《哈利波特3》｜单词注释｜Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
1
Owl Post
2
Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.
3
For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year.
4
For another, he really wanted to do his homework, but was forced to do it in secret, in the
dead
of night. And he also happened to be a wizard.
dead /ded/ n.深夜
5
It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his front in bed, the blankets
drawn
right over his head like a
tent
,
draw over 盖上
tent /tent/ n.帐篷
6
a torch in one hand and a large
leather-bound
book (A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot)
propped
open against the pillow.
leather-bound adj.皮边儿的,用皮革包边儿的
prop /prɒp/ vt.支撑
7
Harry moved the tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for something that would help him write his
essay
,
essay /ˈeseɪ/ n.(学生为某门课程所写的)短文
8
Witch-Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless – discuss’.
9
The quill paused at the top of a
likely
-looking paragraph. Harry pushed his round glasses up his nose, moved his
torch
closer to the book and read:
likely /ˈlaɪkli/ adj.可信的
torch /tɔːtʃ/ n.手电筒
10
Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in
medieval
times, but not very good at recognising it.
medieval /ˌmediˈiːvl/ adj.中世纪的
11
On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever.
12
The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame-Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle,
tickling
sensation.
tickle /ˈtɪkl/ vi.觉得痒
13
Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burnt so much that she allowed herself to be caught no fewer than forty-seven times in various
disguises
.
disguise /dɪsˈɡaɪz/ n.伪装
14
Harry put his quill between his teeth and reached underneath his pillow for his ink bottle and a roll of parchment.
15
Slowly and very carefully he
unscrewed
the ink bottle, dipped his quill into it and began to write, pausing every now and then to listen,
unscrew /ʌn'skruː/ vt.&vi.旋开
16
because if any of the Dursleys heard the scratching of his quill on their way to the bathroom, he’d probably find himself locked in the cupboard under the
stairs
for the rest of the summer.
stair /steə(r)/ n.楼梯
17
The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive, was the reason that Harry never enjoyed his summer holidays.
18
Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and their son, Dudley, were Harry’s only living relatives. They were Muggles, and they had a very
medieval
attitude towards magic.
medieval /ˌmediˈiːvl/ adj.中世纪的
19
Harry’s dead parents, who had been a witch and wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the Dursleys’ roof.
20
For years, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if they kept Harry as
downtrodden
as possible, they would be able to squash the magic out of him.
downtrodden /'daʊntrɒd(ə)n/ adj.被践踏的
21
To their
fury
, they had been unsuccessful, and now lived in terror of anyone finding out that Harry had spent most of the last two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
fury /ˈfjʊəri/ n.狂怒
22
The most the Dursleys could do these days was to lock away Harry’s spellbooks, wand, cauldron and broomstick at the start of the summer holidays, and forbid him to talk to the neighbours.
23
This separation from his spellbooks had been a real problem for Harry, because his teachers at Hogwarts had given him a lot of holiday work.
24
One of the essays, a particularly nasty one about Shrinking Potions, was for Harry’s least favourite teacher, Professor Snape, who would be delighted to have an excuse to give Harry detention for a month.
25
Harry had therefore seized his chance in the first week of the holidays.
26
While Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley had gone out into the front garden to
admire
Uncle Vernon’s new company car (in very loud voices, so that the rest of the street would notice it too),
admire /ədˈmaɪə(r)/ vt.欣赏
27
Harry had crept downstairs, picked the lock on the cupboard under the stairs, grabbed some of his books and hidden them in his bedroom.
28
As long as he didn’t leave spots of ink on the sheets, the Dursleys need never know that he was studying magic by night.
29
Harry was keen to avoid trouble with his aunt and uncle
at the moment
, as they were already in a bad mood with him,
at the moment 现在
30
all because he’d received a telephone call from a
fellow
wizard one week into the school holidays.
fellow /ˈfeləʊ/ n.同伴
31
Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry’s best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of wizards.
32
This meant that he knew a lot of things Harry didn’t, but had never used a telephone before. Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who had answered the call.
33
Vernon Dursley speaking.’
34
Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron’s voice answer.
35
HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I – WANT – TO – TALK – TO – HARRY – POTTER!’
36
Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression of
mingled
fury and
alarm
.
mingle /ˈmɪŋɡl/ vt.&vi.混合
alarm /əˈlɑːm/ n.警告
37
WHO IS THIS?’ he roared in the direction of the
mouthpiece
. ‘WHO ARE YOU?’
mouthpiece /'maʊθpiːs/ n.话筒
38
RON – WEASLEY!’ Ron bellowed back, as though he and Uncle Vernon were speaking from opposite ends of a football pitch. ‘I’M – A – FRIEND – OF – HARRY’S – FROM – SCHOOL –’
39
Uncle Vernon’s small eyes
swivelled
around to Harry, who was rooted to the spot.
swivel /'swɪv(ə)l/ vt.&vi.(使)旋转
40
THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER HERE!’ he roared, now holding the receiver at arm’s length, as though frightened it might explode.
