《哈利波特1》｜单词注释｜Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
1
THE LETTERS FROM NO ONE
2
The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor
earned
Harry his longest-ever punishment.
earn /ɜːrn/ vt. 使得到
3
By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane,
4
and, first time on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her
crutches
.
crutch /krʌtʃ/ n. 拐杖
5
Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley’s gang, who visited the house every single day.
6
Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.
7
The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley’s favorite sport: Harry Hunting.
8
This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see
a tiny ray of
hope.
a ray of n. 一线
9
When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn’t be with Dudley.
10
Dudley had a place at Uncle Vernon’s old school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too.
11
Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local
comprehensive
. Dudley thought this was very funny.
comprehensive /ˌkɑːmprɪˈhensɪv/ n. 综合中学
12
“They
stuff
people’s heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall,” he told Harry. “Want to come upstairs and practice?”
stuff /stʌf/ v. 塞进
13
“No, thanks,” said Harry. “The poor toilet’s never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick.”
14
Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he’d said.
15
One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg’s.
16
Mrs. Figg wasn’t as bad as usual. It
turned out
she’d broken her leg
tripping
over one of her cats, and she didn’t seem
quite
as fond of them as before.
turn out 证明是
trip /trɪp/ vi. 绊倒
quite /kwaɪt/ adv. (用于否定词后面表示某事不完全清楚)差不多
17
She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she’d had it for several years.
18
That evening, Dudley
paraded
around the living room for the family in his
brand-new
uniform.
parade /pəˈreɪd/ v. 展示
brand-new /ˈbrændˈnu/ adj. 崭新的
19
Smeltings boys wore
maroon
tailcoats
, orange
knickerbockers
, and
flat
straw hats called boaters.
maroon /mə'run/ adj. 栗色的
tailcoat /ˈtelˌkot/ n. 燕尾服
knickerbockers /ˈnɪkɚˌbɑkɚz/ n. 灯笼裤
flat /flæt/ adj. 扁平的
20
They also carried
knobbly
sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren’t looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.
knobbly /'nɑbli/ adj. 有节的
21
As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said
gruffly
that it was the proudest moment of his life.
gruffly /'grʌfli/ adv. (嗓音)粗哑的
22
Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn’t believe it was her
Ickle
Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and
grown-up
.
ickle n. 小（little，非正式）
grown-up / ˈɡronˌʌp/ adj. 成熟的
23
Harry didn’t trust himself to speak.
24
He thought two of his
ribs
might already have
cracked
from trying not to laugh.
ribs /rɪb/ n. 肋骨
crack /kræk/ vt. & vi. (使…)开裂
25
There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal
tub
in the
sink
.
tub /tʌb/ n. 盆
sink /sɪŋk/ n. 水池
26
He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty
rags
swimming in gray water.
rag /ræɡ/ n. 破布
27
“What’s this?” he asked Aunt Petunia.
28
Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.
29
“Your new school uniform,” she said.
30
Harry looked in the bowl again.
bowl /boʊl/ n. 盆
31
“Oh,” he said, “I didn’t realize it had to be so wet.”
32
“Don’t be stupid,” snapped Aunt Petunia. “I’m
dyeing
some of Dudley’s old things gray for you. It’ll look just like everyone else’s when I’ve finished.”
dye /daɪ/ vt. 染
33
Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.
34
He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.
35
Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with
wrinkled
noses because of the smell from Harry’s new uniform.
wrinkle /ˈrɪŋkl/ v. 皱起
37
Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley
banged
his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.
bang /bæŋ/ vi. 砰地敲
36
They heard the click of the
mail slot
and
flop
of letters on the
doormat
.
mail slot 信件投递口
flop /flɑp/ vi. (笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移动或落下
doormat /'dɔr'mæt/ n. 门垫
38
“Get the
post
, Dudley,” said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.
post /poʊst/ n. 邮件
39
“Make Harry get it.”
40
“Get the post, Harry.”
