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编者按：今年春季在美国上映的电影《饥饿游戏》，不断创造票房奇迹，又获得业界的好评，是一部真正的话题之作。美国总统奥巴马在白宫记者协会晚宴上的演讲中，也借它来调侃对手。其实，《饥饿游戏》的大热是有迹可寻，它改编自美国作家苏珊?柯林斯同名三部曲中的第一部，是美国自2008年以来最畅销的系列小说，拥趸众多，大多是年轻人。
故事是这样开始的：北美洲在一场大战后被摧毁，在美国原来的废墟上，人们建立了新的家园，但新政权规定，管辖下的12个地区每年都必须进贡少年男女，参加一档电视直播节目“饥饿游戏”。节目的规则很简单——杀人或者被杀。女主角就是小说中提到的the living tributes（贡品），她奋力生存的坚持成就了小说最动人的标志，也令其拥有了反抗的力量。
《饥饿游戏》充分把握了美国青少年群体的口味，动作、爱情、选秀等等，故事推演令人屏息，又不缺对现实社会的反思。但也有人说，这本小说不过是用反乌托邦包装的青春小说。通过所选片断，大家可以体会一下刚进入“饥饿游戏”时女主角的心路历程。
The Hunger Games (Excerpt)
[1] I slump down next to my pack, exhausted. I need to go through it anyway before night falls. See what I have to work with. As I unhook the straps, I can feel it’s sturdily made although a rather unfortunate color. This orange will practically glow in the dark. I make a mental note to camouflage it first thing tomorrow.
I flip open the flap. What I want most, right at this moment, is water. Haymitch’s directive to immediately find water was not arbitrary. I won’t last long without it. For a few days, I’ll be able to function with unpleasant symptoms of dehydration, but after that I'll deteriorate into helplessness and be dead in a week, tops.
I carefully lay out the provisions. One thin black sleeping bag that reflects body heal. A pack of crackers. A pack of dried beef strips. A bottle of iodine. A box of wooden matches. A small coil of wire. A pair of sunglasses. And a half gallon plastic bottle with a cap for carrying water that's bone dry.
No water. How hard would it have been for them to fill up the bottle? I become aware of the dryness in my throat and mouth, the cracks in my lips. I've been moving all day long. It's been hot and I've sweat a lot. I do this at home, but there are always streams to drink from, or snow to melt if it should come to it.
[2] As I refill my pack I have an awful thought. The lake. The one I saw while I was waiting for the gong to sound. What if that's the only water source in the arena? That way they'll guarantee drawing us in to fight. The lake is a full day's journey from where I sit now, a much harder journey with nothing to drink. And then, even if I reach it, it's sure to be heavily guarded by some of the Career Tributes. I'm about to panic when I remember the rabbit I startled earlier today. It has to drink, too. I just have to find out where.
Twilight is closing in and I am ill at ease. The trees are too thin to offer much concealment. The layer of pine needles that muffles my footsteps also makes tracking animals harder when I need their trails to find water. And I'm still heading downhill, deeper and deeper into a valley that seems endless. [3] I’m hungry, too, but I don’t dare break into my precious store of crackers and beef yet. Instead, I take my knife and go to work on a pine tree, cutting away the outer bark and scraping off a large handful of the softer inner bark. I slowly chew the stuff as I walk along. After a week of the finest food in the world, it’s a little hard to choke down. But I’ve eaten plenty of pine in my life. I’ll adjust quickly. In another hour, it’s clear I’ve got to find a place to camp. Night creatures are coming out. I can hear the occasional hoot or howl, my first clue that I’ll be competing with natural predators for the rabbits. As to whether I’ll be viewed as a source of food, it’s too soon to tell. There could be any number of animals stalking me at this moment.
But right now, I decide to make my fellow tributes a priority. I’m sure many will continue hunting through the night. Those who fought it out at the Cornucopia will have food, an abundance of water from the lake, torches or flashlights, and weapons they’re itching to use. I can only hope I’ve traveled far and fast enough to be out of range.
[4] Before settling down, I take my wire and set two twitch-up snares in the brush. I know it’s risky to be setting traps, but food will go so fast out here. And I can’t set snares on the run.