41
I DON’T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON’T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!’
42
And he threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if dropping a poisonous spider.
43
The
row
that had followed had been one of the worst ever.
row /rəʊ/ n.<英>争吵
44
HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE – PEOPLE LIKE YOU!’ Uncle Vernon had roared, spraying Harry with spit.
45
Ron obviously realised that he’d got Harry into trouble, because he hadn’t called again. Harry’s other best friend from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger, hadn’t been
in touch
either.
in touch 联系
46
Harry suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a
pity
,
pity /'pɪtɪ/ n.遗憾
47
because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry’s year, had Muggle parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would probably have had enough sense not to say that she went to Hogwarts.
48
So Harry had had no word from any of his wizarding friends for five long weeks, and this summer was turning out to be almost as bad as the last one.
49
There was just one, very small improvement: after swearing that he wouldn’t use her to send letters to any of his friends, Harry had been allowed to let his owl, Hedwig, out at night.
50
Uncle Vernon had
given in
because of the
racket
Hedwig made if she was locked in her cage all the time.
give in v.让步
racket /'rækɪt/ n.吵闹声
51
Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird and paused to listen again. The silence in the dark house was broken only by the distant, grunting snores of his enormous cousin, Dudley.
52
It must be very late. Harry’s eyes were
itching
with tiredness. Perhaps he’d finish this essay tomorrow night …
itch /ɪtʃ/ v.(使)发痒
53
He
replaced
the top of the ink bottle, pulled an old pillowcase from under his bed, put the
torch
, A History of Magic, his essay, quill and ink inside it,
replace /rɪˈpleɪs/ vt.把…放回原处
torch /tɔːtʃ/ n.手电筒
54
got out of bed and hid the lot under a loose floorboard under his bed.
55
Then he stood up, stretched, and checked the time on the
luminous
alarm clock on his bedside table.
luminous /ˈluːmɪnəs/ adj.发光的
56
It was one o’clock in the morning. Harry’s stomach gave a funny
jolt
. He had been thirteen years old, without realising it, for a whole hour.
jolt /dʒəʊlt/ n.摇晃
57
Yet another unusual thing about Harry was
how little
he looked forward to his birthdays. He had never received a birthday card in his life.
how little 多么微乎其微
58
The Dursleys had completely ignored his last two birthdays, and he had no reason to suppose they would remember this one.
59
Harry walked across the dark room, past Hedwig’s large, empty cage, to the open window. He leant on the
sill
, the cool night air pleasant on his face after a long time under the blankets.
sill /sɪl/ n.窗台(板)
60
Hedwig had been absent for two nights now.
61
Harry wasn’t worried about her – she’d been gone this long before – but he hoped she’d be back soon. She was the only living creature in this house who didn’t
flinch
at the sight of him.
flinch /flɪntʃ/ vi.畏惧
62
Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year. His jet-black hair, however, was just as it always had been:
stubbornly
untidy, whatever he did to it.
stubbornly /'stʌbənli/ adv.倔强地
63
The eyes behind his glasses were bright green, and on his forehead, clearly visible through his hair, was a thin scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning.
64
Of all the unusual things about Harry, this scar was the most
extraordinary
of all.
extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔːdnri/ adj.非同寻常的
65
It was not, as the Dursleys had pretended for ten years, a
souvenir
of the car crash that had killed Harry’s parents, because Lily and James Potter had not died in a car crash.
souvenir /ˌsuːvəˈnɪə(r)/ n.纪念品
66
They had been murdered, murdered by the most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years, Lord Voldemort.
67
Harry had escaped from the same attack with nothing more than a scar on his forehead, when Voldemort’s curse, instead of killing him, had
rebounded
upon its
originator
.
rebound /rɪ'baʊnd/ vi.产生反作用
originator /əˈrɪd ʒəˌneɪtə/ n.发起人
68
Barely alive, Voldemort had
fled
…
fled /fled/ v.逃走(flee的过去分词)
69
But Harry had come face to face with him since at Hogwarts. Remembering their last meeting as he stood at the dark window, Harry had to admit he was lucky even to have reached his thirteenth birthday.