41
“Make Dudley get it.”
42
“Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley.”
43
Harry
dodged
the Smelting stick and went to get the post.
dodge /dɑːdʒ/ vt. & vi. 闪躲
44
Three things lay on the doormat:
45
a
postcard
from Uncle Vernon’s sister Marge, who was holidaying on the
Isle of Wight
, a brown envelope that looked like a
bill
, and — a letter for Harry.
postcard /'post'kɑrd/ n. 明信片
Isle of wight 怀特岛(英国)
bill /bɪl/ n. 账单
46
Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart
twanging
like a giant
elastic band
.
twang /twæŋ/ vi. 发拨弦声
elastic band [英] 橡皮圈
47
No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn’t belong to the library, so he’d never even got rude notes asking for books back.
48
Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so
plainly
there could be no mistake:
plainly /'pleinli/ adv. 清楚地
49
Mr. H. Potter
50
The Cupboard under the Stairs
51
4 Privet Drive
52
Little Whinging
53
Surrey
54
The envelope was thick and heavy, made of
yellowish
parchment
, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no
stamp
.
yellowish /'jɛloɪʃ/ adj. 微黄色的
parchment /'pɑrtʃmənt/ n. 羊皮纸
stamp /stæmp/ n. 邮票
55
Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple
wax seal
bearing
a
coat
of
arms
;
wax seal 水漆封印
bear /ber/ v. 刻有
coat /kot/ n. 涂料层
arm /ɑːrm/ n. 纹章
56
a lion, an eagle, a
badger
, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.
badger /ˈbædʒər/ n. 獾
57
“Hurry up, boy!” shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. “What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?” He chuckled at his own joke.
58
Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter.
59
He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.
60
Uncle Vernon
ripped
open the bill,
snorted
in
disgust
, and
flipped
over the postcard.
rip /rɪp/ vt. 撕
snort /snɔrt/ vt. & vi. 喷鼻息(以表示不耐烦, 轻蔑等)
disgust /dɪsˈɡʌst/ n. 厌恶
flip /flɪp/ v. （使）快速翻转
61
“Marge’s ill,” he informed Aunt Petunia. “Ate a
funny
whelk
. . .”
funny /'fʌni/ adj. 出故障的
whelk /wɛlk/ n. 峨螺
62
“Dad!” said Dudley suddenly. “Dad, Harry’s got something!”
63
Harry was
on the point of
unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked
sharply
out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.
on the point of 正要...的时候
sharply /ˈʃ ɑrplɪ/ adv. 迅疾而突然地
64
“That’s mine!” said Harry, trying to
snatch
it back.
snatch /snætʃ/ vt. 夺得
65
“Who’d be writing to you?”
sneered
Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it.
sneer /snɪr/ vi. 嘲笑
66
His face went from red to green faster than a set of
traffic lights
. And it didn’t stop there. Within seconds it was the
grayish
white of old
porridge
.
traffic lights 交通(红、绿)灯
grayish /'ɡreɪʃ/ adj. (美)浅灰色的
porridge /ˈpɔːrɪdʒ/ n. 麦片粥
67
“P-P-Petunia!” he gasped.
68
Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach.
69
Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might
faint
. She
clutched
her throat and made a
choking
noise.
faint /feɪnt/ adj. 昏眩的
clutch /klʌtʃ/ vt. 紧握
choking /ˈtʃokɪŋ/ adj. 透不过气来的
70
“Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!”
71
They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room.
72
Dudley wasn’t used to being ignored.
73
He gave his father a sharp
tap
on the head with his Smelting stick.
tap /tæp/ n. 轻打
74
“I want to read that letter,” he said loudly.
75
“I want to read it,” said Harry furiously, “as it’s mine.”
76
“Get out, both of you,”
croaked
Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.
croak /kroʊk/ v. 用低沉而沙哑的声音说话
77
Harry didn’t move.
78
“I WANT MY LETTER!” he shouted.
