话说美国的小学和初中都特别强调阅读，而Phiresong(笔名)的爱好之一就是阅读，由于学校的课程不难，回家作业也很少，于是她有大量的时间用于读书。她的阅读方法是既不查字典也不做笔记，只是不停地读了一本又一本，而且阅读速度越来越快，一本750页的厚书2天内就可看完。她的父母深受中国传统教育方法的影响，对她这种只泛读而不精读的阅读方式很不认同，但是自己的英语有限，也就只能旁观了，反正只要女儿读得高兴就好。不想之后的情形让他们大跌眼镜: 先是发现女儿会反复读她喜欢的小说，比如《哈利波特》系列有7本书，每一本她都读了至少3遍！然后由于她太过喜欢小说《饥饿游戏》系列，竟然在初中8年级结束后的整个署假里，在Wattpad上写出了其中第一册的同人小说，为写作她几乎把这本书翻烂了(比精读还要更精)，结果当然是她的文笔更上了一层楼，而且是乐在其中。
*****
《饥饿游戏》第一册的故事背景如下: 在未来的北美洲，帕纳姆国统治者为了惩罚曾经反叛过的十二个区， 规定每年每个区必须送去年龄在12岁至18岁的少男少女各一名作为“贡品”，参加“饥饿游戏”并实况转播。 第74届饥饿游戏即将开始，和往届一样，24人参加竞赛，只有一人能够存活。原小说是以女主角Katniss(第12区女贡品)的第一人称写出。
以下是Phiresong写的《饥饿游戏--贡品》同人小说的节选。该片段是以Rue(第11区女贡品)为第一人称写的，场景是抽签日她成为贡品的那一刻。
I step onto the stage, trying to compose myself. I can feel my body trembling, like a leaf in the wind. Every sound seems muted in my ears, and every second longer than a minute. "Any volunteers? " asks the District 11 escort, her voice echoing in my mind. I strain my ears, trying to hear something, anything, but the crowd is silent, and the only sound is the wind whistling through the empty buildings around me, as if it wanted to take my place.
Then Thresh's name is called. I watch him step forward and slowly walk to the stage. As he takes his place beside me, I can see a slight expression of sadness behind his usual mask of indifference when he looks down at me. I envy him. He definitely has a chance to win, and I hope he does. His victory will provide my family food to eat.
The mayor finally finishes his speech and motions for Thresh and me to shake hands. His are large and rough, and I feel so tiny and fragile next to him. When the anthem finally ends, we are escorted into the Justice Building.
Once inside, I was led to a luxurious room that seemed to be draped in the colors of autumn. It had thick, deep carpets and gilded chairs, and paintings on the ceiling picture designs of fruit and flowers. A woman with a dress that seems to be made of wheat stares down at me. All the furniture and decorations were red, orange, or gold. I sit down on couch covered with dark red velvet and try to calm my nerves. I cannot afford to get upset. I cannot present myself weaker than I already seem.
The only people who come to see me is my family. My little sister takes her necklace and puts it around my neck. "This will help you in the arena." she tells me, "It's for good luck. It will help you come back." But I know I wouldn't. Unless there was some kind of miracle. She knows it too. I can see tears welling up in her eyes.
"Don't cry," I tell her soothingly, stroking her hair, trying not to cry myself.
"You have to come back." she repeats. I look towards my parents, but they just stand there and wallow in their grief, even though I'm not dead yet. And my sisters sit with me on the couch. We spend the rest of our time in silence, as if we were all in mourning.
The peacekeeper at the door is signaling that our time is up. We all hug each other and they exit the room, leaving me alone.I sit there, trying to put my jumbled thoughts back together. The peacekeeper returns, telling me to come out. In my split second of hesitation, I make up my mind.
The odds were never in my favor, and I know I will probably die, but I will fight to the end no matter what.
