Olympic pigs put through their paces小豬也來角逐「奧林匹克」
Piglets compete in swimming after being thrown into the water during the Pig Olympics in Moscow April 15, 2006. Hundreds of Russians gathered for the first day of the annual "pig Olympics" on Saturday, cheering a field of 12 piglets who competed in three events: pig-racing, pig-swimming and "pigball".
Each pig was carried into the arena, squealing angrily and dressed in its own numbered bib, while Muscovites laid bets on challengers such as Mykola from Ukraine, Nelson -- representing South Africa -- and the home favourite, Kostik Schwein.
In pigball, contestants chase a sweet-tasting soccer ball around an enclosed arena with their snouts, scoring when the ball goes into a goal.
The pig-admirers included ultra-nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who put 100 roubles (2.05 pounds) on Borka to win the running race, in honour of one of his political rivals.
"I've always loved pigs, all my life. I had four or five when I was a kid," he told Reuters.
Alexei Sharshkov, vice-president of the Sport-Pig Federation, which claims 100 members, said the competitors had a happy future ahead of them, win or lose.
"They go on to produce a new generation of sport pigs. They don't get eaten," he promised. "How could you eat a competitor who is known around the world?"
上周六，一年一度的「小豬奧林匹克」運動會在俄羅斯開幕。運動會第一天，數百名俄羅斯人來到賽場，為12隻參加賽跑、遊泳和豬球比賽的小豬吶喊助威。
被帶進比賽場地的小豬身穿印有參賽號碼的「運動服」，不斷發出憤怒的長聲尖叫。莫斯科人則在場外為小豬選手下賭注，來自烏克蘭的小豬「尼古拉」、代表南非的參賽者「納爾遜」和本地受寵選手「科斯季克・施魏因」都被人們看好。
在「豬球」項目中，參賽者須在封閉的賽場內，用「嘴」拱一隻帶有甜味的球，把球拱進球門的小豬就得分。
在眾多的小豬愛好者中還有俄羅斯激進民族主義政治家弗拉基米爾・日裡諾夫斯基。在小豬賽跑項目中，他把100盧布(合2.05英鎊)押在了一隻名叫「博爾卡」的小豬身上，以此紀念他的一位政治對手。
弗拉基米爾・日裡諾夫斯基告訴路透社說：「從小到大，我一直都很喜歡豬。我還是個小孩的時候，就養有四五隻豬。」
小豬運動員聯合會副主席阿列克謝・沙斯科夫說，該聯合會已有100名小豬運動員，不管這次參賽者輸贏與否，他們都前途光明。
阿列克謝・沙斯科夫承諾說：「這些小豬將生育新一代小豬運動員。它們不會被吃掉，你怎麼能把聞名於世的運動員給吃掉呢?」
Vocabulary:
field: the members of a team engaged in a active play (參加比賽的成員)
squeal: to give forth a loud, shrill cry or sound (長聲尖叫)