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BUNOL, Spain (AFP) — Tens of thousands of people from around the world threw tons of ripe tomatoes at each other in an annual food fight that painted the eastern Spanish town of Bunol red.
More than 40,000 people, including many visitors from Australia, Britain and the United States, took part 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 tons of tomatoes by the town council for the battle which lasted about one hour and left participants covered in red.
Many men were shirtless while others wore old clothes, hardhats, 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 (糊状物).
After the battle, governmental 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 l0, 000 residents 40,000 dollars, and Spanish media reported.
The “Tomatina” is held each year in Bunol, located in a fertile (富饶的) region about 40 kilometers 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.
49. To keep their stores safe, the shopkeepers _____.
A. kept their store fronts covered         B. hung plastic sheets on the walls
C. closed all the doors and windows       D. stopped people throwing at them
50. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “pulp” (in Paragraph 6)?
A. skin.                     B. color.                    C. mush.                      D. value.
51. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
A. the “Tomatina” brings in huge profits
B. the festival attracted more tourists this year
C. no one knows the history of the festival        
D. tourism plays an important role in Bunol
52. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. It is fun to throw tomatoes         B. An exciting story about tomatoes
C. Fighting and sightseeing in Bunol   D. Spanish town painted red in tomato fight