70
He scanned the
starry
sky for a sign of Hedwig, perhaps soaring back to him with a dead mouse dangling from her beak, expecting
praise
.
starry /'stɑːrɪ/ adj.布满星星的
praise /preɪz/ n.称赞
71
Gazing
absently
over the rooftops, it was a few seconds before Harry realised what he was seeing.
absently /'æbs(ə)ntlɪ/ adv.心不在焉地
72
Silhouetted
against the golden moon, and growing larger every moment, was a large, strangely
lop-sided
creature, and it was
flapping
in Harry’s direction.
silhouette /ˌsɪlʊ'et/ n.轮廓
lop-sided /lɔp'saidid/ adj.偏向一边的
flap /flæp/ vt.&vi.(使)上下左右移动
73
He stood quite still, watching it sink lower and lower.
74
For a split second, he hesitated, his hand on the window-
latch
, wondering whether to
slam
it shut,
latch /lætʃ/ n.(门窗的)门闩
slam /slæm/ vt.&vi.砰地关上(门或窗)
75
but then the bizarre creature soared over one of the streetlamps of Privet Drive, and Harry, realising what it was, leapt aside.
76
Through the window soared three owls, two of them holding up the third, which appeared to be
unconscious
.
unconscious /ʌnˈkɒnʃəs/ adj.失去知觉的
77
They landed with a soft flump on Harry’s bed, and the middle owl, which was large and grey,
keeled
right over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to its legs.
keel /kiːl/ v.倾覆
78
Harry recognised the
unconscious
owl at once – his name was Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family.
unconscious /ʌnˈkɒnʃəs/ adj.失去知觉的
79
Harry dashed to the bed at once,
untied
the cords around Errol’s legs, took off the parcel and then carried Errol to Hedwig’s cage.
untie /ʌn'taɪ/ vt.&vi.解开
80
Errol opened one
bleary
eye, gave a
feeble
hoot
of thanks, and began to gulp some water.
bleary /ˈblɪəri/ adj.视线模糊的
feeble /ˈfiːbl/ adj.虚弱的
hoot /huːt/ n.猫头鹰叫声
81
Harry turned back to the remaining owls. One of them, the large snowy female, was his own Hedwig. She, too, was carrying a parcel, and looked extremely pleased with herself.
82
She gave Harry an
affectionate
nip with her beak as he removed her burden, then flew across the room to join Errol.
affectionate /əˈfekʃənət/ adj.温柔亲切的
83
Harry didn’t recognise the third owl, a handsome tawny one, but he knew at once where it had come from, because in addition to a third parcel, it was carrying a letter
bearing
the Hogwarts
crest
.
bear /beə(r)/ vt.句有
crest /krest/ n.信笺上的饰章
84
When Harry relieved this owl of its post it ruffled its feathers
importantly
, stretched its wings and took off through the window into the night.
importantly /ɪmˈpɔːtntli/ adv.自命不凡地
85
Harry sat down on his bed, grabbed Errol’s package, ripped off the brown paper and discovered a present wrapped in gold, and his first ever birthday card.
86
Fingers trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out – a letter and a newspaper cutting.
87
The cutting had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black and white picture were moving. Harry picked up the cutting,
smoothed
it out and read:
smooth /smuːð/ v.抚平
88
MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE
SCOOPS
GRAND PRIZE
scoop /skuːp/ v.<非正式>赢得(金钱、奖品或胜利纪念品)
grand prize 特奖
89
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle
Artefacts
Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily
Prophet
Grand Prize Galleon Draw. A delighted Mr Weasley told the Daily Prophet,
artefact /'ɑːtɪfækt/ n.人工制品
prophet /ˈprɒfɪt/ n.预言家
90
We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in
Egypt
, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank.’
Egypt /ˈi:dʒɪpt/ n.埃及
91
The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently
attend
.
attend /əˈtend/ vt.上(大学等)
92
Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at him, standing in front of a large
pyramid
.
pyramid /ˈpɪrəmɪd/ n.金字塔
93
Plump little Mrs Weasley, tall, balding Mr Weasley, six sons and one daughter, all (though the black and white picture didn’t show it) with flaming red hair.
94
Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and
gangling
, with his pet rat Scabbers on his shoulder and his arm around his little sister, Ginny.
gangling /ˈɡæŋɡlɪŋ/ adj.(指人)瘦高而难看的
95
Harry couldn’t think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys, who were very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron’s letter and unfolded it.
96
Dear Harry,
97
Happy birthday! Look, I’m really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn’t give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn’t have shouted.
