【饥饿游戏】25

“So, Delly Cartwright. Imagine finding her lookalike here.”

He’s asking for an explanation, and I’m tempted¹ to give him

one. We both know he covered for me. So here I am in his debt

again. If I tell him the truth about the girl, somehow that might

even things up. How can it hurt really? Even if he repeated the

story, it couldn’t do me much harm. It was just something I

witnessed. And he lied as much as I did about Delly Cartwright.

I realize I do want to talk to someone about the girl. Someone

who might be able to help me figure out her story.

Gale² would be my first choice, but it’s unlikely I’ll ever see

Gale again. I try to think if telling Peeta could give him any

possible advantage over me, but I don’t see how. Maybe sharing

a confidence will actually make him believe I see him as a friend.

Besides, the idea of the girl with her maimed tongue frightens

me. She has reminded me why I’m here. Not to model

flashy costumes and eat delicacies³. But to die a bloody⁴ death

while the crowds urge on my killer⁵.

To tell or not to tell? My brain still feels slow from the wine.

I stare down the empty corridor as if the decision lies there.

Peeta picks up on my hesitation⁶. “Have you been on the

roof yet?” I shake my head. “Cinna showed me. You can practically

see the whole city. The wind’s a bit loud, though.”

I translate this into “No one will overhear us talking” in my

head. You do have the sense that we might be under surveillance

here. “Can we just go up?”

“Sure, come on,” says Peeta. I follow him to a flight of stairs

that lead to the roof. There’s a small dome⁷-shaped room with

a door to the outside. As we step into the cool, windy evening

air, I catch my breath at the view. The Capitol twinkles like a

vast field of fireflies. Electricity in District 12 comes and goes,

usually we only have it a few hours a day. Often the evenings

are spent in candlelight. The only time you can count on it is

when they’re airing the Games or some important government

message on television that it’s mandatory⁸ to watch. But

here there would be no shortage. Ever.

Peeta and I walk to a railing at the edge of the roof. I look

straight down the side of the building to the street, which is

buzzing with people. You can hear their cars, an occasional

shout, and a strange metallic⁹ tinkling¹⁰. In District 12, we’d all

be thinking about bed right now.

“I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Weren’t they worried

that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over

the side?” says Peeta.

“What’d he say?” I ask.

“You can’t,” says Peeta. He holds out his hand into seemingly

empty space. There’s a sharp zap and he jerks it back.

“Some kind of electric field throws you back on the roof.”

“Always worried about our safety,” I say. Even though Cinna

has shown Peeta the roof, I wonder if we’re supposed to be

up here now, so late and alone. I’ve never seen tributes on the

Training Center roof before. But that doesn’t mean we’re not

being taped. “Do you think they’re watching us now?”

“Maybe,” he admits. “Come see the garden.”

On the other side of the dome, they’ve built a garden with

flower beds and potted trees. From the branches hang hundreds

of wind chimes, which account for the tinkling I heard.

Here in the garden, on this windy night, it’s enough to drown

out two people who are trying not to be heard. Peeta looks at

me expectantly.

I pretend to examine a blossom. “We were hunting in the

woods one day. Hidden, waiting for game,” I whisper.

“You and your father?” he whispers back.

“No, my friend Gale. Suddenly all the birds stopped singing

at once. Except one. As if it were giving a warning call. And

then we saw her. I’m sure it was the same girl. A boy was with

her. Their clothes were tattered¹¹. They had dark circles under

their eyes from no sleep. They were running as if their lives

depended on it,” I say.

For a moment I’m silent, as I remember how the sight of

this strange pair, clearly not from District 12, fleeing through

the woods immobilized us. Later, we wondered if we could

have helped them escape. Perhaps we might have. Concealed¹²

them. If we’d moved quickly. Gale and I were taken by surprise,

yes, but we’re both hunters. We know how animals look

at bay. We knew the pair was in trouble as soon as we saw

them. But we only watched.

“The hovercraft appeared out of nowhere,” I continue to

Peeta. “I mean, one moment the sky was empty and the next it

was there. It didn’t make a sound, but they saw it. A net

dropped down on the girl and carried her up, fast, so fast like

the elevator. 

1 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

2 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

3 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

6 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

8 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

9 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

10 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

11 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

12 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。