【饥饿游戏】49

I eat half the rabbit as I go, then wrap up the leftovers¹ in my

plastic for later. The meat stops the grumbling² in my stomach

but does little to quench³ my thirst. Water is my top priority now.

As I hike along, I feel certain I’m still holding the screen in

the Capitol, so I’m careful to continue to hide my emotions.

But what a good time Claudius Templesmith must be having

with his guest commentators⁴, dissecting⁵ Peeta’s behavior, my

reaction. What to make of it all? Has Peeta revealed his true

colors? How does this affect the betting odds⁶? Will we lose

sponsors? Do we even have sponsors? Yes, I feel certain we

do, or at least did.

Certainly Peeta has thrown a wrench⁷ into our star-crossed

lover dynamic. Or has he? Maybe, since he hasn’t spoken much

about me, we can still get some mileage⁸ out of it. Maybe

people will think it’s something we plotted together if I seem

like it amuses me now.

The sun rises in the sky and even through the canopy⁹ it

seems overly bright. I coat my lips in some grease from the

rabbit and try to keep from panting, but it’s no use. It’s only

been a day and I’m dehydrating fast. I try and think of everything

I know about finding water. It runs downhill, so, in fact,

continuing down into this valley isn’t a bad thing. If I could

just locate a game trail or spot a particularly green patch of

vegetation, these might help me along, but nothing seems to

change. There’s just the slight gradual slope, the birds, the

sameness to the trees.

As the day wears on, I know I’m headed for trouble. What

little urine I’ve been able to pass is a dark brown, my head is

aching, and there’s a dry patch on my tongue that refuses to

moisten. The sun hurts my eyes so I dig out my sunglasses, but

when I put them on they do something funny to my vision, so I

just stuff them back in my pack.

It’s late afternoon when I think I’ve found help. I spot a

cluster of berry bushes and hurry to strip the fruit, to suck the

sweet juices from the skins. But just as I’m holding them to my

lips, I get a hard look at them. What I thought were blueberries

have a slightly different shape, and when I break one open

the insides are bloodred. I don’t recognize these berries, perhaps

they are edible¹⁰, but I’m guessing this is some evil trick on

the part of the Gamemakers. Even the plant instructor¹¹ in the

Training Center made a point of telling us to avoid berries unless

you were 100 percent sure they weren’t toxic¹². Something

I already knew, but I’m so thirsty it takes her reminder¹³ to give

me the strength to fling them away.

Fatigue¹⁴ is beginning to settle on me, but it’s not the usual

tiredness that follows a long hike. I have to stop and rest frequently,

although I know the only cure for what ails¹⁵ me requires

continued searching. I try a new tactic¹⁶ — climbing a

tree as high as I dare in my shaky state — to look for any signs

of water. But as far as I can see in any direction, there’s the

same unrelenting stretch of forest.

Determined¹⁷ to go on until nightfall, I walk until I’m stumbling

over my own feet.

Exhausted¹⁸, I haul myself up into a tree and belt myself in.

I’ve no appetite, but I suck on a rabbit bone just to give my

mouth something to do. Night falls, the anthem¹⁹ plays, and high

in the sky I see the picture of the girl, who was apparently²⁰

from District 8. The one Peeta went back to finish off.

My fear of the Career pack is minor²¹ compared to my burning

thirst. Besides, they were heading away from me and by

now they, too, will have to rest. With the scarcity²² of water,

they may even have had to return to the lake for refills.

Maybe, that is the only course for me as well.

Morning brings distress²³. My heads throbs²⁴ with every beat

of my heart. Simple movements send stabs of pain through my

joints²⁵. I fall, rather than jump from the tree. It takes several

minutes for me to assemble my gear. Somewhere inside me, I

know this is wrong. I should be acting²⁶ with more caution,

moving with more urgency. But my mind seems foggy and

forming a plan is hard. I lean back against the trunk of my

tree, one finger gingerly stroking the sandpaper surface of my

tongue, as I assess my options. How can I get water?

Return to the lake. No good. I’d never make it.

Hope for rain. There’s not a cloud in the sky.

Keep looking. Yes, this is my only chance. But then, another

thought hits me, and the surge of anger that follows brings me

to me senses.

Haymitch! He could send me water! Press a button and

have it delivered to me in a silver parachute in minutes. I

know I must have sponsors, at least one or two who could afford

a pint²⁷ of liquid for me. Yes, it’s pricey, but these people,

they’re made of money. And they’ll be betting on me as well.

Perhaps Haymitch doesn’t realize how deep my need is.

I say in a voice as loud as I dare. “Water.” I wait, hopefully,

for a parachute to descend²⁸ from the sky. But nothing is forthcoming.

Something is wrong. Am I deluded²⁹ about having sponsors?

Or has Peeta’s behavior made them all hang back? No, I don’t

believe it. There’s someone out there who wants to buy me

water only Haymitch is refusing to let it go through. As my

mentor³⁰, he gets to control the flow of gifts from the sponsors. I

know he hates me. He’s made that clear enough. But enough to

let me die? From this? He can’t do that, can he? 

dehydrating 脱水.

1 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

2 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

3 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

4 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 dissecting   

v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的现在分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Another group was dissecting a new film showing locally. 另外一批人正在剖析城里上演的一部新电影。 来自辞典例句
• Probe into Dissecting Refraction Method Statics Processing under Complicated Surface Conditions. 不同地表条件下土壤侵蚀的坡度效应。 来自互联网

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 wrench   

v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受

参考例句：

• He gave a wrench to his ankle when he jumped down.他跳下去的时候扭伤了足踝。
• It was a wrench to leave the old home.离开这个老家非常痛苦。

8 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

9 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

10 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

11 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

12 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

14 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

15 ails   

v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳

参考例句：

• He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

17 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

18 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

19 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。

20 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。

21 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

22 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

23 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

24 throbs   

体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My finger throbs with the cut. 我的手指因切伤而阵阵抽痛。
• We should count time by heart throbs, in the cause of right. 我们应该在正确的目标下，以心跳的速度来计算时间。

25 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

26 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

27 pint   

n.品脱

参考例句：

• I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
• In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。

28 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

29 deluded   

v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't be deluded into thinking that we are out of danger yet. 不要误以为我们已脱离危险。
• She deluded everyone into following her. 她骗得每个人都听信她的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。