79
“Let me see it!” demanded Dudley.
80
“OUT!” roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the
scruffs
of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them.
scruff /skrʌf/ n. 颈背
81
Harry and Dudley
promptly
had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the
keyhole
;
promptly /'prɑmptli/ adv. 立即地
keyhole /'kihol/ n. 锁眼
82
Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the
crack
between door and floor.
crack /kræk/ n. 缝隙
83
“Vernon,” Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, “look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don’t think they’re watching the house?”
84
“Watching — spying — might be following us,” muttered Uncle Vernon
wildly
.
wildly /ˈ waɪldlɪ/ adv. 狂暴地
85
“But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don’t want —”
86
Harry could see Uncle Vernon’s shiny black shoes
pacing
up and down the kitchen.
pace /peɪs/ vt. & vi. 踱步于
87
“No,” he said finally. “No, we’ll ignore it. If they don’t get an answer. . . . Yes, that’s best . . . we won’t do anything. . . .”
88
“But —”
89
“I’m not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn’t we swear when we took him in we’d
stamp out
that dangerous nonsense?”
stamp out 扑灭
90
That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he’d never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.
91
“Where’s my letter?” said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. “Who’s writing to me?”
92
“No one. It was addressed to you by mistake,” said Uncle Vernon
shortly
. “I have burned it.”
shortly /ˈʃɔːrtli/ adv. (说话)不耐烦地
93
“It was not a mistake,” said Harry angrily, “it had my cupboard on it.”
94
“SILENCE!” yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.
95
He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite
painful
.
painful /ˈpeɪnfl/ adj. 痛苦的
96
“Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking . . . you’re really getting a bit big for it . . . we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley’s second bedroom.”
97
“Why?” said Harry.
98
“Don’t ask questions!” snapped his uncle. “Take this stuff upstairs, now.”
99
The Dursleys’ house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon’s sister, Marge),
100
one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn’t fit into his first bedroom.
101
It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room.
102
He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken.
103
The month-old cine-camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor’s dog;
104
in the corner was Dudley’s
first-ever
television set
, which he’d put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled;
first-ever adj. 首次的
television set 电视机
105
there was a large birdcage, which had once held a
parrot
that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.
parrot /ˈpærət/ n. 鹦鹉
106
Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they’d never been touched.
107
From downstairs came the sound of Dudley
bawling
at his mother, “I don’t want him in there . . . I need that room . . . make him get out. . . .”
bawl /bɔːl/ vi. 大叫
108
Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he’d have given anything to be up here. Today he’d rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.
109
Next morning at breakfast, everyone was
rather
quiet.
rather /ˈræðər/ adv. 相当
110
Dudley was in shock.
111
He’d screamed,
whacked
his father with his Smelting stick, been sick
on purpose
, kicked his mother, and thrown his
tortoise
through the
greenhouse
roof, and he still didn’t have his room back.
whack /wæk/ vt. 使劲打
on purpose 故意地
tortoise /'tɔrtəs/ n. 乌龟
greenhouse /ˈɡriːnhaʊs/ n. 温室
112
Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and
bitterly
wishing he’d opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other
darkly
.
bitterly /'bɪtɚli/ adv. 非常
darkly /'dɑ:kli/ adv. 阴郁地
113
When the post arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.
114
They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall.
115
Then he shouted, “There’s another one! ‘Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —’”
116
With a
strangled
cry, Uncle Vernon
leapt
from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him.
strangle /ˈstræŋɡl/ vt. 使窒息
leapt /lɛpt/ v. 跳跃（leap的过去分词）
117
Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him,
118
which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.
119
After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon
straightened
up, gasping for breath, with Harry’s letter clutched in his hand.
straighten /'stretn/ vt. & vi. (使)变直
120
“Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom,” he
wheezed
at Harry. “Dudley — go — just go.”
wheeze /wiːz/ vi. 发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声
121
Harry
walked round
and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn’t received his first letter. Surely that meant they’d try again?
walked round 四处逛
122
And this time he’d make sure they didn’t fail. He had a plan.