Still, I walk another five minutes before making camp. I pick my tree carefully. A willow, not terribly tall but set in a clump of other willows, offering concealment in those long, flowing tresses. I climb up, sticking to the stronger branches close to the trunk, and find a sturdy fork for my bed. It takes some doing, but I arrange the sleeping bag in a relatively comfortable manner. I place my backpack in the foot of the bag, then slide in after it. As a precaution, I remove my belt, loop it all the way around the branch and my sleeping bag, and refasten it at my waist. Now if I roll over in my sleep, I won’t go crashing to the ground. I’m small enough to tuck the top of the bag over my head, but I put on my hood as well. As night falls, the air is cooling quickly. Despite the risk I took in getting the backpack, I know now it was the right choice. This sleeping bag, radiating back and preserving my body heat, will be invaluable.
I’m sure there are several other tributes whose biggest concern right now is how to stay warm whereas I may actually be able to get a few hours of sleep. If only I wasn’t so thirsty. . .
[5] Night has just come when I hear the anthem that proceeds the death recap. Through the branches I can see the seal of the Capitol, which appears to be floating in the sky. I’m actually viewing another screen, an enormous one that’s transported by of one of their disappearing hovercraft. The anthem fades out and the sky goes dark for a moment. At home, we would be watching full coverage of each and every killing, but that’s thought to give an unfair advantage to the living tributes. For instance, if I got my hands on the bow and shot someone, my secret would be revealed to all. No, here in the arena, all we see are the same photographs they showed when they televised our training scores. Simple head shots. But now instead of scores they post only district numbers. I take a deep breath as the face of the eleven dead tributes begin and tick them off one by one on my fingers. 饥饿游戏（节选）
[1]我已经累极了，跌坐在地上，身旁放着背包，不管怎样，我要在天黑前完成艰难的跋涉。看看我还能干点什么。我打开背包，我发现这包很结实，但颜色很糟糕，橘黄色会在夜晚发光，我暗自提醒自己明早第一件事就是把它伪装好。
我打开背包盖，此时我最需要的是水。黑密斯要我尽快找到水源的指令不是随意做出的。没有水我坚持不了多久，没几天，我就会因脱水而身体不适，之后我会越来越糟，直至一周后死去，最多一周。
我小心地拿出里面的补给品：一个可反射体温的薄薄的睡袋、一盒火柴、一小卷线、副太阳镜、一个半加仑容量的空塑料水壶。
没有水。究竟他们装满水壶又有多难呢？我开始感到口干舌燥、嘴唇干裂。我已经连跑带走一整天了，天很热，我又出来很多汗。在家时也有这样的情况，可总能找到溪水或者融化的雪水来解渴。
[2] 我把东西重新装回包里，这时一个可怕的想法突然攫住了我。那个湖，在我们等待铜锣敲响时看到的那个湖，如果那是竞技场唯一的水源怎么办？那样任何人想挣扎着找到水喝的人都会有一场恶斗，而那个湖离我现在坐着的地方有整整一天的路程。一路焦渴的回到那里肯定比来时要艰难得多。即使我回到了那里，肯定有几个职业“贡品”严密把守。我内心一阵慌乱，这时我突然想起了今早吓跑的小兔子，它也要喝水的呀！我只要能找到它在哪里喝水就行。