98
It’s brilliant here in Egypt. Bill’s taken us round all the tombs and you wouldn’t believe the
curses
those old Egyptian wizards put on them.
curse /kɜːs/ n.咒语
99
Mum wouldn’t let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these
mutant
skeletons
in there, of Muggles who’d broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.
mutant /'mjuːt(ə)nt/ n.<生>突变体
skeleton /ˈskelɪtn/ n.骨架
100
I couldn’t believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it’s gone on this holiday, but they’re going to buy me a new wand for next year.
101
Harry remembered
only too well
the
occasion
when Ron’s old wand had snapped.
only too well 很清楚
occasion /əˈkeɪʒn/ n.(某事发生的)时刻
102
It had happened when the car the two of them had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree in the school grounds.
103
We’ll be back about a week before term starts and we’ll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there?
104
Don’t let the Muggles
get you down
! Try and come to London,
get down 使沮丧
105
Ron
106
PS: Percy’s Head Boy. He got the letter last week.
107
Harry glanced back at the photograph.
108
Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly
smug
.
smug /smʌɡ/ adj.自满的
109
He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the
fez
perched
jauntily
on top of his neat hair, his
horn-rimmed
glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun.
fez /fez/ n.土耳其毡帽
jauntily /'dʒɔ:ntili/ adv.得意洋洋地
horn-rimmed /'hɔ:n'rimd/ adj.,n.角质架的(眼镜)
110
Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was what looked like a
miniature
glass
spinning top
. There was another note from Ron beneath it.
miniature /ˈmɪnətʃə(r)/ adj.小型的
spinning top 抽陀螺
111
Harry – this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there’s someone
untrustworthy
around, it’s supposed to light up and spin.
untrustworthy /ʌnˈtrʌstwɜːði/ adj.不能信赖的
112
Bill says it’s rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn’t
reliable
, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn’t realise Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.
reliable /rɪˈlaɪəbl/ adj.可靠的
113
Bye – Ron
114
Harry put the
Sneakoscope
on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his
clock
.
pocket /ˈpɒkɪt/ adj.袖珍的
Sneakoscope 窥镜
clock /klɒk/ n.时钟
115
He looked at it happily for a few seconds, then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought.
116
Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card and a letter, this time from Hermione.
117
Dear Harry,
118
Ron wrote to me and told me about his
phone call
to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you’re all right.
phone call 电话
119
I’m on holiday in France at the moment and I didn’t know how I was going to send this to you – what if they’d opened it at
Customs
? – but then Hedwig turned up!
custom /ˈkʌstəm/ n.海关
120
I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday
for a change
.
for a change 变个花样
121
I bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I’ve been getting it delivered, it’s so good to keep up with what’s going on in the wizarding world).
122
Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he’s learning
loads
, I’m really
jealous
– the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.
load /ləʊd/ n.许多
jealous /ˈdʒeləs/ adj.妒羡的
123
There’s some interesting local history of
witchcraft
here, too. I’ve re-written my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I’ve found out.
witchcraft /'wɪtʃkrɑːft/ n.魔法
124
I hope it’s not too long, it’s two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns
asked for
.
ask for 要求
125
Ron says he’s going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you
make it
? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I really hope you can.
make it 及时抵达
126
If not, I’ll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September the first!
127
Love from Hermione
128
P.S. Ron says Percy’s Head Boy. I’ll bet Percy’s really pleased. Ron doesn’t seem too happy about it.
129
Harry laughed again as he put Hermione’s letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells – but it wasn’t.
130
His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a
sleek
black leather case with silver words
stamped
across it: Broomstick
Servicing
Kit
.
sleek /sliːk/ adj.线条流畅的
stamp /stæmp/ vt.盖章于…
servicing /'sə:visiŋ/ n.维修
kit /kɪt/ n.成套用品
131
Wow, Hermione!’ Harry whispered,
unzipping
the case to look inside.
unzip /ʌn'zɪp/ vi.拉开拉链
132
There was a large
jar
of Fleetwood’s
High-Finish
Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail-
Twig
Clippers
,
jar /dʒɑː(r)/ n.罐子
High-Finish 精磨
twig /twɪg/ n.细枝
clipper /'klɪpə/ n.剪刀
133
a tiny brass
compass
to clip onto your broom for long journeys, and a
Handbook
of
Do-it-Yourself
Broomcare.
compass /ˈkʌmpəs/ n.指南针
handbook /ˈhændbʊk/ n.手册
Do-it-Yourself n.自己做
134
Apart from his friends, the thing that Harry missed most about Hogwarts was Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical world – highly dangerous, very exciting and played on broomsticks.
135
Harry happened to be a very good Quidditch player; he had been the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of the Hogwarts house teams.
