【饥饿游戏】53

I bathe the blood and ash from my face. I try to recall all I

know about burns. They are common injuries in the Seam

where we cook and heat our homes with coal. Then there are

the mine accidents. . . . A family once brought in an unconscious

young man pleading with my mother to help him. The

district doctor who’s responsible for treating the miners had

written him off, told the family to take him home to die. But

they wouldn’t accept this. He lay on our kitchen table, senseless

to the world. I got a glimpse of the wound on his thigh¹,

gaping², charred³ flesh, burned clear down to the bone, before I

ran from the house. I went to the woods and hunted the entire

day, haunted by the gruesome leg, memories of my father’s

death. What’s funny was, Prim⁴, who’s scared of her own shadow,

stayed and helped. My mother says healers are born, not

made. They did their best, but the man died, just like the doctor

said he would.

My leg is in need of attention, but I still can’t look at it.

What if it’s as bad as the man’s and I can see my bone? Then I

remember my mother saying that if a burn’s severe, the victim

might not even feel pain because the nerves would be destroyed.

Encouraged by this, I sit up and swing my leg in front of me.

I almost faint at the sight of my calf⁵. The flesh is a brilliant

red covered with blisters⁶. I force myself to take deep, slow

breaths, feeling quite certain the cameras are on my face. I

can’t show weakness at this injury. Not if I want help. Pity

does not get you aid. Admiration⁷ at your refusal to give in

does. I cut the remains⁸ of the pant leg off at the knee and 

examine the injury more closely. The burned area is about the

size of my hand. None of the skin is blackened. I think it’s not

too bad to soak. Gingerly I stretch out my leg into the pool,

propping⁹ the heel of my boot on a rock so the leather doesn’t

get too sodden¹⁰, and sigh, because this does offer some relief. I

know there are herbs, if I could find them, that would speed

the healing, but I can’t quite call them to mind. Water and time

will probably be all I have to work with.

Should I be moving on? The smoke is slowly clearing but

still too heavy to be healthy. If I do continue away from the

fire, won’t I be walking straight into the weapons of the Careers?

Besides, every time I lift my leg from the water, the

pain rebounds¹¹ so intensely I have to slide it back in. My hands

are slightly less demanding. They can handle small breaks

from the pool. So I slowly put my gear back in order. First I fill

my bottle with the pool water, treat it, and when enough time

has passed, begin to rehydrate my body. After a time, I force

myself to nibble¹² on a cracker¹³, which helps settle my stomach. I

roll up my sleeping bag. Except for a few black marks, it’s 

relatively¹⁴ unscathed. My jacket’s another matter. Stinking¹⁵ and

scorched¹⁶, at least a foot of the back beyond repair. I cut off the

damaged area leaving me with a garment that comes just to

the bottom of my ribs¹⁷. But the hood’s intact and it’s far better

than nothing.

Despite the pain, drowsiness¹⁸ begins to take over. I’d take to

a tree and try to rest, except I’d be too easy to spot. Besides,

abandoning my pool seems impossible. I neatly¹⁹ arrange my

supplies, even settle my pack on my shoulders, but I can’t

seem to leave. I spot some water plants with edible²⁰ roots and

make a small meal with my last piece of rabbit. Sip²¹ water.

Watch the sun make its slow arc across the sky. Where would

I go anyway that is any safer than here? I lean back on my

pack, overcome by drowsiness. If the Careers want me, let

them find me, I think before drifting into a stupor²². Let them

find me.

And find me, they do. It’s lucky I’m ready to move on because

when I hear the feet, I have less than a minute head

start. Evening has begun to fall. The moment I awake, I’m up

and running, splashing across the pool, flying into the underbrush.

My leg slows me down, but I sense my pursuers are not

as speedy as they were before the fire, either. I hear their

coughs, their raspy voices calling to one another.

Still, they are closing in, just like a pack of wild dogs, and so

I do what I have done my whole life in such circumstances. I

pick a high tree and begin to climb. If running hurt, climbing is

agonizing²³ because it requires not only exertion²⁴ but direct contact

of my hands on the tree bark. I’m fast, though, and by the

time they’ve reached the base of my trunk, I’m twenty feet up.

For a moment, we stop and survey one another. I hope they

can’t hear the pounding of my heart.

gruesome adj. 可怕的；阴森的

rehydrate vt. 补充水份 

unscathed adj. 未受伤的

1 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

2 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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

5 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

6 blisters   

n.水疱( blister的名词复数 )；水肿；气泡

参考例句：

• My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 propping   

支撑

参考例句：

• You can usually find Jack propping up the bar at his local. 你常常可以看见杰克频繁出没于他居住的那家酒店。
• The government was accused of propping up declining industries. 政府被指责支持日益衰败的产业。

10 sodden   

adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑

参考例句：

• We stripped off our sodden clothes.我们扒下了湿透的衣服。
• The cardboard was sodden and fell apart in his hands.纸板潮得都发酥了，手一捏就碎。

11 rebounds   

反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴

参考例句：

• V is the velocity after the gas particle rebounds from the wall. V是粒子从壁上弹开后的速度。
• In the former case, the first body rebounds with practically its original velocity. 在前一种情况下，第一个物体实际上以原来的速度弹回。

12 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。

13 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 stinking   

adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。
• Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

16 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

17 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

18 drowsiness   

n.睡意；嗜睡

参考例句：

• A feeling of drowsiness crept over him. 一种昏昏欲睡的感觉逐渐袭扰着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This decision reached, he finally felt a placid drowsiness steal over him. 想到这，来了一点平安的睡意。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

19 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

20 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。

21 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

22 stupor   

v.昏迷；不省人事

参考例句：

• As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。
• The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

23 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

24 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。