已近黄昏，我不能安歇。这里林木太稀疏，不能用于藏身。松针盖住了动物的脚印，靠追踪它们找到水源就更加困难了。我仍然在向山下走，越来越深入到这看似乎永无尽头峡谷中。
[3] 饥饿同时向我袭来，可我不敢吃宝贵的饼干和牛肉。我用刀剌下一块松树皮，刮下里面比较嫩的部分，放在嘴里，边走边嚼。吃了一周世界上最精美的食物，这东西的确有些难以下咽。可我以前吃过很多松树皮，很快就能适应。又过了一个小时，我感到自己确实需要休息了。夜间动物都已经开始活动，我可以偶尔听到远处传来的猫头鹰和其他动物的叫声。这是最初的信号，证明我在与食肉动物争夺兔子吃。至于我是否也会被当作食物，现在还说不上。此时恐怕有很多动物正在偷偷靠近，准备猎杀我。
但现在，对付那些对手是我要首先考虑的问题。我肯定夜间也会有很多“贡品”在继续捕杀行动。那些在宙斯之角厮杀的人会得到食物、湖里的水、火炬、手电筒和他们急于要使用的武器。我只能指望我已经走得够远，超出他们目前的捕猎范围。
[4] 在休息之前，我用绳索做两个诱捕圈套。我清楚现在做圈套很危险，但食物很快就会告罄，而我也不可能边逃跑，边做圈套。之后我又走了五分钟找到宿营地。
我精心挑选了一棵柳树，不很高，但却和其他柳树紧挨着，有长长的、飘动的枝条，十分隐秘。我爬到树上一个紧挨着树干的树枝，找了一个结实的树杈放好睡袋，很费了一番力气。我把睡袋放在相对舒服的位置，又把背包放在睡袋脚头，之后钻了进去。为了更安全，我把皮带解下来，绕着睡袋和树枝绑了一圈，在手腕的位置把它勒紧。现在就算我睡着时翻身，也不会摔到地上。我身材瘦小，正好睡袋可以盖住头顶，我把睡袋兜帽也盖上。到了深夜，气温会很快下降。尽管抢背包时冒了很大的险，可现在看来我的选择没错。这个睡袋可以很好地保持我的体温，真实无价之宝。
我肯定有些“贡品”此时最担心的是如何保暖，而我还可以睡几个小时。要是没这么渴该有多好……
[5] 夜幕已经降临，这时我听到奏响了国歌，这是播放今天亡者的前奏。透过树枝，我看到了凯匹特市徽，似乎飘在空中。我实际看到的是另一个由远处的直升机运送的巨大银幕。国歌结束，天空陷入暂时的黑暗。我们在家乡时，能看到每个选手被杀的全程报道，但有人认为这会对活着的“贡品”带来不公的优势。比如说，要是我拿到弓箭并射杀了一个人，我的秘密就会被所有人知道。但，在竞技场，我们看到的只是播放训练成绩时使用的同一张头像。原来写成绩的位置现在换成了区号。我深吸了一口气，看着是十一个死者的头像在我的眼前划过，并掐指算着他们到底是谁。
故事是这样开始的：北美洲在一场大战后被摧毁，在美国原来的废墟上，人们建立了新的家园，但新政权规定，管辖下的12个地区每年都必须进贡少年男女，参加一档电视直播节目“饥饿游戏”。节目的规则很简单——杀人或者被杀。女主角就是小说中提到的the living tributes（贡品），她奋力生存的坚持成就了小说最动人的标志，也令其拥有了反抗的力量。
《饥饿游戏》充分把握了美国青少年群体的口味，动作、爱情、选秀等等，故事推演令人屏息，又不缺对现实社会的反思。但也有人说，这本小说不过是用反乌托邦包装的青春小说。通过所选片断，大家可以体会一下刚进入“饥饿游戏”时女主角的心路历程。
The Hunger Games (Excerpt)
[1] I slump down next to my pack, exhausted. I need to go through it anyway before night falls. See what I have to work with. As I unhook the straps, I can feel it’s sturdily made although a rather unfortunate color. This orange will practically glow in the dark. I make a mental note to camouflage it first thing tomorrow.
I flip open the flap. What I want most, right at this moment, is water. Haymitch’s directive to immediately find water was not arbitrary. I won’t last long without it. For a few days, I’ll be able to function with unpleasant symptoms of dehydration, but after that I'll deteriorate into helplessness and be dead in a week, tops.
I carefully lay out the provisions. One thin black sleeping bag that reflects body heal. A pack of crackers. A pack of dried beef strips. A bottle of iodine. A box of wooden matches. A small coil of wire. A pair of sunglasses. And a half gallon plastic bottle with a cap for carrying water that's bone dry.
No water. How hard would it have been for them to fill up the bottle? I become aware of the dryness in my throat and mouth, the cracks in my lips. I've been moving all day long. It's been hot and I've sweat a lot. I do this at home, but there are always streams to drink from, or snow to melt if it should come to it.
