【饥饿游戏】09

The rain had soaked through my father’s hunting jacket, leaving

me chilled to the bone. For three days, we’d had nothing but

boiled water with some old dried mint leaves I’d found in the

back of a cupboard. By the time the market closed, I was shaking

so hard I dropped my bundle of baby clothes in a mud

puddle¹. I didn’t pick it up for fear I would keel over and be unable

to regain² my feet. Besides, no one wanted those clothes.

I couldn’t go home. Because at home was my mother with

her dead eyes and my little sister, with her hollow cheeks and

cracked lips. I couldn’t walk into that room with the smoky

fire from the damp branches I had scavenged at the edge of

the woods after the coal had run out, my bands empty of any

hope.

I found myself stumbling along a muddy lane behind the

shops that serve the wealthiest townspeople. The merchants

live above their businesses, so I was essentially³ in their 

backyards. I remember the outlines of garden beds not yet 

planted for the spring, a goat or two in a pen, one sodden 

dog tied to a post, hunched⁴ defeated in the muck.

All forms of stealing are forbidden in District 12. Punishable

by death. But it crossed my mind that there might be

something in the trash bins⁶, and those were fair game. Perhaps

a bone at the butcher’s or rotted vegetables at the grocer’s,

something no one but my family was desperate enough to

eat. Unfortunately, the bins had just been emptied.

When I passed the baker’s, the smell of fresh bread was so

overwhelming I felt dizzy. The ovens were in the back, and a

golden glow spilled out the open kitchen door. I stood 

mesmerized⁷ by the heat and the luscious⁸ scent⁹ until the rain 

interfered¹⁰, running its icy fingers down my back, forcing me 

back to life. I lifted the lid to the baker’s trash bin⁵ and found 

it spotlessly, heartlessly bare.

Suddenly a voice was screaming at me and I looked up to

see the baker’s wife, telling me to move on and did I want her

to call the Peacekeepers and how sick she was of having those

brats¹¹ from the Seam pawing through her trash. The words

were ugly and I had no defense¹². As I carefully replaced the lid

and backed away, I noticed him, a boy with blond hair peering

out from behind his mother’s back. I’d seen him at school. He

was in my year, but I didn’t know his name. He stuck with the

town kids, so how would I? His mother went back into the 

bakery, grumbling¹³, but he must have been watching me as I

made my way behind the pen that held their pig and leaned

against the far side of an old apple tree. The realization¹⁴ that

I’d have nothing to take home had finally sunk in. My knees

buckled¹⁵ and I slid down the tree trunk to its roots. It was too

much. I was too sick and weak and tired, oh, so tired. Let 

them call the Peacekeepers and take us to the community 

home, I thought. Or better yet, let me die right here in the rain.

There was a clatter¹⁶ in the bakery and I heard the woman

screaming again and the sound of a blow, and I vaguely 

wondered what was going on. Feet sloshed toward me through 

the mud and I thought, It’s her. She’s coming to drive me away

with a stick. But it wasn’t her. It was the boy. In his arms, he 

carried two large loaves of bread that must have fallen into the 

fire because the crusts were scorched¹⁷ black.

His mother was yelling, “Feed it to the pig, you stupid 

creature! Why not? No one decent will buy burned bread!”

He began to tear off chunks¹⁸ from the burned parts and toss

them into the trough, and the front bakery bell rung and the

mother disappeared to help a customer.

The boy never even glanced my way, but I was watching

him. Because of the bread, because of the red weal that 

stood out on his cheekbone. What had she hit him with?

My parents never hit us. I couldn’t even imagine it. The boy

took one look back to the bakery as if checking that the coast

was clear, then, his attention back on the pig, he threw a loaf

of bread in my direction. The second quickly followed, and he

sloshed back to the bakery, closing the kitchen door tightly

behind him.

1 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

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 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

8 luscious   

adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的

参考例句：

• The watermelon was very luscious.Everyone wanted another slice.西瓜很可口，每个人都想再来一片。
• What I like most about Gabby is her luscious lips!我最喜欢的是盖比那性感饱满的双唇！

9 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

10 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 brats   

n.调皮捣蛋的孩子( brat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I've been waiting to get my hands on you brats. 我等着干你们这些小毛头已经很久了。 来自电影对白
• The charming family had turned into a parcel of brats. 那个可爱的家庭一下子变成了一窝臭小子。 来自互联网

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

14 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

15 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

16 clatter   

v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声

参考例句：

• The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
• Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

17 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

18 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？