【饥饿游戏】20

 “My mother,” I say.

“It’s beautiful. Classic really. And in almost perfect balance

with your profile. She has very clever fingers,” he says.

I had expected someone flamboyant¹, someone older trying

desperately² to look young, someone who viewed me as a piece

of meat to be prepared for a platter. Cinna has met none of

these expectations.

“You’re new, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,”

I say. Most of the stylists are familiar, constants in the everchanging

pool of tributes. Some have been around my whole

life.

“Yes, this is my first year in the Games,” says Cinna.

“So they gave you District Twelve,” I say. Newcomers generally

end up with us, the least desirable district.

“I asked for District Twelve,” he says without further explanation.

“Why don’t you put on your robe and we’ll have a

chat.”

Pulling on my robe, I follow him through a door into a sitting

room. Two red couches face off over a low table. Three

walls are blank, the fourth is entirely³ glass, providing a window

to the city. I can see by the light that it must be around

noon, although the sunny sky has turned overcast⁴. Cinna invites

me to sit on one of the couches and takes his place across

from me. He presses a button on the side of the table. The top

splits and from below rises a second tabletop that holds our

lunch. Chicken and chunks⁵ of oranges cooked in a creamy

sauce laid on a bed of pearly white grain, tiny green peas and

onions, rolls shaped like flowers, and for dessert, a pudding

the color of honey.

I try to imagine assembling this meal myself back home.

Chickens are too expensive, but I could make do with a wild

turkey. I’d need to shoot a second turkey to trade for an

orange. Goat’s milk would have to substitute for cream. We

can grow peas in the garden. I’d have to get wild onions from

the woods. I don’t recognize the grain, our own tessera ration⁶

cooks down to an unattractive brown mush. Fancy rolls would

mean another trade with the baker⁷, perhaps for two or three

squirrels. As for the pudding, I can’t even guess what’s in it.

Days of hunting and gathering⁸ for this one meal and even then

it would be a poor substitution for the Capitol version.

What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where

food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the

hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance⁹ if it

were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these

people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and

waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and

die for their entertainment?

I look up and find Cinna’s eyes trained on mine. “How despicable

we must seem to you,” he says.

Has he seen this in my face or somehow read my thoughts?

He’s right, though. The whole rotten lot of them is despicable.

“No matter,” says Cinna. “So, Katniss, about your costume

for the opening ceremonies. My partner, Portia, is the stylist

for your fellow tribute, Peeta. And our current thought is to

dress you in complementary costumes,” says Cinna. “As you

know, it’s customary to reflect the flavor of the district.”

For the opening ceremonies, you’re supposed to wear

something that suggests your district’s principal industry. District

11, agriculture. District 4, fishing. District 3, factories.

This means that coming from District 12, Peeta and I will be in

some kind of coal miner’s getup. Since the baggy¹⁰ miner’s

jumpsuits are not particularly becoming, our tributes usually

end up in skimpy outfits¹² and hats with headlamps. One year,

our tributes were stark¹³ naked and covered in black powder to

represent coal dust. It’s always dreadful and does nothing to

win favor with the crowd. I prepare myself for the worst.

“So, I’ll be in a coal miner outfit¹¹?” I ask, hoping it won’t be

indecent.

“Not exactly. You see, Portia and I think that coal miner

thing’s very overdone¹⁴. No one will remember you in that. And

we both see it as our job to make the District Twelve tributes

unforgettable,” says Cinna.

I’ll be naked for sure, I think.

“So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we’re going

to focus on the coal,” says Cinna. Naked and covered in black

dust, I think. “And what do we do with coal? We burn it,” says

Cinna.

“You’re not afraid of fire, are you, Katniss?” He sees my expression

and grins.

A few hours later, I am dressed in what will either be the

most sensational¹⁵ or the deadliest costume in the opening ceremonies.

I’m in a simple black unitard that covers me from

ankle to neck. Shiny leather boots lace up to my knees. But it’s

the fluttering cape¹⁶ made of streams of orange, yellow, and red

and the matching headpiece that define this costume. 

1 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

2 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

3 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。

4 overcast   

adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天

参考例句：

• The overcast and rainy weather found out his arthritis.阴雨天使他的关节炎发作了。
• The sky is overcast with dark clouds.乌云满天。

5 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？

6 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

7 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

10 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

11 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

12 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

13 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

14 overdone   

v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度

参考例句：

• The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

16 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。