Annual World’s Biggest Liar competition underway in England

Actor Jim Carrey in a still from the 1997 film "Liar Liar"

A harrowing competition is underway in England, with billions of dollars and hundreds of lives at stake. OK, that's not true. But competitors from around the world gathered on Thursday for the annual competition to crown the world's biggest liar.

Each contestant is given up to five minutes to weave the best fib in the contest, which was founded in honor of 19th-century Bridge Inn landlord Will Ritson, who was reportedly legendary for his lies.

Competitors gather at the Bridge Inn every year for the competition, a small pub in northwestern England.

Anyone can take part in the competition. Well, almost anyway; the reporters note that lawyers and politicians are banned, citing "an unfair advantage" in the proceedings.

A study published this past July in the journal Evolution & Human Behavior found that nearly all lies are detectable through visible facial muscle reactions in the person telling a lie. "Thus, while interpersonal deception often is highly successful, signs of covert emotional states are communicated clearly to the informed observer," the study concluded.

A bishop of Carlisle reportedly holds what may be the greatest lie of all time in the competition, simply stating, "I have never told a lie in my life."

In 2003, Abrie Krueger of South Africa became the first non-Brit to win the competition. Ironically, Krueger was accused by some of cheating.

In 2006, comedian Sue Perkins became the first female to win the competition, telling a tale about people riding camels to work as a result of climate change.

Last year's winning entry came from Glen Boyland, who told a lie about competing in a snail-racing competition with Prince Charles.

当下英国正举行一场令人痛苦的比赛，数十亿美元和上百条生命都因此而受到威胁。好吧，这不是真话。不过周四这天，来自世界各地的竞赛者都聚集到英国参加一年一度的世界撒谎大赛，争夺撒谎大王的桂冠。

每个参赛者都有五分钟时间来编造出最妙的谎言。该比赛是为了纪念19世纪布里奇酒店老板威尔•瑞特森而创立的，据说瑞特森因为善于撒谎而成为传奇人物。

竞赛者每年都要聚集到布里奇酒店来参加撒谎大赛。布里奇酒店是英国西北部的一个小酒馆。

任何人都能参加这一比赛。当然，这里指的是几乎任何人。记者指出，律师和政客被禁止参赛，据称这两类人在比赛中有“不公平的优势”。

今年七月在《进化与人类行为》杂志上发表的一篇研究报告发现，几乎所有的谎言都能通过说谎者的面部肌肉反应识别出来。该研究得出结论说：“因此，尽管人骗人通常都能成功，但是隐藏的情绪状态的讯号还是可以清晰地传递给见多识广的观察者。”

卡莱尔的一名主教据称说了比赛中前所未有的最大谎言，他只说了这句话：“我这辈子从来没说过一句谎话。”

2003年，南非的阿布里•克鲁伊格成为第一个不是英国人但却赢得撒谎大赛的人。具有讽刺意味的是，克鲁伊格被一些人指控作弊。

2006年，喜剧演员苏•帕金斯成为第一位赢得该大赛桂冠的女性，她讲述了一个人们因为气候变化不得不骑骆驼上班的故事。

去年摘得桂冠的谎言来自格伦•波伊兰德，他讲了一个与查尔斯王子进行蜗牛赛跑的谎话。

Vocabulary:

harrowing: 令人痛苦的，令人苦恼的，折磨人的

fib: 无关紧要（或无伤大雅）的谎言

covert: 隐藏的，暗藏的