【饥饿游戏】21
时间：2017-03-15 06:19:45
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（单词翻译）
Cinna plans to light them on fire just before our chariot rolls
into the streets.
“It’s not real flame, of course, just a little
synthetic1 fire Portia
and I came up with. You’ll be
perfectly2 safe,” he says. But
I’m not convinced I won’t be perfectly barbecued by the time
we reach the city’s center.
here and there. My hair has been brushed out and then
braided down my back in my usual style. “I want the audience
to recognize you when you’re in the
arena5,” says Cinna dreamily.
“Katniss, the girl who was on fire.”
It crosses my mind that Cinna’s calm and normal
demeanor6masks a complete madman.
Despite this morning’s revelation about Peeta’s character,
I’m actually relieved when he shows up, dressed in an identical
costume. He should know about fire, being a baker’s son
and all. His stylist, Portia, and her team accompany him in,
and everyone is absolutely giddy with excitement over what a
splash we’ll make. Except Cinna. He just seems a bit weary as
he accepts congratulations.
We’re whisked down to the bottom level of the Remake
Center, which is
essentially7 a gigantic stable. The opening
ceremonies are about to start. Pairs of tributes are being
loaded into chariots pulled by teams of four horses. Ours are
coal black. The animals are so well trained, no one even needs
to guide their
reins8. Cinna and Portia direct us into the chariot
and carefully arrange our body positions, the drape of our
capes10, before moving off to consult with each other.
“What do you think?” I whisper to Peeta. “About the fire?”
“I’ll rip off your
cape9 if you’ll rip off mine,” he says through
“Deal,” I say. Maybe, if we can get them off soon enough,
we’ll avoid the worst burns. It’s bad though. They’ll throw us
into the arena no matter what condition we’re in. “I know we
promised Haymitch we’d do exactly what they said, but I don’t
think he considered this angle.”
“Where is Haymitch, anyway? Isn’t he supposed to protect
us from this sort of thing?” says Peeta.
“With all that alcohol in him, it’s probably not advisable to
have him around an open flame,” I say.
And suddenly we’re both laughing. I guess we’re both so
nervous about the Games and more pressingly,
petrified12 of being
turned into human torches, we’re not
acting13 sensibly.
The opening music begins. It’s easy to hear, blasted around
the Capitol. Massive doors slide open revealing the crowdlined
streets. The ride lasts about twenty minutes and ends up
at the City Circle, where they will welcome us, play the
anthem14,
and escort us into the Training Center, which will be our
home/prison until the Games begin.
The tributes from District 1 ride out in a chariot pulled by
snow-white horses. They look so beautiful, spray-painted silver,
in tasteful
tunics15 glittering with jewels. District 1 makes
luxury items for the Capitol. You can hear the roar of the
crowd. They are always favorites.
District 2 gets into position to follow them. In no time at all,
we are approaching the door and I can see that between the
overcast16 sky and evening hour the light is turning gray. The
tributes from District 11 are just rolling out when Cinna appears
with a lighted torch. “Here we go then,” he says, and before
we can react he sets our capes on fire. I
gasp17, waiting for
the heat, but there is only a faint
tickling18 sensation. Cinna
climbs up before us and ignites our headdresses. He lets out a
sign of relief. “It works.” Then he gently tucks a hand under
my chin. “Remember, heads high. Smiles. They’re going to love
you!”
Cinna jumps off the chariot and has one last idea. He shouts
something up at us, but the music drowns him out. He shouts
again and gestures.
“What’s he saying?” I ask Peeta. For the first time, I look at
him and realize that
ablaze19 with the fake flames, he is dazzling.
And I must be, too.
“I think he said for us to hold hands,” says Peeta. He grabs
He nods and gives a thumbs-up, and that’s the last thing I
see before we enter the city.
The crowd’s initial alarm at our appearance quickly
changes to cheers and shouts of “District Twelve!” Every head
is turned our way, pulling the focus from the three chariots
ahead of us. At first, I’m frozen, but then I catch sight of us on
a large television screen and am floored by how breathtaking
we look.
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