123
The repaired alarm clock rang at six o’clock the next morning.
124
Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn’t wake the Dursleys. He
stole
downstairs without turning on any of the lights.
steal /stiːl/ v. 悄悄地移动(steal的过去式)
125
He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.
126
His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —
127
“AAAAARRRGH!”
128
Harry leapt into the air; he’d
trodden
on something big and
squashy
on the doormat — something alive!
trodden /'trɑdn/ v. 踩(tread的过去分词)
squashy /'skwɔʃi/ adj. 柔软的
129
Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle’s face.
130
Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn’t do exactly what he’d been trying to do.
131
He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea.
132
Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the post had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon’s lap.
133
Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.
134
“I want —” he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.
135
Uncle Vernon didn’t go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the letter box. 137 “See,” he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, “if they can’t deliver them they’ll just give up.”
136
“I’m not sure that’ll work, Vernon.”
138
“Oh, these people’s minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they’re not like you and me,” said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of
fruitcake
Aunt Petunia had just brought him.
fruitcake /'frʊt,kek/ n. 掺有干果的糕饼
139
On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry.
140
As they couldn’t go through the letter box they had been pushed under the door,
slotted
through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.
slot /slɑːt/ vt. 把...放入狭长开口中
141
Uncle Vernon stayed at home again.
142
After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and
boarded
up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out.
board /bɔːrd/ vt. 用木板覆盖或封闭
143
He hummed “
Tiptoe
Through the
Tulips
” as he worked, and jumped at small noises.
tiptoe /'tɪpto/ vi. 踮着脚走
tulip /'tʊlɪp/ n. 郁金香
144
On Saturday, things began to get
out of hand
.
out of hand 无法控制
145
Twenty-four letters to Harry
found their way
into the house,
find one's way 找到解决办法
146
rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window.
147
While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the
dairy
trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia
shredded
the letters in her
food mixer
.
dairy /ˈderi/ n. 乳品店
shred /ʃred/ vi. 撕碎
food mixer 食品搅拌机
148
“Who on earth wants to talk to you this
badly
?” Dudley asked Harry in amazement.
badly /ˈbædli/ adv. 非常
149
On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.
150
“No post on Sundays,” he reminded them happily as he spread
marmalade
on his newspapers, “no damn letters today —”
marmalade /'mɑrməled/ n. 果酱
151
Something came
whizzing
down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head.
whiz /hwɪz/ n. 嗖嗖声
152
Next moment, thirty or forty letters came
pelting
out of the
fireplace
like bullets.
pelt /pelt/ vt. (连续地)投掷
fireplace /ˈfaɪərpleɪs/ n. 壁炉
153
The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one —
154
“Out! OUT!”
155
Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.
156
When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut.
157
They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.
158
“That does it,” said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great
tufts
out of his
mustache
at the same time.
tuft /tʌft/ n. (头发、羽毛、草等)一簇；
mustache /'mʌstæʃ/ n. 胡子
159
“I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We’re going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!”
160
He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue.
161
Ten minutes later they had
wrenched
their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the motorway.
wrench /rentʃ/ vt. (猛力地)扳
162
Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for
holding them up
while he tried to pack his television, video, and computer in his sports bag.
hold sb up 耽搁某人
163
They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn’t dare ask where they were going.
164
Every
now and then
Uncle Vernon would take a sharp
turning
and drive in the opposite direction for a while.
now and then 不时
turning /'tɝnɪŋ/ n. 回转
165
“Shake ’em off . . . shake ’em off,” he would mutter whenever he did this.
166
They didn’t stop to eat or drink all day.
167
By nightfall Dudley was howling. He’d never had such a bad day in his life.
