【饥饿游戏】26

They shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached 

to a cable and they hauled him up as well. But I’m certain he 

was dead. We heard the girl scream once. The boy’s name, I 

think. Then it was gone, the hovercraft. Vanished into thin air. 

And the birds began to sing again, as if nothing had happened.”

“Did they see you?” Peeta asked.

“I don’t know. We were under a shelf of rock,” I reply.

But I do know. There was a moment, after the birdcall, but

before the hovercraft, where the girl had seen us. She’d locked

eyes with me and called out for help. But neither Gale¹ or I had

responded.

“You’re shivering,” says Peeta.

The wind and the story have blown all the warmth from my

body. The girl’s scream. Had it been her last?

Peeta takes off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders.

I start to take a step back, but then I let him, deciding for

a moment to accept both his jacket and his kindness. A friend

would do that, right?

“They were from here?” he asks, and he secures a button at

my neck.

I nod. They’d had that Capitol look about them. The boy and

the girl.

“Where do you suppose they were going?” he asks.

“I don’t know that,” I say. District 12 is pretty much the end

of the line. Beyond us, there’s only wilderness². If you don’t

count the ruins of District 13 that still smolder³ from the toxic⁴

bombs. They show it on television occasionally, just to remind

us. “Or why they would leave here.” Haymitch had called the

Avoxes traitors⁵. Against what? It could only be the Capitol. But

they had everything here. No cause to rebel.

“I’d leave here,” Peeta blurts⁶ out. Then he looks around

nervously⁷. It was loud enough to hear above the chimes. He

laughs. “I’d go home now if they let me. But you have to admit,

the food’s prime.”

He’s covered again. If that’s all you’d heard it would just

sound like the words of a scared tribute, not someone contemplating⁸

the unquestionable goodness of the Capitol.

“It’s getting chilly⁹. We better go in,” he says. Inside the

dome¹⁰, it’s warm and bright. His tone is conversational¹¹. “Your

friend Gale. He’s the one who took your sister away at the reaping?”

“Yes. Do you know him?” I ask.

“Not really. I hear the girls talk about him a lot. I thought he

was your cousin or something. You favor each other,” he says.

“No, we’re not related,” I say.

Peeta nods, unreadable. “Did he come to say good-bye to you?”

“Yes,” I say, observing him carefully. “So did your father. He

brought me cookies.”

Peeta raises his eyebrows¹² as if this is news. But after watching 

him lie so smoothly¹³, I don’t give this much weight.

“Really? Well, he likes you and your sister. I think he wishes

he had a daughter instead of a houseful of boys.”

The idea that I might ever have been discussed, around the

dinner table, at the bakery fire, just in passing in Peeta’s house

gives me a start. It must have been when the mother was out

of the room.

“He knew your mother when they were kids,” says Peeta.

Another surprise. But probably true. “Oh, yes. She grew up

in town,” I say. It seems impolite to say she never mentioned

the baker¹⁴ except to compliment his bread.

We’re at my door. I give back his jacket. “See you in the

morning then.”

“See you,” he says, and walks off down the hall.

When I open my door, the redheaded girl is collecting my

unitard and boots from where I left them on the floor before

my shower. I want to apologize for possibly getting her in

trouble earlier. But I remember I’m not supposed to speak to

her unless I’m giving her an order.

“Oh, sorry,” I say. “I was supposed to get those back to Cinna.

I’m sorry. Can you take them to him?”

She avoids my eyes, gives a small nod, and heads out the door.

I’d set out to tell her I was sorry about dinner. But I know

that my apology runs much deeper. That I’m ashamed I never

tried to help her in the woods. That I let the Capitol kill the

boy and mutilate her without lifting a finger.

Just like I was watching the Games.

I kick off my shoes and climb under the covers in my

clothes. The shivering hasn’t stopped. Perhaps the girl doesn’t

even remember me. But I know she does. You don’t forget the

face of the person who was your last hope. I pull the covers up

over my head as if this will protect me from the redheaded girl

who can’t speak. But I can feel her eyes staring at me, piercing

through walls and doors and bedding.

I wonder if she’ll enjoy watching me die.

1 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。

2 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 smolder   

v.无火焰地闷烧；n.焖烧，文火

参考例句：

• The smolder will soon be a flame.闷火很快变为烈焰。
• It can smolder undetected for hours,then suddenly explode in fiery destruction.也有可能好几小时内不被发觉，突然激烈的爆炸。

4 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

5 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

6 blurts   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He blurts out all he hears. 他漏嘴说出了他听到的一切。 来自辞典例句
• If a user blurts out an interesting idea, ask "What problem would that solve for you?" 如果用户不假思索地冒出一个有趣的想法，则询问他：“这可以解决哪些问题？” 来自互联网

7 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

8 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

9 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

10 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。

11 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

12 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

13 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

14 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。