红柿大战的规模也越来越大。

Vocabulary:

board up: 用木板阻断