136
One of Harry’s most
prized
possessions
was his Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom.
prized /praɪzd/ adj.被看作最重要的
possession /pəˈzeʃn/ n.私人财物
137
Harry put the leather case aside and picked up his last parcel. He recognised the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts
gamekeeper
.
gamekeeper /'geɪmkiːpə/ n.(私人土地上防止偷猎的)猎场看守人
138
He tore off the top
layer
of paper and glimpsed something green and
leathery
, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange quiver,
layer /ˈleɪə(r)/ n.层
leathery /'leð(ə)rɪ/ adj.似皮革的
139
and whatever was inside it snapped loudly – as though it had
jaws
.
jaws /dʒɔ:/ n.口
140
Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn’t have a normal person’s view of what was dangerous.
141
Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders, buy
vicious
, three-headed dogs from men in
pubs
and sneak
illegal
dragon eggs into his cabin.
vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ adj.邪恶的
pub /pʌb/ n.酒馆
illegal /ɪˈliːɡl/ adj.非法的
142
Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again.
143
Harry reached for the lamp on his
bedside
table, gripped it
firmly
in one hand and raised it over his head, ready to
strike
. Then he seized the rest of the
wrapping
paper in his other hand and pulled.
bedside /'bedsaɪd/ adj.床旁的
firmly /'fə:mli/ adv.坚固地
strike /straɪk/ vi.打击
wrapping /'ræpɪŋ/ adj.包装用的
144
And out fell – a book.
145
Harry just had time to
register
its handsome green cover,
emblazoned
with the golden title, The Monster Book of Monsters,
register /ˈredʒɪstə(r)/ v.注意到
emblazon /ɪm'bleɪz(ə)n/ vt.用纹章装饰
146
before it flipped onto its edge and
scuttled
sideways along the bed like some weird
crab
.
scuttle /'skʌt(ə)l/ vi.急促地跑
crab /kræb/ n.螃蟹
147
Uh oh,’ Harry muttered.
148
The book toppled off the bed with a loud
clunk
and shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry followed it
stealthily
. The book was hiding in the dark space under his desk.
clunk /klʌŋk/ n.沉闷的金属声
stealthily /'stelθili/ adv.偷偷摸摸地
149
Praying that the Dursleys were still
fast asleep
, Harry got down on his hands and knees and reached towards it.
fast asleep 熟睡的
150
Ouch
!’
ouch /aʊtʃ/ int.(痛苦或惊讶时的叫声)哎哟
151
The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers.
152
Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward and managed to
flatten
it. Uncle Vernon gave a loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door.
flatten /ˈflætn/ vt.使……平坦
153
Hedwig and Errol watched interestedly as Harry
clamped
the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his
chest of drawers
and pulled out a belt, which he
buckled
tightly around it.
clamp /klæmp/ vt.紧紧抓住
chest of drawers 五斗柜
buckle /ˈbʌkl/ vi.扣住
154
The Monster Book
shuddered
angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid’s card.
shudder /ˈʃʌdə(r)/ vi.发抖
155
Dear Harry,
156
Happy Birthday! Think you might find this useful for next year. Won’t say no more here. Tell you when I see you.
157
Hope the Muggles are treating you right.
158
All the best,
159
Hagrid
160
It struck Harry as
ominous
that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put up Hagrid’s card next to Ron and Hermione’s, grinning more broadly than ever.
ominous /ˈɒmɪnəs/ adj.不吉利的
161
Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts left.
162
Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within and read:
163
Dear Mr Potter,
164
Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King’s Cross Station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o’clock.
165
Third-years are
permitted
to visit the village of Hogsmeade at certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission
form
to your parent or
guardian
to sign.
permit /pəˈmɪt/ vi.允许
form /fɔːm/ n.表格
guardian /ˈɡɑːdiən/ n.监护人
166
A list of books for next year is enclosed.
167
Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall
Deputy
Headmistress
deputy /ˈdepjuti/ n.副的
168
Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning.
169
It would be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade at weekends; he knew it was an entirely wizarding village, and he had never set foot there.
170
But how on earth was he going to
persuade
Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the form?
persuade /pəˈsweɪd/ vt.&vi.说服
171
He looked over at the alarm clock. It was now two o’clock in the morning.
172
Deciding that he’d worry about the Hogsmeade form when he woke up,
173
Harry got back into bed and reached up to
cross off
another day on the chart he’d made for himself,
counting down
the days left until his return to Hogwarts.
cross off 从……划掉
count down 倒计时
174
Then he took off his glasses and lay down, eyes open, facing his three birthday cards.
175
Extremely unusual though he was, at that moment Harry Potter felt just like everyone else: glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday.
176
