CONWAY, Ark. - A group of Arkansas college students has set the world record for the world's largest Christmas stocking.

As official representative of Guinness World Records, Stuart Claxton of England flew in from New York to measure the stocking Saturday. And it met, and surpassed, the mark at 53 feet, 10 inches long and 26 feet, 112 inches wide from heel to toe.

The red, white, green and gold sock with the 30-foot zipper beat the previous record set in December 2004 by the community of Old Town Spring, Texas. The Texas stocking was 40 feet, 6 inches long and 15 feet 6 inches wide, Claxton said.

But Claxton said the stocking isn't the first time Arkansans have set a Guinness World Record. Among the state's other accomplishments are the heaviest twins, who weighed a total of 27.12 pounds when they were born Feb. 20, 1924. And a Sherwood man, Daniel Williams, who recorded the longest eyelash, at 2 inches, in June 2005.

Graduating senior Brittany Jones of the University of Central Arkansas and other students created the monstrous sock, using 180 yards of fleece, 27 spools of thread, 350 yards of ribbon, 30 yards of cotton, 25 yards of felt, 103 sticks of hot glue, a half-gallon of fabric paint and more than 500 hours of labor.

They stuffed it with 600 teddy bears, 570 stuffed toys, more than 1,000 toy trucks, 423 Barbie dolls, 380 baby dolls, 682 books, some 200 board games, 163 sets of Legos, 75 footballs, 11 bicycles and thousands more toys. The toys will be distributed through charitable organizations to children around the state.

Before the measuring, workers pushed wagons and dollies loaded with toys and rode bicycles into the stocking. Promoters also reported more than 500 coats, hats and assorted clothes were donated.

While an Elvis impersonator crooned Christmas songs, cameras flashed, and Santa Claus listened to wishes from children, Claxton and a helper used a yellow tape measure and a long red level to size up the sock. For a stocking to qualify, it had to be made with traditional materials and be filled with presents.

　　参考译文：

　　美国阿肯色州的一群大学生近日创造了一项新的吉尼斯世界纪录，他们编织出了迄今为止世界上最大的圣诞袜。经初步测量，这只袜子从脚后跟到足尖处的长度与宽度至少分别达到了16.4米和10.77米。

　　来自阿肯色州中央大学的4年级学生布莉特妮·琼斯和其他学生一起完成了这一壮举，他们总共用去了164.59米羊毛呢，27轴线， 320.04米丝带， 27.43米棉线， 22.86米毛毡，103管热粘接剂以及半加仑纺织品专用颜料，总工作时间超过500小时。他们在袜子内放入了600只泰迪玩具熊，570件填充玩具，1000多辆玩具卡车，423个芭比娃娃，380个洋娃娃，682本书，200余套棋类游戏，163套乐高拼装玩具，75个足球，11辆自行车以及数千件其他种类的玩具。这些玩具将通过多个慈善组织分发给阿肯色州各地的小朋友们。报道说，这只红、白、绿、金4种颜色相间的袜子上还装有一个长达9.14米的拉链。它打破了由美国得克萨斯州一个名叫老镇之春的社区居民创造的前世界纪录。

　　据美联社12月5日报道，做为吉尼斯世界纪录方面的代表，英格兰人斯图尔特·克拉克斯顿于12月3日专程从纽约飞到阿肯色州，对这只袜子进行实地测量。（张咏）