168
He was hungry, he’d missed five television programs he’d wanted to see, and he’d never gone so long without
blowing up
an
alien
on his computer.
blow up 爆炸
alien /ˈeɪliən/ n. 外星人
169
Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a
gloomy
-looking hotel on the
outskirts
of a big city.
gloomy /ˈɡluːmi/ adj. 黑暗的
outskirts /ˈaʊtskɜːrts/ n. 郊区
170
Dudley and Harry shared a room with
twin
beds and
damp
,
musty
sheets.
twin /twɪn/ adj. 成对的
damp /dæmp/ adj. 潮湿的
musty /'mʌsti/ adj. 发霉的
171
Dudley
snored
but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the
windowsill
, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering. . .
snore /snɔr/ vi. 打呼噜
windowsill /'wɪndo,sɪl/ n. 窗台
172
They ate
stale
cornflakes
and cold
tinned
tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.
stale /steɪl/ adj. 味道变坏的
cornflakes /'kɔrnfleks/ n. 脆玉米片
tinned /tɪnd/ adj. [英] 罐装的
173
They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.
174
“’Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an ’undred of these at the front desk.”
175
She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:
176
Mr. H. Potter
177
Room 17
178
Railview Hotel
179
Cokeworth
180
Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand
out of the way
. The woman stared.
out of the way 把......移开
181
“I’ll take them,” said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.
182
“Wouldn’t it be better just to go home, dear?” Aunt Petunia suggested
timidly
, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn’t seem to hear her.
timidly /ˈtɪmɪdlɪ/ adv. 胆小地
183
Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew.
184
He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again.
185
The same thing happened in the middle of a
plowed
field, halfway across a
suspension
bridge, and at the top of a
multilevel
parking garage.
plow /plaʊ/ v. 耕
suspension /səˈspenʃn/ n. 吊
multilevel /ˈmʌltəˌlɛvəl/ adj. 多层的
186
“Daddy’s gone mad, hasn’t he?” Dudley asked Aunt Petunia
dully
late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the
coast
, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.
dully /ˈd ʌllɪ/ adv. 没精打采地
coast /kəʊst/ n. 海岸
187
It started to rain.
188
Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley
sniveled
.
snivel /'snɪvl/ vi. 哭泣
189
“It’s Monday,” he told his mother. “The Great Humberto’s on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television.”
190
Monday. This reminded Harry of something.
191
If it was Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry’s eleventh birthday.
192
Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a
coat hanger
and a pair of Uncle Vernon’s old socks.
Still
, you weren’t eleven every day.
coat hanger 衣架
still /stɪl/ conj. 但是
193
Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn’t answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he’d bought.
194
“Found the perfect place!” he said. “Come on! Everyone out!”
195
It was very cold outside the car.
196
Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea.
197
Perched
on top of the rock was the most
miserable
little
shack
you could imagine.
perch /pɜːrtʃ/ vt. & vi. (在较高处或物体边缘)坐着
miserable /ˈmɪzrəbl/ adj. 可怜的
shack /ʃæk/ n. 简陋的小屋
198
One thing was certain, there was no television in there.
199
“Storm
forecast
for tonight!” said Uncle Vernon
gleefully
, clapping his hands together. “And this gentleman’s kindly agreed to lend us his boat!”
forecast /ˈfɔːrkæst/ vt. 预报
gleefully /ˈɡlifəlɪ/ adv. 极快乐地
200
A toothless old man came
ambling
up to them, pointing, with a rather
wicked
grin, at an old
rowboat
bobbing
in the iron-gray water below them.
amble /ˈæmbl/ vi. 从容漫步
wicked /ˈwɪkɪd/ adj. 邪恶的
rowboat /'robot/ n. 划艇
bob /bɑːb/ v. (使在水中)上下快速移动
201
“I’ve already got us some
rations
,” said Uncle Vernon, “so all aboard!”
ration /ˈræʃn/ n. 食物储备
202
It was freezing in the boat.
