When people talk about eating as a communal activity, they generally refer to the feeling of friendship and togetherness that comes from sitting down and sharing a meal with others. Yet, there is another way in which eating can be seen as a group experience: eating contests.
Competitive eating contests challenge a person’s eating speed or overall food consumption. Such events draw huge crowds and have become more and more popular with the streaming capabilities of the Internet. While no one knows for sure how long food competitions have been around, there is a 13th-century Norse myth that features an eating contest between the trickster god Loki and a giant’s servant. If the concept was prevalent enough to appear in ancient folklore, it had probably existed for a long time before that.
In the realm of contemporary eating contests, the governing body of the sport traces its roots back to 1916, when Nathan’s Famous in New York City held a hot dog eating contest. However, these early competitions were mostly publicity stunts or county fair sideshows. It wasn’t until the 1990s that competitive eating took off and rigorous regulations were also formed. A pair of brothers relaunched Nathan’s Famous’ contest as a major sporting event, and since then, the world has been introduced to fast-eating champions like Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi.
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In more recent years, a viral video trend known as mukbang, or eating shows, arose in South Korea in 2010. Either prerecorded or streamed, such videos show creators consuming large quantities of food in front of cameras. Viewers who often dine alone claim that watching these people eat makes them feel less lonely. Others find fulfillment in watching someone eat quantities that they themselves could never manage.
當人們說吃東西是一項集體活動時，他們一般是指坐著與他人共享餐點時所感受到的友誼和親密感。但是還有另一種群體一起吃東西的體驗：大胃王比賽。
大胃王比賽挑戰一個人吃東西的速度或整體的進食量。這樣的活動吸引龐大的群眾，且網路的串流功能使其變得愈來愈受歡迎。雖然沒有人能確定食物競賽存在多久，但有個十三世紀的北歐神話提到一場惡作劇之神洛基與一個巨人的僕人的吃東西競賽。如果這個概念盛行到出現在古老民間傳說中，那它可能更早以前就存在了。
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在現代大胃王比賽的領域中，這項運動的管理機構（編按：指Major League Eating（職業大胃王聯盟），負責監管所有職業大胃王比賽的世界組織）追溯其起源至1916年，當時紐約市的納森熱狗店舉辦了吃熱狗大賽。然而，這些早期的比賽大多是宣傳噱頭，或是縣市集的穿插節目。直到1990年代，大胃王比賽才開始成功，也制定了嚴謹的規定。一對兄弟以大型運動賽事的規模重新開辦納森的比賽，自那時起，世界迎來了像是喬伊．徹斯納特和小林尊等快食冠軍。
在更近期的幾年，被稱為吃播的爆紅影片趨勢於2010年在南韓出現了。這樣的影片是以預錄或直播的方式呈現出創作者在鏡頭前吃下大量的食物。時常獨自吃飯的觀眾說，看這些人吃東西讓他們覺得較不孤單。其他人則覺得，看著某人吃下自己永遠無法承受的食物量時，有一股滿足感。
Words in Use
Photo: Shutterstock I 照片：Shutterstock
1. spectator n. (觀看比賽的)觀眾
a spectator sport 觀賞性體育運動
Baseball, basketball and tennis are spectator sports that draw countless fans.
棒球、籃球和網球都是吸引了無數粉絲的觀賞性運動。
2. communal a. 集體的
Students living in the dorm can experience a communal life.
住宿的學生可以體驗集體生活。
3. competitive a. 競爭的
E-commerce is a highly competitive business.
電子商務是個高度競爭的行業。
4. overall a. 總體的，全面的
Despite a slip of the tongue, Randy’s overall performance in the presentation was good.
儘管有口誤，但藍迪那場報告的整體表現很棒。
5. consumption n. 消耗量
consume vt. 吃；喝
Excessive consumption of sugary drinks can lead to health problems.
過量的含糖飲料下肚可能會造成健康問題。
Tim consumed a huge cake today.
提姆今天吃掉了一個超大蛋糕。
Practical Phrases
1. in the realm of... 在……領域∕方面
realm n. 範圍，領域
In the realm of finance, Bailey is an expert like no other.
在金融領域中，貝利是個無人能比的專家。
2. take off 開始成功；開始走紅
Many businesses took off after the pandemic.
許多企業在疫情後開始成功。
3. introduce A to B 將A引進 ∕ 介紹給B
A group of science experts will be introduced to our team to assist in our project.
我們團隊將迎來一組科學專家來協助我們的專案。
聽文章朗讀及講解: https://ivy.pse.is/455bfu
本文出自常春藤解析英語雜誌: www.ivy.com.tw
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