【饥饿游戏】37

The creature standing¹ before me in the full-length mirror

has come from another world. Where skin shimmers² and eyes

flash and apparently³ they make their clothes from jewels. Because

my dress, oh, my dress is entirely⁴ covered in reflective

precious gems⁵, red and yellow and white with bits of blue that

accent the tips of the flame design. The slightest movement

gives the impression I am engulfed⁶ in tongues of fire.

I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun.

For a while, we all just stare at me. “Oh, Cinna,” I finally

whisper. “Thank you.”

“Twirl for me,” he says. I hold out my arms and spin in a

circle. The prep team screams in admiration⁷.

Cinna dismisses the team and has me move around in the

dress and shoes, which are infinitely⁸ more manageable than

Effie’s. The dress hangs in such a way that I don’t have to lift

the skirt when I walk, leaving me with one less thing to worry about.

“So, all ready for the interview then?” asks Cinna. I can see

by his expression that he’s been talking to Haymitch. That he

knows how dreadful I am.

“I’m awful. Haymitch called me a dead slug. No matter what

we tried, I couldn’t do it. I just can’t be one of those people he

wants me to be,” I say.

Cinna thinks about this a moment. “Why don’t you just be yourself?”

“Myself? That’s no good, either. Haymitch says I’m sullen⁹

and hostile,” I say.

“Well, you are . . . around Haymitch,” says Cinna with a grin.

“I don’t find you so. The prep team adores you. You even won

over the Gamemakers. And as for the citizens of the Capitol,

well, they can’t stop talking about you. No one can help but

admire your spirit.”

My spirit. This is a new thought. I’m not sure exactly what it

means, but it suggests I’m a fighter. In a sort of brave way. It’s

not as if I’m never friendly. Okay, maybe I don’t go around loving

everybody I meet, maybe my smiles are hard to come by,

but I do care for some people.

Cinna takes my icy hands in his warm ones. “Suppose, when

you answer the questions, you think you’re addressing a

friend back home. Who would your best friend be?” asks Cinna.

“Gale¹⁰,” I say instantly. “Only it doesn’t make sense, Cinna. I

would never be telling Gale those things about me. He already

knows them.”

“What about me? Could you think of me as a friend?” asks Cinna.

Of all the people I’ve met since I left home, Cinna is by far

my favorite. I liked him right off and he hasn’t disappointed

me yet. “I think so, but —”

“I’ll be sitting on the main platform with the other stylists.

You’ll be able to look right at me. When you’re asked a question,

find me, and answer it as honestly as possible,” says Cinna.

“Even if what I think is horrible?” I ask. Because it might be, really.

“Especially if what you think is horrible,” says Cinna. “You’ll try it?”

I nod. It’s a plan. Or at least a straw to grasp at.

Too soon it’s time to go. The interviews take place on a

stage constructed in front of the Training Center. Once I leave

my room, it will be only minutes until I’m in front of the

crowd, the cameras, all of Panem.

As Cinna turns the doorknob, I stop his hand. “Cinna . . .” I’m

completely overcome with stage fright.

“Remember, they already love you,” he says gently. “Just be

yourself.”

We meet up with the rest of the District 12 crowd at the

elevator. Portia and her gang have been hard at work. Peeta

looks striking in a black suit with flame accents. While we look

well together, it’s a relief not to be dressed identically. Haymitch

and Effie are all fancied up for the occasion. I avoid

Haymitch, but accept Effie’s compliments. Effie can be tiresome¹¹

and clueless, but she’s not destructive like Haymitch.

When the elevator opens, the other tributes are being lined

up to take the stage. All twenty-four of us sit in a big arc

throughout the interviews. I’ll be last, or second to last since

the girl tribute precedes the boy from each district. How I

wish I could be first and get the whole thing out of the way!

Now I’ll have to listen to how witty¹², funny, humble¹³, fierce, and

charming everybody else is before I go up. Plus, the audience

will start to get bored, just as the Gamemakers did. And I can’t

exactly shoot an arrow into the crowd to get their attention.

Right before we parade onto the stage, Haymitch comes up

behind Peeta and me and growls¹⁴, “Remember, you’re still a

happy pair. So act like it.”

What? I thought we abandoned that when Peeta asked for

separate coaching. But I guess that was a private, not a public

thing. Anyway, there’s not much chance for interaction now,

as we walk single-file to our seats and take our places.

Just stepping on the stage makes my breathing rapid and

shallow. I can feel my pulse pounding in my temples. It’s a relief

to get to my chair, because between the heels and my legs

shaking, I’m afraid I’ll trip. Although evening is falling, the City

Circle is brighter than a summer’s day. An elevated seating

unit has been set up for prestigious¹⁵ guests, with the stylists

commanding the front row. The cameras will turn to them

when the crowd is reacting to their handiwork. 

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 shimmers   

n.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的名词复数 )v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The hot pavement sent up shimmers. 晒热的道路浮起热气晃动的景象。 来自辞典例句
• Sunlight shimmers on the waters of the bay. 阳光在海湾的水面上闪烁。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

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 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

6 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

8 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

9 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

10 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。

11 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

12 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

13 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

14 growls   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

15 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。