【饥饿游戏】45

I continue running until the woods have hidden me from the 

other tributes then slow into a steady jog that I think I can 

maintain for a while. For the next few hours, I alternate between 

jogging and walking, putting as much distance as I can between 

myself and my competitors. I lost my bread during the struggle 

with the boy from District 9 but managed to stuff my plastic in 

my sleeve so as I walk I fold it neatly¹ and tuck it into a pocket. 

I also free the knife — it’s a fine one with a long sharp blade, 

serrated near the handle, which will make it handy for sawing 

through things — and slide it into my belt. I don’t dare stop to 

examine the contents of the pack yet. I just keep moving, 

pausing only to check for pursuers.

I can go a long time. I know that from my days in the

woods. But I will need water. That was Haymitch’s second 

instruction, and since I sort of botched the first, I keep a sharp

eye out for any sign of it. No luck. The woods begin to evolve, 

and the pines are intermixed with a variety of trees, some I 

recognize, some completely foreign to me. At one point, I hear 

a noise and pull my knife, thinking I may have to defend myself, 

but I’ve only startled a rabbit. “Good to see you,” I whisper. If 

there’s one rabbit, there could be hundreds just waiting to be 

snared². The ground slopes down. I don’t particularly like this. 

Valleys make me feel trapped. I want to be high, like in the hills

around District 12, where I can see my enemies approaching.

But I have no choice but to keep going.

Funny though, I don’t feel too bad. The days of gorging³ myself

have paid off. I’ve got staying power even though I’m

short on sleep. Being in the woods is rejuvenating⁴. I’m glad for

the solitude⁵, even though it’s an illusion, because I’m probably

on-screen right now. Not consistently but off and on. There

are so many deaths to show the first day that a tribute trekking⁶

through the woods isn’t much to look at. But they’ll show

me enough to let people know I’m alive, uninjured and on the

move. One of the heaviest days of betting is the opening, when

the initial casualties come in. But that can’t compare to what

happens as the field shrinks to a handful of players.

It’s late afternoon when I begin to hear the cannons⁷. Each

shot represents a dead tribute. The fighting must have finally

stopped at the Cornucopia⁸. They never collect the bloodbath

bodies until the killers⁹ have dispersed¹⁰. On the opening day,

they don’t even fire the cannons until the initial fighting’s over

because it’s too hard to keep track of the fatalities¹¹. I allow myself

to pause, panting, as I count the shots. One . . . two . . .

three . . . on and on until they reach eleven. Eleven dead in all.

Thirteen left to play. My fingernails scrape at the dried blood

the boy from District 9 coughed into my face. He’s gone, certainly.

I wonder about Peeta. Has he lasted through the day?

I’ll know in a few hours. When they project the dead’s images

into the sky for the rest of us to see.

All of a sudden, I’m overwhelmed by the thought that Peeta

may be already lost, bled white, collected, and in the process

of being transported back to the Capitol to be cleaned up, redressed¹²,

and shipped in a simple wooden box back to District 12. No longer 

here. Heading home. I try hard to remember if I saw him once the 

action started. But the last image I can conjure¹³ up is Peeta shaking 

his head as the gong rang out. Maybe it’s better, if he’s gone already. 

He had no confidence he could win. And I will not end up with the 

unpleasant task of killing¹⁴ him. Maybe it’s better if he’s out of this for 

good. I slump¹⁵ down next to my pack, exhausted¹⁶. I need to go

through it anyway before night falls. See what I have to work

with. As I unhook the straps¹⁷, I can feel it’s sturdily made 

although a rather unfortunate color. This orange will practically

glow in the dark. I make a mental note to camouflage¹⁸ it first

thing tomorrow.

I flip¹⁹ open the flap. What I want most, right at this moment,

is water. Haymitch’s directive to immediately find water was

not arbitrary. I won’t last long without it. For a few days, I’ll be

able to function with unpleasant symptoms of dehydration²⁰,

but after that I'll deteriorate²¹ into helplessness and be dead in

a week, tops. I carefully lay out the provisions. One thin black

sleeping bag that reflects body heal. A pack of crackers²². A pack

of dried beef strips. A bottle of iodine²³. A box of wooden matches. 

A small coil of wire. A pair of sunglasses. And a halfgallon

plastic bottle with a cap for carrying water that's bone dry.

No water. How hard would it have been for them to fill up

the bottle? I become aware of the dryness in my throat and

mouth, the cracks in my lips. I've been moving all day long. 

It's been hot and I've sweat a lot. I do this at home, but there 

are always streams to drink from, or snow to melt if it should

come to it. 

serrate adj. [生物] 锯齿状的

botched n. 办砸了（电影名）

rejuvenating 复壮

trekking n. 艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行；艰难旅程

casualties n. 伤亡；人员伤亡（casualty的复数）

fatalities n. 灾祸；命运；意外的的死亡事故（fatality的复数）

dehydration n. 脱水

deteriorate vi. 恶化，变坏

1 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。

2 snared   

v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He snared a job with IBM. 他以巧妙的手段在 IBM 公司谋得一职。 来自辞典例句
• The hunter snared a skunk. 猎人捕得一只臭鼬。 来自辞典例句

3 gorging   

v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的现在分词 )；作呕

参考例句：

• They had been gorging fruit in the forest. 他们方才一直在森林里狼吞虎咽地大嚼野果。 来自辞典例句
• He saw roses winding about the rain spout; or mulberries-birds gorging in the mulberry tree. 他会看到玫瑰花绕在水管上，或者是看到在桑树枝头上使劲啄食的小鸟。 来自辞典例句

4 rejuvenating   

使变得年轻，使恢复活力( rejuvenate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rejuvenating ambience of autumn is immeasurably more ancient than even the calendar. 秋天那让人恢复青春活力的气氛远比历法还要古老。 来自名作英译部分
• Rhoda says that it's embarrassing to be so idolized, but also very sweet and rejuvenating. 罗达说，给人这样过份地崇拜是很发窘的，不过也是愉快惬意使人年轻的。

5 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

6 trekking   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• She can't come pony trekking after all because she's in a delicate condition. 她结果还是不能坐小马车旅行，因为她已怀孕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We spent the summer trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas. 我们整个夏天都在喜马拉雅山的山麓艰难跋涉。 来自互联网

7 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cornucopia   

n.象征丰收的羊角

参考例句：

• The book is a cornucopia of information.书是知识的宝库。
• Our cornucopia is the human mind and heart.我们富足是由于人类的智慧和热情。

9 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

10 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

11 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 redressed   

v.改正( redress的过去式和过去分词 )；重加权衡；恢复平衡

参考例句：

• A fault confessed is half redressed. 承认错误等于改正了一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Those who had been wronged stood up and demanded that their wrongs be redressed, and those who had been made to suffer cruelly spoke out against those responsible for their suffering. 有冤伸冤，有苦诉苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

16 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。

17 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

18 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

19 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

20 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

21 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

22 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。