[2] As I refill my pack I have an awful thought. The lake. The one I saw while I was waiting for the gong to sound. What if that's the only water source in the arena? That way they'll guarantee drawing us in to fight. The lake is a full day's journey from where I sit now, a much harder journey with nothing to drink. And then, even if I reach it, it's sure to be heavily guarded by some of the Career Tributes. I'm about to panic when I remember the rabbit I startled earlier today. It has to drink, too. I just have to find out where.
Twilight is closing in and I am ill at ease. The trees are too thin to offer much concealment. The layer of pine needles that muffles my footsteps also makes tracking animals harder when I need their trails to find water. And I'm still heading downhill, deeper and deeper into a valley that seems endless. [3] I’m hungry, too, but I don’t dare break into my precious store of crackers and beef yet. Instead, I take my knife and go to work on a pine tree, cutting away the outer bark and scraping off a large handful of the softer inner bark. I slowly chew the stuff as I walk along. After a week of the finest food in the world, it’s a little hard to choke down. But I’ve eaten plenty of pine in my life. I’ll adjust quickly. In another hour, it’s clear I’ve got to find a place to camp. Night creatures are coming out. I can hear the occasional hoot or howl, my first clue that I’ll be competing with natural predators for the rabbits. As to whether I’ll be viewed as a source of food, it’s too soon to tell. There could be any number of animals stalking me at this moment.
But right now, I decide to make my fellow tributes a priority. I’m sure many will continue hunting through the night. Those who fought it out at the Cornucopia will have food, an abundance of water from the lake, torches or flashlights, and weapons they’re itching to use. I can only hope I’ve traveled far and fast enough to be out of range.
[4] Before settling down, I take my wire and set two twitch-up snares in the brush. I know it’s risky to be setting traps, but food will go so fast out here. And I can’t set snares on the run.
Still, I walk another five minutes before making camp. I pick my tree carefully. A willow, not terribly tall but set in a clump of other willows, offering concealment in those long, flowing tresses. I climb up, sticking to the stronger branches close to the trunk, and find a sturdy fork for my bed. It takes some doing, but I arrange the sleeping bag in a relatively comfortable manner. I place my backpack in the foot of the bag, then slide in after it. As a precaution, I remove my belt, loop it all the way around the branch and my sleeping bag, and refasten it at my waist. Now if I roll over in my sleep, I won’t go crashing to the ground. I’m small enough to tuck the top of the bag over my head, but I put on my hood as well. As night falls, the air is cooling quickly. Despite the risk I took in getting the backpack, I know now it was the right choice. This sleeping bag, radiating back and preserving my body heat, will be invaluable.
