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Redneck Summer Games rock Georgia 喬治亞州瘋狂的「南方鄉巴佬夏日競賽」

Geddy Lehman takes a dip at the Redneck Summer Games in Georgia, US, July 7. 七月七日在美國喬治亞州的南方鄉巴佬夏日競賽，蓋帝．雷曼撲向泥坑。 PHOTO: AP

Belly flopping into muddy water, tossing toilet seats and guzzling beer, average joes celebrated the unrefined life of the US "redneck" on July 7 at an annual event initially held as a counterpart to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"Freight Train," a toothless man whose ability to touch his nose with his lower lip earned him the title of official mascot of the Redneck Summer Games, kicked off the event by lighting a propane-fueled, beer can-adorned ceremonial torch.

The top favorite was evidently the mud-pit belly flop. Contestants with a large beer gut - and there are quite a few- - have a marked advantage as they produce a bigger splash when they land belly first in the pit filled with muddy water.

The Confederate flags that adorn just about everything from bikinis to pick-up trucks leave little doubt this is the heart of the US South, home of the proud and controversial US redneck.

"Being a redneck is a heritage, it's the way we're born and raised, it's a way of life," says Rick Humphrey, who manages the local radio station that runs the event.

Humphrey admits there is no precise definition of a redneck, but one thing is certain - and the toilet seat-hurling competition made this quite clear - it's definitely not your wine-and-cheese crowd.

The stereotype of the US redneck is a low-income southerner who lives in a trailer, drives a pick-up truck and chews tobacco.

Humphrey says the good thing about the games is that nothing can really go wrong "because it's all a bunch of rednecks who drink beer, jump in the river and don't worry about anything."

升斗小民挺著肚皮撲向泥濘、丟擲馬桶座，暢飲啤酒，在七月七日慶祝美國「南方鄉巴佬」的市井生活。這個一年一度的活動起源於一九九六年，原先的構想是與亞特蘭大奧運互別苗頭。

綽號「運輸火車」的男子點燃裝飾啤酒罐的丙烷儀式火把，為活動揭開序幕。這名滿口缺牙的男子因為下唇能碰到鼻子，贏得「南方鄉巴佬夏日競賽」的官方代言人寶座。

最受歡迎的無疑是肚皮撲泥的活動。挺著大啤酒肚的參賽者（人數可不少）比較吃香，他們敞開肚皮撲向泥坑時，飛濺的水花要比別人大得多。

美國南方聯邦旗幟的圖案無所不在，從比基尼到小貨車處處可見，讓人一點也不懷疑，這裡就是美國南方的中心，也是輝煌又爭議良多的「南方鄉巴佬」故鄉。

發起活動的當地電台總經理瑞克．漢福瑞說︰「身為南方鄉巴佬是項傳承，是我們被養育的方式，也是一種生活方式。」

漢福瑞坦承「南方鄉巴佬」（redneck）一字並沒有明確定義，但丟馬桶座的競賽卻不言而喻說明了一切︰鐵定不屬於紅酒起司的名門紳士那群。

典型的美國南方鄉巴佬是指住在拖車，駕駛小貨車且嚼著菸草的窮南方人。

漢福瑞表示，這個比賽的優點是絕不會招惹麻煩，因為「這些都是暢飲啤酒、撲通跳進水池，無憂無慮的南方鄉巴佬。」

（法新社/翻譯︰賴美君）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. belly flopping n. 挺著肚皮飛撲 (ting3 zhe5 du4 pi2 fei1 pu1) 例: Belly flopping is a painful way of entering a pool. (挺著肚皮撲進水池會很痛。) 2. guzzle v. 牛飲 (niu2 yin3) 例: Guzzling beer is a part of fraternity life. (痛飲啤酒是哥兒們生活的一部分。) 3. mascot n. 吉祥物或人 (ji2 xiang2 wu4 huo4 ren2) 例: Our team mascot is a gorilla. (我們隊伍的吉祥物是大猩猩。) 4. stereotype n. 刻板印象 (ke4 ban3 yin4 xiang4) 例: Stereotypes often indicate ignorance. (刻版印象往往顯示人的無知。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 Confederate flag 美國南方聯邦旗 The Confederate flag is a controversial symbol of the American South. Many people are opposed to it because they feel it's a symbol of racism and slavery. But many southerners see the Confederate flag as a symbol of their heritage and ancestors and are insulted when others say it's racist. Today the Confederate flag is used widely in the South but is rarely seen in the North. 美國南方聯邦旗幟是爭議性的美國南方象徵。許多人認為這種旗幟象徵種族主義與奴隸制，因此心生反感。不過，也有許多南方人認為這種旗幟是祖先傳承的象徵，若有人說這是種族歧視，就會感覺受到汙衊。現今，美國南方聯邦旗幟在南方隨處可見，但在北方則相當罕見。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Daryl: When is the fireworks show? Dakota: It's not until dark. First Lynrd Skynrd will kick off the festival then there'll be a rodeo. Daryl: What a great lineup of events. Dakota: It sure is. I'm happy we decided to drive to Omaha for this. Daryl: Next year we'll have to bring the whole crew with us. 黛瑞︰煙火表演是什麼時候？ 達珂塔︰要天黑過後。首先由林納史基納合唱團為慶典揭開序幕，接著就是牛仔競技了。 黛瑞︰真是精采的一連串活動。 達珂塔︰沒錯。我很高興我們決定開車來俄馬哈市參加。 黛瑞︰明年我們得帶所有人一起來囉。 kick off　展開，揭幕 To kick off something is to begin or start it. Some examples of things you can kick off are concerts, festivals, sporting events and elections. When used as a noun, it's only one word: "Their kickoff was a great way to kick off the festival." 「kick off」某事就是展開這件事。舉凡演唱會、慶典、體育活動或選舉揭幕都可以這麼用。做為名詞時，則要把兩個字連起來變成「kickoff」，例如︰「他們為慶典揭幕的開幕式棒極了」。

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