【饥饿游戏】34

 My fingers were just on the wire above one of the rabbits 

when a voice rang out. “That’s dangerous.”

I jumped back several feet as Gale¹ materialized from behind

a tree. He must have been watching me the whole time.

He was only fourteen, but he cleared six feet and was as good

as an adult to me. I’d seen him around the Seam and at school.

And one other time. He’d lost his father in the same blast that

killed mine. In January, I’d stood by while he received his

medal of valor² in the Justice Building, another oldest child

with no father. I remembered his two little brothers clutching

his mother, a woman whose swollen³ belly⁴ announced she was

just days away from giving birth.

“What’s your name?” he said, coming over and disengaging

the rabbit from the snare⁵. He had another three hanging from

his belt.

“Katniss,” I said, barely audible.

“Well, Catnip（猫薄荷）, stealing’s punishable by death, 

or hadn’t you heard?” he said.

“Katniss,” I said louder. “And I wasn’t stealing it. I just

wanted to look at your snare. Mine never catch anything.”

He scowled⁶ at me, not convinced. “So where’d you get the

squirrel?”

“I shot it.” I pulled my bow off my shoulder. I was still using

the small version my father had made me, but I’d been practicing

with the full-size one when I could. I was hoping that by

spring I might be able to bring down some bigger game.

Gale’s eyes fastened on the bow. “Can I see that?” I handed

it over. “Just remember, stealing’s punishable by death.”

That was the first time I ever saw him smile. It transformed

him from someone menacing to someone you wished you

knew. But it took several months before I returned that smile.

We talked hunting then. I told him I might be able to get

him a bow if he had something to trade. Not food. I wanted

knowledge. I wanted to set my own snares⁷ that caught a belt

of fat rabbits in one day. He agreed something might be

worked out. As the seasons went by, we grudgingly⁸ began to

share our knowledge, our weapons, our secret places that

were thick with wild plums or turkeys. He taught me snares

and fishing. I showed him what plants to eat and eventually

gave him one of our precious bows. And then one day, without

either of us saying it, we became a team. Dividing the work

and the spoils. Making sure that both our families had food.

Gale gave me a sense of security I’d lacked since my father’s

death. His companionship replaced the long solitary⁹ hours in

the woods. I became a much better hunter when I didn’t have

to look over my shoulder constantly, when someone was

watching my back. But he turned into so much more than a

hunting partner. He became my confidante, someone with

whom I could share thoughts I could never voice inside the

fence. In exchange, he trusted me with his. Being out in the

woods with Gale . . . sometimes I was actually happy.

I call him my friend, but in the last year it’s seemed too casual

a word for what Gale is to me. A pang¹⁰ of longing¹¹ shoots

through my chest. If only he was with me now! But, of course,

I don’t want that. I don’t want him in the arena¹² where he’d be

dead in a few days. I just . . . I just miss him. And I hate being

so alone. Does he miss me? He must.

I think of the eleven flashing under my name last night. I

know exactly what he’d say to me. “Well, there’s some room

for improvement there.” And then he’d give me a smile and I’d

return it without hesitating now.

I can’t help comparing what I have with Gale to what I’m

pretending to have with Peeta. How I never question Gale’s

motives¹³ while I do nothing but doubt the latter’s. It’s not a fair

comparison really. Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual¹⁴

need to survive. Peeta and I know the other’s survival

means our own death. How do you sidestep that?

Effie’s knocking at the door, reminding me there’s another

“big, big, big day!” ahead. Tomorrow night will be our televised

interviews. I guess the whole team will have their hands

full readying us for that. I get up and take a quick shower, 

being a bit more careful about the buttons I hit, and head down 

to the dining room. Peeta, Effie, and Haymitch are huddled¹⁵ around 

the table talking in hushed voices. That seems odd, but hunger 

wins out over curiosity and I load up my plate with breakfast 

before I join them.The stew’s made with tender chunks¹⁶ of lamb 

and dried plums today. Perfect on the bed of wild rice. I’ve 

shoveled¹⁷ about halfway¹⁸ through the mound¹⁹ when I realize no one’s 

talking. I take a big gulp²⁰ of orange juice and wipe my  mouth.

“So, what’s going on? You’re coaching us on interviews today,

right?”

“That’s right,” says Haymitch.

“You don’t have to wait until I’m done. I can listen and cat

at the same time,” I say.

“Well, there’s been a change of plans. About our current

approach,” says Haymitch.

“What’s that?” I ask. I’m not sure what our current approach

is. Trying to appear mediocre²¹ in front of the other tributes

is the last bit of strategy I remember.

Haymitch shrugs²². “Peeta has asked to be coached separately.”

1 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

2 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。

3 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

4 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

5 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

6 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

7 snares   

n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子，也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

8 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

10 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

11 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

12 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。

13 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

14 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

15 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

16 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

17 shoveled   

vt.铲，铲出（shovel的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The hungry man greedily shoveled the food into his mouth. 那个饥饿的人贪婪地、大口大口地吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They shoveled a path through the snow. 他们在雪中铲出一条小路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

19 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

20 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

21 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。

22 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