【饥饿游戏】40

PART II

"THE GAMES"

 

 

For a moment, the cameras hold on Peeta’s downcast eyes

as what he says sinks in. Then I can see my face, mouth half

open in a mix of surprise and protest, magnified on every

screen as I realize, Me! He means me! I press my lips together

and stare at the floor, hoping this will conceal¹ the emotions

starting to boil up inside of me.

“Oh, that is a piece of bad luck,” says Caesar, and there’s a

real edge of pain in his voice. The crowd is murmuring in

agreement, a few have even given agonized² cries.

“It’s not good,” agrees Peeta.

“Well, I don’t think any of us can blame you. It’d be hard not

to fall for that young lady,” says Caesar. “She didn’t know?”

Peeta shakes his head. “Not until now.”

I allow my eyes to flicker³ up to the screen long enough to

see that the blush on my cheeks is unmistakable.

“Wouldn’t you love to pull her back out here and get a response?”

Caesar asks the audience. The crowd screams assent⁴.

“Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen’s time has been

spent. Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I

speak for all of Panem when I say our hearts go with yours.”

The roar of the crowd is deafening⁵. Peeta has absolutely

wiped the rest of us off the map with his declaration of love

for me. (皮塔靠吐露爱的心声的方式，已经把其他所有人从

他前进道路上清除。)When the audience finally settles down, 

he chokes out a quiet “Thank you” and returns to his seat. We 

stand for the anthem⁷. I have to raise my head out of the required 

respect and cannot avoid seeing that every screen is now 

dominated by a shot of Peeta and me, separated by a few feet 

that in the viewers’ heads can never be breached⁸. Poor tragic⁹ us.

(我们相隔几英尺站立着，可这个距离在每个观众的眼里是永

远无法逾越的距离。可怜的、悲情的我们啊！)

But I know better.

After the anthem, the tributes file back into the Training

Center lobby and onto the elevators. I make sure to veer¹⁰ into a

car that does not contain Peeta. The crowd slows our entourages

of stylists and mentors¹¹ and chaperones, so we have only

each other for company. No one speaks. My elevator stops to

deposit four tributes before I am alone and then find the doors

opening on the twelfth floor. Peeta has only just stepped from

his car when I slam my palms into his chest. He loses his balance

and crashes into an ugly urn⁶ filled with fake flowers. The

urn tips and shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces. Peeta lands

in the shards¹³, and blood immediately flows from his hands.

“What was that for?” he says, aghast.

“You had no right! No right to go saying those things about

me!” I shout at him.

Now the elevators open and the whole crew is there, Effie,

Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia.

“What’s going on?” says Effie, a note of hysteria in her

voice. “Did you fall?”

“After she shoved me,” says Peeta as Effie and Cinna help

him up.

Haymitch turns on me. “Shoved him?”

“This was your idea, wasn’t it? Turning me into some kind

of fool in front of the entire country?” I answer.

“It was my idea,” says Peeta, wincing¹⁴ as he pulls spikes¹⁵ of

pottery¹⁶ from his palms. “Haymitch just helped me with it.”

“Yes, Haymitch is very helpful. To you!” I say.

“You are a fool,” Haymitch says in disgust. “Do you think he

hurt you? That boy just gave you something you could never

achieve on your own.”

“He made me look weak!” I say.

“He made you look desirable! And let’s face it, you can use

all the help you can get in that department. You were about as

romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you. Now they all do.

You’re all they’re talking about. The star-crossed lovers from

District Twelve!” says Haymitch.

“But we’re not star-crossed lovers!” I say.

Haymitch grabs my shoulders and pins me against the wall.

“Who cares? It’s all a big show. It’s all how you’re perceived.

The most I could say about you after your interview was that

you were nice enough, although that in itself was a small miracle.

Now I can say you’re a heartbreaker. Oh, oh, oh, how the

boys back home fall longingly¹⁷ at your feet. Which do you think

will get you more sponsors?”

The smell of wine on his breath makes me sick. I shove his

hands off my shoulders and step away, trying to clear my head.

Cinna comes over and puts his arm around me. “He’s right, Katniss.”

I don’t know what to think. “I should have been told, so I

didn’t look so stupid.”

“No, your reaction was perfect. If you’d known, it wouldn’t

have read as real,” says Portia.

“She’s just worried about her boyfriend,” says Peeta gruffly,

tossing away a bloody¹⁸ piece of the urn.

My cheeks burn again at the thought of Gale¹⁹. “I don’t have a

boyfriend.”

“Whatever,” says Peeta. “But I bet he’s smart enough to

know a bluff²⁰ when he sees it. Besides you didn’t say you loved

me. So what does it matter?”

The words are sinking in. My anger fading. I’m torn now between

thinking I’ve been used and thinking I’ve been given an edge. 

Haymitch is right. I survived my interview, but what was

I really? A silly girl spinning in a sparkling, dress. Giggling²¹. The

only moment of any substance I hail was when I talked about

Prim²². Compare that with Thresh, his silent, deadly power, and

I’m forgettable. Silly and sparkly and forgettable. No, not 

entirely²³ forgettable, I have my eleven in training.

entourage n. 随从；周围；环境

urn n. 瓮；缸；茶水壶；坟墓；骨灰瓮

shard¹² n. （甲虫的）[昆] 鞘翅；陶瓷碎片

aghast adj. 吓呆的，惊骇的；吃惊的

star-crossed adj. 不幸的；运气不好的；倒霉的

1 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

2 agonized   

v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦

参考例句：

• All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失，深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句

3 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

4 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

5 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

6 urn   

n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮

参考例句：

• The urn was unearthed entire.这只瓮出土完整无缺。
• She put the big hot coffee urn on the table and plugged it in.她将大咖啡壶放在桌子上,接上电源。

7 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

8 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 veer   

vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向

参考例句：

• He is unlikely to veer from his boss's strongly held views.他不可能背离他老板的强硬立场。
• If you fall asleep while driving,you'll probably veer off the road.假如你开车时打瞌睡，可能会驶离道路。

11 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

12 shard   

n.（陶瓷器、瓦等的）破片，碎片

参考例句：

• Eyewitnesses spoke of rocks and shards of glass flying in the air.目击者称空中石块和玻璃碎片四溅。
• That's the same stuff we found in the shard.那与我们发现的碎片在材质上一样。

13 shards   

n.（玻璃、金属或其他硬物的）尖利的碎片( shard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyewitnesses spoke of rocks and shards of glass flying in the air. 目击者称空中石块和玻璃碎片四溅。 来自辞典例句
• Ward, Josh Billings, and a host of others have survived only in scattered shards of humour. 沃德、比林斯和许多别的作家能够留传下来的只是些幽默的残章断简。 来自辞典例句

14 wincing   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She switched on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. 她打开了灯，突如其来的强烈光线刺得她不敢睜眼。
• "I will take anything," he said, relieved, and wincing under reproof. “我什么事都愿意做，"他说，松了一口气，缩着头等着挨骂。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

15 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

17 longingly   

adv. 渴望地 热望地

参考例句：

• He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
• Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情，一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。

18 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

19 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。

20 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

21 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 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

23 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。