【饥饿游戏】31

 It’s impossible not to think of a bird.

I pick up another spear while Peeta throws. “I think her

name’s Rue¹,” he says softly.

I bite my lip. Rue is a small yellow flower that grows in the

Meadow. Rue. Primrose³. Neither of them could tip the scale at

seventy pounds soaking wet.

“What can we do about it?” I ask him, more harshly than I

intended.

“Nothing to do,” he says back. “Just making conversation.”

Now that I know she’s there, it’s hard to ignore the child.

She slips up and joins us at different stations. Like me, she’s

clever with plants, climbs swiftly, and has good aim. She can

hit the target every time with a slingshot. But what is a slingshot

against a 220-pound male with a sword?

Back on the District 12 floor, Haymitch and Effie grill⁵ us

throughout breakfast and dinner about every moment of the

day. What we did, who watched us, how the other tributes size

up. Cinna and Portia aren’t around, so there’s no one to add

any sanity⁶ to the meals. Not that Haymitch and Effie are fighting

anymore. Instead they seem to be of one mind, determined⁷

to whip us into shape. Full of endless directions about what

we should do and not do in training. Peeta is more patient, but

I become fed up and surly.

When we finally escape to bed on the second night, Peeta

mumbles⁸, “Someone ought to get Haymitch a drink.”

I make a sound that is somewhere between a snort and a

laugh. Then catch myself. It’s messing with my mind too much,

trying to keep straight when we’re supposedly friends and

when we’re not. At least when we get into the arena⁹, I’ll know

where we stand. “Don’t. Don’t let’s pretend when there’s no

one around.”

“All right, Katniss,” he says tiredly. After that, we only talk

in front of people.

On the third day of training, they start to call us out of lunch

for our private sessions with the Gamemakers. District by district,

first the boy, then the girl tribute. As usual, District 12 is

slated¹⁰ to go last. We linger in the dining room, unsure where

else to go. No one comes back once they have left. As the room

empties, the pressure to appear friendly lightens. By the time

they call Rue, we are left alone. We sit in silence until they

summon Peeta. He rises.

“Remember what Haymitch said about being sure to throw

the weights.” The words come out of my mouth without permission.

“Thanks. I will,” he says. “You . . . shoot straight.”

I nod. I don’t know why I said anything at all. Although if

I’m going to lose, I’d rather Peeta win than the others. Better

for our district, for my mother and Prim².

After about fifteen minutes, they call my name. I smooth my

hair, set my shoulders back, and walk into the gymnasium. Instantly,

I know I’m in trouble. They’ve been here too long, the

Gamemakers. Sat through twenty-three other demonstrations¹¹.

Had too much to wine, most of them. Want more than anything

to go home.

There’s nothing I can do but continue with the plan. I walk

to the archery station. Oh, the weapons! I’ve been itching¹² to

get my hands on them for days! Bows made of wood and plastic

and metal and materials I can’t even name. Arrows with

feathers cut in flawless uniform lines. I choose a bow, string it,

and sling⁴ the matching quiver of arrows over my shoulder.

There’s a shooting range, but it’s much too limited. Standard

bull’s-eyes and human silhouettes¹³. I walk to the center of the

gymnasium and pick my first target. The dummy¹⁴ used for

knife practice. Even as I pull back on the bow I know something

is wrong. The string’s tighter than the one I use at home.

The arrow’s more rigid¹⁵. I miss the dummy by a couple of inches

and lose what little attention I had been commanding. For a

moment, I’m humiliated¹⁶, then I head back to the bull’s-eye. I

shoot again and again until I get the feel of these new weapons.

Back in the center of the gymnasium, I take my initial position

and skewer¹⁷ the dummy right through the heart. Then I

sever¹⁸ the rope that holds the sandbag for boxing, and the bag

splits open as it slams to the ground. Without pausing, I

shoulder-roll forward,（向前肩滚翻） come up on one knee, and 

send an arrow into one of the hanging lights high above the 

gymnasium floor. A shower of sparks bursts from the fixture¹⁹.

It’s excellent shooting. I turn to the Gamemakers. A few are

nodding approval, but the majority of them are fixated on a

roast pig that has just arrived at their banquet table.

Suddenly I am furious, that with my life on the line, they

don’t even have the decency²⁰ to pay attention to me. That I’m

being upstaged by a dead pig. My heart starts to pound, I can

feel my face burning. Without thinking, I pull an arrow from

my quiver and send it straight at the Gamemakers’ table. I

hear shouts of alarm as people stumble back. The arrow

skewers²¹ the apple in the pig’s mouth and pins it to the wall

behind it. Everyone stares at me in disbelief.

“Thank you for your consideration,” I say. Then I give a

slight bow and walk straight toward the exit without being

dismissed.

1 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

2 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

3 primrose   

n.樱草，最佳部分，

参考例句：

• She is in the primrose of her life.她正处在她一生的最盛期。
• The primrose is set off by its nest of green.一窝绿叶衬托着一朵樱草花。

4 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

5 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

6 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 mumbles   

含糊的话或声音，咕哝( mumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He always mumbles when he's embarrassed. 他感到难为情时说话就含糊不清了。
• When the old lady speaks she often mumbles her words. 这位老妇人说起话来常常含糊不清。

9 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

10 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

11 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

12 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 silhouettes   

轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影

参考例句：

• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• They could see silhouettes. 他们能看得见影子的。

14 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

15 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

16 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

17 skewer   

n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好

参考例句：

• I used a skewer to make an extra hole in my belt.我用扦子在腰带上又打了一个眼儿。
• He skewered his victim through the neck.他用扦子刺穿了受害人的脖子。

18 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

19 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

20 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

21 skewers   

n.串肉扦( skewer的名词复数 )；烤肉扦；棒v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Damaged skewers and clogged bobbin holder. 木锭子破损，纱管支架底座阻塞。 来自互联网
• I heard you really like mutton skewers and that you can eat 50 at one time. 听说你特别爱吃羊肉串儿，一次能吃五十串儿。 来自互联网