【饥饿游戏】30

When he realizes I know something about snares¹, he

shows us a simple, excellent trap that will leave a human

competitor dangling² by a leg from a tree. We concentrate on

this one skill for an hour until both of us have mastered it.

Then we move on to camouflage³. Peeta genuinely seems to 

enjoy this station, swirling⁴ a combination of mud and clay and

berry juices around on his pale skin, weaving disguises from

vines and leaves. The trainer who runs the camouflage station

is full of enthusiasm at his work.

“I do the cakes,” he admits to me.

“The cakes?” I ask. I’ve been preoccupied⁵ with watching the

boy from District 2 send a spear through a dummy’s heart

from fifteen yards. “What cakes?”

“At home. The iced ones, for the bakery,” he says.

He means the ones they display in the windows. Fancy

cakes with flowers and pretty things painted in frosting.

They’re for birthdays and New Year’s Day. When we’re in the

square, Prim⁶ always drags me over to admire them, although

we’d never be able to afford one. There’s little enough beauty

in District 12, though, so I can hardly deny her this. I look more 

critically at the design on Peeta’s arm. The alternating pattern of 

light and dark suggests sunlight falling through the leaves in the 

woods. I wonder how he knows this, since I doubt he’s ever been 

beyond the fence. Has he been able to pick this up from just that 

scraggly old apple tree in his backyard? Somehow the whole thing

 — his skill, those inaccessible⁷ cakes, the praise of the camouflage 

expert — annoys me.

“It’s lovely. If only you could frost someone to death,” I say.

“Don’t be so superior. You can never tell what you’ll find in

the arena⁸. Say it’s actually a gigantic cake —” begins Peeta.

“Say we move on,” I break in.

So the next three days pass with Peeta and I going quietly

from station to station. We do pick up some valuable skills,

from starting fires, to knife throwing, to making shelter. 

Despite Haymitch’s order to appear mediocre⁹, Peeta excels in

hand-to-hand combat, and I sweep the edible¹⁰ plants test without

blinking an eye. We steer¹¹ clear of archery and weightlifting

though, wanting to save those for our private sessions.

The Gamemakers appeared early on the first day. Twenty

or so men and women dressed in deep purple robes. They sit

in the elevated stands that surround the gymnasium, some

times wandering about to watch us, jotting¹² down notes, other

times eating at the endless banquet that has been set for them,

ignoring the lot of us. But they do seem to be keeping their eye

on the District 12 tributes. Several times I’ve looked up to find

one fixated on me. They consult with the trainers during our

meals as well. We see them all gathered together when we

come back.

Breakfast and dinner are served on our floor, but at lunch

the twenty-four of us eat in a dining room off the gymnasium.

Food is arranged on carts around the room and you serve

yourself. The Career Tributes tend to gather rowdily around

one table, as if to prove their superiority, that they have no

fear of one another and consider the rest of us beneath notice.

Most of the other tributes sit alone, like lost sheep. No one

says a word to us. Peeta and I eat together, and since Haymitch

keeps dogging us about it, try to keep up a friendly conversation

during the meals.

It’s not easy to find a topic. Talking of home is painful. Talking

of the present unbearable¹³. One day, Peeta empties our 

breadbasket and points out how they have been careful to 

include types from the districts along with the refined bread of

the Capitol. The fish-shaped loaf tinted¹⁴ green with seaweed

from District 4. The crescent moon roll dotted with seeds from

District 11. Somehow, although it’s made from the same stuff,

it looks a lot more appetizing than the ugly drop biscuits that

are the standard fare at home.

“And there you have it,” says Peeta, scooping¹⁵ the breads

back in the basket.

“You certainly know a lot,” I say.

“Only about bread,” he says. “Okay, now laugh as if I’ve said

something funny.”

We both give a somewhat convincing laugh and ignore the

stares from around the room. “All right, I’ll keep smiling 

pleasantly and you talk,” says Peeta. It’s wearing us both out, 

Haymitch’s direction to be friendly. Because ever since I 

slammed my door, there’s been a chill in the air between us. 

But we have our orders.“Did I ever tell you about the time I 

was chased by a bear?” I ask.

“No, but it sounds fascinating,” says Peeta. I try and animate 

my face as I recall the event, a true story, in which I’d foolishly 

challenged a black bear over the rights to a beehive. Peeta 

laughs and asks questions right on cue(果然不出所料). He’s 

much better at this than I am. 

On the second day, while we’re taking a shot at spear throwing, 

he whispers to me. “I think we have a shadow.” I throw my 

spear, which I’m not too bad at actually, if I don’t have to throw 

too far, and see the little girl from District 11 standing¹⁶ back a bit, 

watching us. She’s the twelve-year-old, the one who reminded me 

so of Prim in stature¹⁷. Up close she looks about ten. She has bright, 

dark, eyes and satiny brown skin and stands tilted¹⁸ up on her toes 

with her arms slightly extended to her sides, as if ready to take wing 

at the slightest sound. 

1 snares   

n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子，也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

2 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

3 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

4 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

5 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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

7 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

8 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。

9 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。

10 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

11 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

12 jotting   

n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下

参考例句：

• All the time I was talking he was jotting down. 每次我在讲话时，他就会记录下来。 来自互联网
• The student considers jotting down the number of the businessman's American Express card. 这论理学生打算快迅速地记录下来下这位商贾的美国运通卡的金额。 来自互联网

13 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

14 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

15 scooping   

n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
• The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

18 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。