【饥饿游戏】18

“Only if they catch you. That bruise¹ will say you fought, you

weren’t caught, even better,” says Haymitch. He turns to me.

“Can you hit anything with that knife besides a table?”

The bow and arrow is my weapon. But I’ve spent a fair

amount of time throwing knives as well. Sometimes, if I’ve

wounded an animal with an arrow, it’s better to get a knife into

it, too, before I approach it. I realize that if I want Haymitch’s

attention, this is my moment to make an impression. I

yank the knife out of the table, get a grip on the blade, and

then throw it into the wall across the room. I was actually just

hoping to get a good solid stick, but it lodges² in the seam between

two panels, making me look a lot better than I am.

“Stand over here. Both of you,” says Haymitch, nodding to

the middle of the room. We obey and he circles us, prodding³

us like animals at times, checking our muscles, examining our

faces. “Well, you’re not entirely⁴ hopeless. Seem fit. And once

the stylists get hold of you, you’ll be attractive enough.”

Peeta and I don’t question this. The Hunger Games aren’t a

beauty contest, but the best-looking tributes always seem to

pull more sponsors.

“All right, I’ll make a deal with you. You don’t interfere⁵ with

my drinking, and I’ll stay sober enough to help you,” says

Haymitch. “But you have to do exactly what I say.”

It’s not much of a deal but still a giant step forward from

ten minutes ago when we had no guide at all.

“Fine,” says Peeta.

“So help us,” I say. “When we get to the arena⁶, what’s the

best strategy at the Cornucopia⁷ for someone —”

“One thing at a time. In a few minutes, we’ll be pulling into

the station. You’ll be put in the hands of your stylists. You’re

not going to like what they do to you. But no matter what it is,

don’t resist,” says Haymitch.

“But —” I begin.

“No buts. Don’t resist,” says Haymitch. He takes the bottle

of spirits from the table and leaves the car. As the door swings

shut behind him, the car goes dark. There are still a few lights

inside, but outside it’s as if night has fallen again. I realize we

must be in the tunnel that runs up through the mountains into

the Capitol. The mountains form a natural barrier between the

Capitol and the eastern districts. It is almost impossible to enter

from the east except through the tunnels. This geographical⁸

advantage was a major factor in the districts losing the war

that led to my being a tribute today. Since the rebels had to

scale the mountains, they were easy targets for the Capitol’s

air forces.

Peeta Mellark and I stand in silence as the train speeds

along. The tunnel goes on and on and I think of the tons of

rock separating me from the sky, and my chest tightens⁹. I hate

being encased in stone this way. It reminds me of the mines

and my father, trapped, unable to reach sunlight, buried forever

in the darkness.

The train finally begins to slow and suddenly bright light

floods the compartment¹⁰. We can’t help it. Both Peeta and I run

to the window to see what we’ve only seen on television, the

Capitol, the ruling city of Panem. The cameras haven’t lied

about its grandeur¹¹. If anything, they have not quite captured

the magnificence of the glistening¹² buildings in a rainbow of

hues¹³ that tower into the air, the shiny cars that roll down the

wide paved streets, the oddly dressed people with bizarre hair

and painted faces who have never missed a meal. All the colors

seem artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright,

the yellows painful to the eyes, like the flat round disks of

hard candy we can never afford to buy at the tiny sweet shop

in District 12.

The people begin to point at us eagerly as they recognize a

tribute train rolling into the city. I step away from the window, 

sickened by their excitement, knowing they can’t wait to 

watch us die. But Peeta holds his ground, actually waving and

smiling at the gawking crowd. He only stops when the train

pulls into the station, blocking us from their view.

He sees me staring at him and shrugs¹⁴. “Who knows?” he

says. “One of them may be rich.”

I have misjudged him. I think of his actions since the reaping

began. The friendly squeeze of my hand. His father showing

up with the cookies and promising¹⁵ to feed Prim¹⁶ . . . did

Peeta put him up to that? His tears at the station. Volunteering

to wash Haymitch but then challenging him this morning

when apparently¹⁷ the nice-guy approach had failed. And now

the waving at the window, already trying to win the crowd.

All of the pieces are still fitting together, but I sense he has

a plan forming. He hasn’t accepted his death. He is already

fighting hard to stay alive. Which also means that kind Peeta

Mellark, the boy who gave me the bread, is fighting hard to kill

me.

1 bruise   

n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤

参考例句：

• The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。
• Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。

2 lodges   

v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• But I forget, if I ever heard, where he lodges in Liverpool. 可是我记不得有没有听他说过他在利物浦的住址。 来自辞典例句
• My friend lodges in my uncle's house. 我朋友寄居在我叔叔家。 来自辞典例句

3 prodding   

v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• He needed no prodding. 他不用督促。
• The boy is prodding the animal with a needle. 那男孩正用一根针刺那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

7 cornucopia   

n.象征丰收的羊角

参考例句：

• The book is a cornucopia of information.书是知识的宝库。
• Our cornucopia is the human mind and heart.我们富足是由于人类的智慧和热情。

8 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

9 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

10 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

11 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

12 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

13 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

14 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

16 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

17 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。