动物保护组织呼吁停止吃蟑螂大赛

Cockroach-eating contest bugs animal group
动物保护组织呼吁停止吃蟑螂大赛

Cockroach-eating contest bugs animal group		动物保护组织呼吁停止吃蟑螂大赛
An animal rights group called on Tuesday for a North American theme park operator to cancel a competition in which people will try to break the world cockroach(1)-eating record. Theme park operator Six Flags Inc, based in New York, is staging the contest as part of a promotion leading up to Halloween in which it is also offering customers free entry(2) or line-jumping(3) advantages if they eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it had been flooded with calls from children, adults and even anonymous(4) employees of Six Flags opposing the record-breaking contest and the overall promotion. "Insects do not deserve to be eaten alive especially for a gratuitous(5) marketing gimmick(6)," PETA spokeswoman Jackie Vergerio said. The competition to beat the world cockroach eating record is being held on Friday at a Six Flags park in Illinois. Anyone who beats the record will win a season pass for four people for 2007 with VIP queue-jumping status. Competitors will try to break the current world record, which is held by Ken Edwards of Derbyshire, England, who devoured(7) 36 Madagascar hissing cockroaches in one minute in 2001. However Six Flags spokesman James Taylor said the only complaints the company had received were from people who did not have the opportunity to sign up and eat a cockroach because only 12 of its 30 parks in the United States, Canada, and Mexico were participating in the promotion. Taylor dismissed(8) any health concerns, saying the cockroaches were raised in a sterile(9) environment and were as safe to eat as shrimp or lobster with high nutritional(10) value. Madagascar hissing cockroaches are large, wingless cockroaches that can grow to between 1.5 to 3 inches (3.8 to 7.6 cm). Taylor said no one who had indulged(11) in this rare delicacy had complained. "It's something that's supposed to be scary, it's icky(12), it's gross, it's Halloween fun and it's just one small part of the haunted houses and thrilling rides going on." 1. cockroach：蟑螂 2. entry：入场券 3. line-jumping：插队 4. anonymous：匿名的 5. gratuitous：无理由的，不值得的 6. gimmick：噱头		周二，动物保护组织呼吁北美主题公园经营者取消吃蟑螂世界纪录赛。 主题公园经营商六旗公司为迎接万圣节的到来特意举办了此次比赛。圣诞节期间，凡愿意活吞一只马达加斯加发声蟑螂的游客将能获得免费入场券或者优先玩的权利。 人道对待动物协会说他们已经收到大量来自孩子们、成年人、甚至是六旗员工的电话，抗议此次破纪录赛和整体宣传活动。 人道对待动物协会发言人杰姬·芙吉利奥说：“昆虫何罪之有竟落得被活吞？特别仅仅是为了毫无理由的商业花招？” 世界吃蟑螂破纪录大赛将于周五在伊利诺斯州六旗公园举行。破纪录者将能获得2007年四人份优先玩贵宾季卡。 目前纪录的保持者是英国德贝郡的肯·爱德华兹，他曾于2001年在一分钟内吞下36只马达加斯加发声蟑螂。 但是六旗公司发言人詹姆士·泰勒说他们收到的唯一抱怨则来自无法登记参加活动的人们，因为六旗在美国、加拿大和墨西哥共有30个乐园，但是只有12个参加此次推广活动。 泰勒否认了所有健康隐患，称这些蟑螂都生长于无菌环境，和吃虾或者龙虾一样安全并富有营养。 马达加斯加发声蟑螂体形较大，无翅膀，可成长为1.5至3英寸长（3.8-7.6厘米）。 泰勒说没有任何沉溺于这种生鲜美食的人有过抱怨。 “我们只是希望它们能够让人感到可怕、讨厌的、粗鄙。它是万圣节的乐趣之一，仅仅是鬼屋和刺激游戏中很小的一个环节。”   中国国际广播电台 译 7. devoure：狼吞虎咽，尤指动物吞吃 8. dismiss：驳回 9. sterile：消过毒的 10. nutritional：营养的 11. indulge：沉溺 12. icky：令人作呕的，讨厌的