The Hunger Games is set in a future America in which wars have wiped out all but small population centers (known as Districts). The Capitol rules over the Districts, and each District is responsible for one major industry. And after an uprising which saw one District completely obliterated (District 13), the Capitol now controls every aspect of life for the citizens of each District.
《饥饿游戏》故事背景设定在未来的美洲,战争摧毁了那里的一切,只剩下几个小的人口聚集地(被称之为“辖区”)。每个辖区负责一个重要产业,而所有辖区都受国会区统治。在经历一次叛乱后,有一个辖区——第13区被彻底毁灭了,国会区如今掌管着其他12个辖区民众生活的方方面面。
As a punishment and a reminder of what happens when Districts revolt, the Capitol has set up an annual competition known as the Hunger Games. Each District must send one boy and one girl (known as Tributes) between the ages of 12 and 18 to take part in the Hunger Games, with the names drawn at random in "reaping" ceremonies. Once selected, the Tributes are immediately whisked away to the Capitol where they are assigned a team to both make them presentable to potential financial sponsors and prepare them for the competition: a televised fight to the death between all 24 Tributes from which only one Tribute may emerge victorious.
为了惩罚发动叛乱的辖区,也为了“杀鸡儆猴”,国会区发起了一年一度的竞技比赛——“饥饿游戏”。每个辖区必须派送年龄在12至18岁之间的男孩和女孩(也就是“贡品”)各一名去参加饥饿游戏。这些孩子都是在所谓的“收获”典礼上随机抽取的,一旦被抽中,他们就会作为贡品被立马带到国会区。在那里,他们被分配入队接受训练,一方面要吸引那些潜在的资金赞助商,另一方面为比赛做着准备。比赛通过电视直播,一场殊死搏斗在24个贡品之间展开,但只有一位会最终胜出。
District 12 is the poorest of all the Districts and seldom has a Hunger Games winner. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a skilled hunter with a bow and arrows who, along with her best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth), has been illegally hunting outside the District 12 compound for years, steps forward and volunteers for her 12 year old sister, Prim, after Prim's name is drawn. District 12's other Tribute is Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), the baker's son who years earlier had tossed Katniss a loaf of burnt bread which helped keep her family from starving at one of the Everdeen family's lowest points. After making sure Gale will take care of Prim and her mother, Katniss bravely prepares for the Games, believing she is capable of winning. Peeta's equally sure he can't win, but, no matter what, hopes to remain true to himself and not wind up just another player in the Capitol's game.
第12区是最贫穷的一个辖区,几乎没有在饥饿游戏中胜出过。凯妮丝•艾佛丁(詹妮弗•劳伦斯 饰)是一位技术娴熟的猎手。多年来,她经常拿着弓箭与最好的朋友加尔(利亚姆•海姆斯沃斯 饰)一起在第12区以外的地方非法捕猎。在得知她12岁的妹妹普里姆被抽中参加饥饿游戏后,凯妮丝挺身而出,自愿代替妹妹前往。第12区派出的另一位贡品是面包师的儿子皮塔(乔什•哈切森 饰)。几年前,艾佛丁家境窘迫,皮塔曾给凯妮丝扔过一个烤焦的面包,要不是因为这个面包,她一家人早就被饿死了。在确信加尔会照顾普里姆和母亲后,凯妮丝开始英勇备战,并坚信自己一定能胜出。皮塔却坚定地认为自己肯定赢不了,只是不管结果如何,他希望做真实的自己,不想让别人卷入国会区的这场游戏。
It's a battle to the death, with the Capitol residents celebrating the slaughter of innocent young people in gruesome ways, while the Districts can only hope their sons and daughters will return victorious.
这是一场生死决战,无辜的年轻人用残忍的方式自相残杀,而就在国会区的居民为此欢呼时,辖区的百姓们只能盼望着他们的儿女可以胜利归来。