"The Hunger Games" tickets sell like hot potatoes

 　　BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Fandango, an online ticket seller in U.S., said it is selling 10 tickets per second for “The Hunger Games” which opens in theatres Friday.

　　Fandango added that it has sold out more than 2,500 show times for “The Hunger Games” and that the film now ranks behind “The Twilight¹ Saga²: New Moon” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” as the site’s third-biggest advance ticket-seller ever.

　　John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners in U.S., told reporters that theaters are frantically³ trying to play “The Hunger Games” on more screens when it opens.

　　In some markets, theaters have added 3 a.m. screenings early Friday morning to meet demand, he said.

　　The new movie “Hunger Games” seems destined⁴ to be a big hit. It is a challenging story--a dystopian future in which an oppressive government forces young people into gladiator-type battles-to-the-death.

　　One critic described “Games” as “like ‘American Idol’ with a body count.”

　　“Games” is set somewhere in the future, after the collapse⁵ of the United States government, followed by years of civil war.

　　Eventually, a new and oppressive government has asserted itself, controlling a new country called Panem.

　　In Panem, the former America is divided into 12 “districts,” all of them iron-fistedly ruled by a “president” in “the Capitol.”

　　Two young people, one male, one female, from each of the 12 districts are chosen by lottery⁶. These “tributes” are then forced to fight to the death on live television.

　　The “Winter’s Bone” star Jennifer Lawrence plays 16-year-old contestant⁷ Katniss Everdeen. As skilled with a bow and arrow as she is soulful (she volunteers to take the spot of a younger sister chosen by lottery to compete), Katniss and her male partner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) represent District 12, a hardscrabble place.

1 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

2 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

3 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

4 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

7 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。