The world of competitive oyster eating: 'your stomach is like a human Tetris'
世界吃牡蛎大赛:“你的胃就像人类俄罗斯方块”
As a barge moves down the Mississippi River, a team of workers unpacks large white coolers full of dozens and dozens of raw oysters.
驳船沿着密西西比河缓缓移动,一队工人解包装满了许许多多生蚝的大白冷却器。
At the New Orleans Oyster Festival, eight eaters will slurp down as many mollusks as they can in the allotted eight minutes. The winner takes home $1,000 from Major League Eating (MLE), which also oversees the ESPN-televised Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest on Coney Island every summer.
在新奥尔良牡蛎节,八人将在8分钟内吃尽可能多的软体动物。获胜者可以赢1000美元从吃大联盟(MLE),同时监督每年夏天体育频道(ESPN)科尼岛上著名的吃热狗大赛。
After a short introduction, the shy, hometown favorite Adrian “The Rabbit” Morgan saunters to his spot on stage.
简短的介绍后,有“兔子”之称、害羞而深受家乡喜欢的艾德里安摩根,信步走到舞台上的位置上。
Morgan stands next to the 110-pound, Sonya“The Black Widow” Thomas, 48, who holds the competition’s record of 47 dozen. For the past decade, she’s dominated the competition. Morgan recently beat Thomas in crawfish eating, but no one ever bested her at oysters. He thinks this might finally be his year.
48岁的摩根旁边站着110磅,有桑娅“黑寡妇”之称的托马斯,她拥有47打比赛的记录。在过去的十年中,她一直遥遥领先主导比赛。而摩根最近在吃小龙虾时击败托马斯,但是从来没有人在吃牡蛎上打败过她。摩根认为他今年可能是冠军。
MLE, founded in 1997, currently ranks 50 eaters and sanctions nearly 80 professional contests across the country for foods such as corn, chicken wings, and pie.
成立于1997年的MLE,目前排名50食客和提供全国食物,如玉米、鸡翅和馅饼等近80专业竞赛。
Over the years, it courted some criticism for contract issues and health concerns, but the contests consistently attract enormous crowds (an estimated 40,000 people attend Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest). In 2009, the organization began sending eaters overseas on Navy trips, to entertain troops at Guantanamo Bay and Atsugi in Japan.
多年来,因为合同问题和健康问题,比赛引来批评,但却持续吸引着众多人们(估计有40000人参加的“内森杯”吃热狗大赛)。2009年,该组织开始派食客到海外海军部队给在那些关塔那摩湾(Guantanamo)和日本厚木(Atsugi)的士兵们带来欢乐。
Anyone can sign up for a contest. Timed contests usually last six minutes for sweets like cheesecake, eight minutes for seafood, ten for meats, and 12 for vegetables.任何人都可以报名参加比赛。计时比赛通常六分钟内吃芝士蛋糕等甜食,八分钟(吃)海鲜,十分钟(吃)肉类,12分钟(吃)蔬菜。
Different foods require different techniques to eat quickly and Conti, who has also run marathons, says oysters need a focus on manual to oral dexterity, the economy of motion, and a plan on how many to swallow at once.
不同的食物(的快速吃法)需要用到不同的技巧,跑马拉松的康帝说(吃)牡蛎要专注于从手到口的技巧,最省力节能的运动方式,和一次吞下多少的计划。
译文属可可英语原创,仅供学习和交流使用,未经允许不得转载。