【饥饿游戏】35

Chapter 9

Betrayal. That’s the first thing I feel, which is ludicrous. For

there to be betrayal, there would have had to been trust first.

Between Peeta and me. And trust has not been part of the

agreement. We’re tributes. But the boy who risked a beating

to give me bread, the one who steadied me in the chariot, who

covered for me with the redheaded Avox girl, who insisted

Haymitch know my hunting skills . . . was there some part of

me that couldn’t help trusting him?

On the other hand, I’m relieved that we can stop the pretense¹

of being friends. Obviously, whatever thin connection we’d 

foolishly formed has been severed². And high time, too. The 

Games begin in two days, and trust will only be a weakness.

Whatever triggered Peeta’s decision — and I suspect it had to 

do with my outperforming him in training — I should be 

nothing but grateful for it. Maybe he’s finally accepted the

fact that the sooner we openly acknowledge that we are enemies,

the better.

“Good,” I say. “So what’s the schedule?”

“You’ll each have four hours with Effie for presentation and

four with me for content,” says Haymitch. “You start with Effie,

Katniss.”

I can’t imagine what Effie will have to teach me that could

take four hours, but she’s got me working down to the last

minute. We go to my rooms and she puts me in a full-length

gown and high-heeled shoes, not the ones I’ll he wearing for

the actual interview, and instructs me on walking. The shoes

are the worst part. I’ve never worn high heels and can’t get

used to essentially³ wobbling around on the balls of my feet.

But Effie runs around in them full-time⁴, and I’m determined⁵

that if she can do it, so can I. The dress poses another problem.

It keeps tangling⁶ around my shoes so, of course, I hitch⁷ it up,

and then Effie swoops⁸ down on me like a hawk⁹, smacking¹⁰ my

hands and yelling, “Not above the ankle!” When I finally 

conquer walking, there’s still sitting, posture¹¹ — apparently¹² I 

have a tendency to duck my head — eye contact, hand gestures, 

and smiling. Smiling is mostly about smiling more. Effie makes 

me say a hundred banal¹³ phrases starting with a smile, while 

smiling, or ending with a smile. By lunch, the muscles in my 

cheeks are twitching¹⁴ from overuse.

“Well, that’s the best I can do,” Effie says with a sigh. “Just

remember, Katniss, you want the audience to like you.”

“And you don’t think they will?” I ask.

“Not if you glare at them the entire time. Why don’t you

save that for the arena¹⁵? Instead, think of yourself among

friends,” says Effie.

“They’re betting on how long I’ll live!” I burst out. “They’re

not my friends!”

“Well, try and pretend!” snaps Effie. Then she composes

herself and beams at me. “See, like this. I’m smiling at you

even though you’re aggravating¹⁶ me.” “Yes, it feels very 

convincing,” I say. “I’m going to eat.” 1 kick off my heels 

and stomp¹⁷ down to the dining room, hiking my skirt up to my 

thighs¹⁸. Peeta and Haymitch seem in pretty good moods, so I’m

thinking the content session should be an improvement over

the morning. I couldn’t be more wrong. After lunch, Haymitch

takes me into the sitting room, directs me to the couch, and

then just frowns at me for a while.

“What?” I finally ask.

“I’m trying to figure out what to do with you,” he says.

“How we’re going to present you. Are you going to be charming?

Aloof¹⁹? Fierce? So far, you’re shining like a star. You volunteered

to save your sister. Cinna made you look unforgettable.

You’ve got the top training score. People are intrigued²⁰, but no

one knows who you are. The impression you make tomorrow

will decide exactly what I can get you in terms of sponsors,”

says Haymitch.

Having watched the tribute interviews all my life, I know

there’s truth to what he’s saying. If you appeal to the crowd,

either by being humorous or brutal²¹ or eccentric, you gain favor.

“What’s Peeta’s approach? Or am I not allowed to ask?” I say.

“Likable. He has a sort of self-deprecating humor naturally,”

says Haymitch. “Whereas when you open your mouth, you

come across more as sullen²² and hostile.”

“I do not!” I say.

“Please. I don’t know where you pulled that cheery, wavy²³

girl on the chariot from, but I haven’t seen her before or

since,” says Haymitch. “And you’ve given me so many reasons 

to be cheery,” I counter.

“But you don’t have to please me. I’m not going to sponsor

you. So pretend I’m the audience,” says Haymitch. “Delight

me.”

“Fine!” I snarl²⁴. Haymitch takes the role of the interviewer

and I try to answer his questions in a winning fashion. But I

can’t. I’m too angry with Haymitch for what he said and that I

even have to answer the questions. All I can think is how unjust

the whole thing is, the Hunger Games. Why am I hopping²⁵

around like some trained dog trying to please people I hate?

The longer the interview goes on, the more my fury seems to

rise to the surface, 

1 pretense   

n.矫饰，做作，借口

参考例句：

• You can't keep up the pretense any longer.你无法继续伪装下去了。
• Pretense invariably impresses only the pretender.弄虚作假欺骗不了真正的行家。

2 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 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。

6 tangling   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• During match with football, sportsman is like tangling on the football field. 足球比赛时，运动员似在足球场上混战。
• Furthermore the built in cable rewind prevents tangling and prolongs cable life. 此外，在防止缠绕电缆退建，延长电缆使用寿命。

7 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

8 swoops   

猛扑，突然下降( swoop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He fixes his eyes on the greyish spine of the old wolf as he swoops down. 他两眼死死盯住老狼灰黑的脊背。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• An owl swoops from the ridge top, noiseless but as flame. 蓦地，山脊上一只夜枭飞扑直下，悄无声响而赫然如一道火光。

9 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

10 smacking   

活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的

参考例句：

• He gave both of the children a good smacking. 他把两个孩子都狠揍了一顿。
• She inclined her cheek,and John gave it a smacking kiss. 她把头低下，约翰在她的脸上响亮的一吻。

11 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 banal   

adj.陈腐的，平庸的

参考例句：

• Making banal remarks was one of his bad habits.他的坏习惯之一就是喜欢说些陈词滥调。
• The allegations ranged from the banal to the bizarre.从平淡无奇到离奇百怪的各种说法都有。

14 twitching   

n.颤搐

参考例句：

• The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 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。

16 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。

17 stomp   

v.跺（脚），重踩，重踏

参考例句：

• 3.And you go to france, and you go to stomp! 你去法国，你去看跺脚舞！
• 4.How hard did she stomp? 她跺得有多狠？

18 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

20 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

21 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

22 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

23 wavy   

adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• She drew a wavy line under the word.她在这个词的下面画了一条波纹线。
• His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式头发太长了，正好垂在他的眉毛下。

24 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

25 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。