Icy
sea
spray
and rain crept down their necks and a
chilly
wind
whipped
their faces.
icy /ˈaɪsi/ adj. 冰冷的
spray /spreɪ/ v. (使)飞溅
chilly /ˈtʃɪli/ adj. 凉飕飕的
whip /wɪp/ vt. 抽打
203
After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon,
slipping
and
sliding
, led the way to the
broken-down
house.
slip /slɪp/ vi. 滑倒
slide /slaɪd/ vt. & vi. 滑动
broken-down /ˌbrokənˈdaʊn/ adj. 败落的
204
The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of
seaweed
, the wind
whistled
through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the
fireplace
was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.
seaweed /'si'wid/ n. 海藻
whistle /ˈwɪsl/ v. 呼啸
fireplace /ˈfaɪərpleɪs/ n. 壁炉
205
Uncle Vernon’s rations turned out to be a packet of crisps each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty crisp packets just smoked and
shriveled
up.
shrivel /ˈʃrɪvl/ vi. 皱缩
206
“Could do with some of those letters now, eh?” he said cheerfully.
207
He was in a very good mood.
208
Obviously he thought nobody
stood a chance
of reaching them here in a storm to deliver post. Harry
privately
agreed, though the thought didn’t cheer him up at all.
stand a chance 有可能
privately /'praɪvɪtli/ adv. 私下地
209
As
night fell
, the
promised
storm blew up around them.
night fell 夜幕降临
promise /'prɑmɪs/ v. 预示
210
Spray from the high waves
splattered
the walls of the
hut
and a fierce wind
rattled
the
filthy
windows.
splatter /'splætɚ/ vt. 使水等飞剑
hut /hʌt/ n. 小屋
rattle /ˈrætl/ vt. 使发出咯咯声
filthy /'fɪlθi/ adj. 肮脏的
211
Aunt Petunia found a few
moldy
blankets
in the second room and
made up
a bed for Dudley on the
moth-eaten
sofa.
moldy /ˈmoʊldi/ adj. 发霉的
blanket /ˈblæŋkɪt/ n. 毯子
make up 拼凑成
moth-eaten /'mɔθ,itən/ adj. 虫蛀的
212
She and Uncle Vernon went off to the
lumpy
bed next door, and Harry was left to find the
softest
bit of floor he could and to
curl
up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.
lumpy /'lʌmpi/ adj. 波浪起伏的
soft /sɔft/ adj. 软的
curl /kɜːrl/ vi. 卷曲
213
The storm raged more and more
ferociously
as the night went on.
ferociously /fə'rəuʃəsli/ adv. 野蛮地
214
Harry couldn’t sleep. He
shivered
and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach
rumbling
with hunger.
shiver /ˈʃɪvər/ vi. 颤抖
rumble /ˈrʌmbl/ vi. 发出隆隆声
215
Dudley’s snores were drowned by the low
rolls
of thunder that started near midnight.
roll /roʊl/ n. 持续地轰隆声
216
The lighted
dial
of Dudley’s watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he’d be eleven in ten minutes’ time.
dial /ˈdaɪəl/ n. 钟(表)面
217
He lay and watched his birthday
tick
nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.
tick /tɪk/ vi. 发出滴答声
218
Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn’t going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.
219
Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he’d be able to steal one somehow.
220
Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that?
221
And (two minutes to go) what was that
funny
crunching noise? Was the rock
crumbling
into the sea?
funny /'fʌni/ adj. 奇异的
crumble /ˈkrʌmbl/ v. 崩裂
222
One minute to go and he’d be eleven. Thirty seconds . . . twenty . . . ten . . . nine — maybe he’d wake Dudley up, just to annoy him — three . . . two . . . one . . .
223
BOOM.
224
The whole shack shivered and Harry sat
bolt
upright
, staring at the door.
bolt /boʊlt/ adv. 笔直地
upright /ˈʌpraɪt/ adv. 笔直地
225
Someone was outside, knocking to come in.
226