I’m sure there are several other tributes whose biggest concern right now is how to stay warm whereas I may actually be able to get a few hours of sleep. If only I wasn’t so thirsty. . .
[5] Night has just come when I hear the anthem that proceeds the death recap. Through the branches I can see the seal of the Capitol, which appears to be floating in the sky. I’m actually viewing another screen, an enormous one that’s transported by of one of their disappearing hovercraft. The anthem fades out and the sky goes dark for a moment. At home, we would be watching full coverage of each and every killing, but that’s thought to give an unfair advantage to the living tributes. For instance, if I got my hands on the bow and shot someone, my secret would be revealed to all. No, here in the arena, all we see are the same photographs they showed when they televised our training scores. Simple head shots. But now instead of scores they post only district numbers. I take a deep breath as the face of the eleven dead tributes begin and tick them off one by one on my fingers. 饥饿游戏（节选）
[1]我已经累极了，跌坐在地上，身旁放着背包，不管怎样，我要在天黑前完成艰难的跋涉。看看我还能干点什么。我打开背包，我发现这包很结实，但颜色很糟糕，橘黄色会在夜晚发光，我暗自提醒自己明早第一件事就是把它伪装好。
我打开背包盖，此时我最需要的是水。黑密斯要我尽快找到水源的指令不是随意做出的。没有水我坚持不了多久，没几天，我就会因脱水而身体不适，之后我会越来越糟，直至一周后死去，最多一周。
我小心地拿出里面的补给品：一个可反射体温的薄薄的睡袋、一盒火柴、一小卷线、副太阳镜、一个半加仑容量的空塑料水壶。
没有水。究竟他们装满水壶又有多难呢？我开始感到口干舌燥、嘴唇干裂。我已经连跑带走一整天了，天很热，我又出来很多汗。在家时也有这样的情况，可总能找到溪水或者融化的雪水来解渴。
[2] 我把东西重新装回包里，这时一个可怕的想法突然攫住了我。那个湖，在我们等待铜锣敲响时看到的那个湖，如果那是竞技场唯一的水源怎么办？那样任何人想挣扎着找到水喝的人都会有一场恶斗，而那个湖离我现在坐着的地方有整整一天的路程。一路焦渴的回到那里肯定比来时要艰难得多。即使我回到了那里，肯定有几个职业“贡品”严密把守。我内心一阵慌乱，这时我突然想起了今早吓跑的小兔子，它也要喝水的呀！我只要能找到它在哪里喝水就行。
已近黄昏，我不能安歇。这里林木太稀疏，不能用于藏身。松针盖住了动物的脚印，靠追踪它们找到水源就更加困难了。我仍然在向山下走，越来越深入到这看似乎永无尽头峡谷中。
[3] 饥饿同时向我袭来，可我不敢吃宝贵的饼干和牛肉。我用刀剌下一块松树皮，刮下里面比较嫩的部分，放在嘴里，边走边嚼。吃了一周世界上最精美的食物，这东西的确有些难以下咽。可我以前吃过很多松树皮，很快就能适应。又过了一个小时，我感到自己确实需要休息了。夜间动物都已经开始活动，我可以偶尔听到远处传来的猫头鹰和其他动物的叫声。这是最初的信号，证明我在与食肉动物争夺兔子吃。至于我是否也会被当作食物，现在还说不上。此时恐怕有很多动物正在偷偷靠近，准备猎杀我。
但现在，对付那些对手是我要首先考虑的问题。我肯定夜间也会有很多“贡品”在继续捕杀行动。那些在宙斯之角厮杀的人会得到食物、湖里的水、火炬、手电筒和他们急于要使用的武器。我只能指望我已经走得够远，超出他们目前的捕猎范围。
[4] 在休息之前，我用绳索做两个诱捕圈套。我清楚现在做圈套很危险，但食物很快就会告罄，而我也不可能边逃跑，边做圈套。之后我又走了五分钟找到宿营地。
我精心挑选了一棵柳树，不很高，但却和其他柳树紧挨着，有长长的、飘动的枝条，十分隐秘。我爬到树上一个紧挨着树干的树枝，找了一个结实的树杈放好睡袋，很费了一番力气。我把睡袋放在相对舒服的位置，又把背包放在睡袋脚头，之后钻了进去。为了更安全，我把皮带解下来，绕着睡袋和树枝绑了一圈，在手腕的位置把它勒紧。现在就算我睡着时翻身，也不会摔到地上。我身材瘦小，正好睡袋可以盖住头顶，我把睡袋兜帽也盖上。到了深夜，气温会很快下降。尽管抢背包时冒了很大的险，可现在看来我的选择没错。这个睡袋可以很好地保持我的体温，真实无价之宝。
我肯定有些“贡品”此时最担心的是如何保暖，而我还可以睡几个小时。要是没这么渴该有多好……
[5] 夜幕已经降临，这时我听到奏响了国歌，这是播放今天亡者的前奏。透过树枝，我看到了凯匹特市徽，似乎飘在空中。我实际看到的是另一个由远处的直升机运送的巨大银幕。国歌结束，天空陷入暂时的黑暗。我们在家乡时，能看到每个选手被杀的全程报道，但有人认为这会对活着的“贡品”带来不公的优势。比如说，要是我拿到弓箭并射杀了一个人，我的秘密就会被所有人知道。但，在竞技场，我们看到的只是播放训练成绩时使用的同一张头像。原来写成绩的位置现在换成了区号。我深吸了一口气，看着是十一个死者的头像在我的眼前划过，并掐指算着他们到底是谁。