Preface

　ALL OUR ATTEMPTS AT SUBTERFUGE¹ HAD BEEN IN VAIN.

　　With ice in my heart, I watched him prepare to defend me. His intense concentration betrayed no hint ofdoubt, though he was outnumbered. I knew that we could expect no help — at this moment, his family wasfighting for their lives just as surely as he was for ours.

　　Would I ever learn the outcome of that other fight? Find out who the winners and the losers were? WouldI live long enough for that?

　　The odds² of that didn’t look so great.

　　Black eyes, wild with their fierce craving³ for my death, watched for the moment when my protector’sattention would be diverted. The moment when I would surely die.

　　Somewhere, far, far away in the cold forest, a wolf howled.

　　序幕

　　我们设下的所有圈套都白费了。

　　冰冷的感觉紧紧地攫住我的心，我注视着他摆出保护我的姿势。尽管他寡不敌众，他高度聚精会神的表情没有流露出任何迟疑的痕迹。我知道我们不能指望有救兵——此刻，我肯定他的家人正在为他们的生命而战，就像我肯定他正在为我们的生命而战一样。

　　我还有机会了解另一场战斗的结局吗？还有机会弄清楚谁是赢家，谁是输家吗？我还能活到那一刻吗？

　　这种可能性似乎没那么大。

　　他们漆黑的眼睛狂野而凶猛，虎视眈眈地想置我于死地。他们在等待着我的保护者走神的那一刻，一旦那一刻真的来临，我将必死无疑。

　　在这片寒冷的森林中的很远很远的地方，一匹狼咆哮起来……

1 subterfuge   

n.诡计；藉口

参考例句：

• European carping over the phraseology represented a mixture of hypocrisy and subterfuge.欧洲在措词上找岔子的做法既虚伪又狡诈。
• The Independents tried hard to swallow the wretched subterfuge.独立党的党员们硬着头皮想把这一拙劣的托词信以为真。

2 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

3 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。