CHAPTER SIXTEEN

1

The Chamber of Secrets

2

‘All those times we were in that bathroom, and she was just three toilets away,’ said Ron bitterly at breakfast next day, ‘a(chǎn)nd we could’ve asked her, and now …’

3

It had been hard enough trying to look for spiders.

4

Escaping their teachers long enough to sneak into a girls’ bathroom, the girls’ bathroom,?

moreover

, right next to the scene of the first attack, was going to be almost impossible.

moreover /m??r???v?(r)/ adv.?而且

5

But something happened in their first lesson, Transfiguration, which drove the Chamber of Secrets out of their minds for the first time in weeks.

6

Ten minutes into the class, Professor McGonagall told them that their exams would start on the first of?

June

, one week from today.

June /d?u:n/ n.?六月

7

‘

Exams

?’ howled Seamus Finnigan. ‘We’re still getting exams?’

exam /?g'z?m/ n.?考試

8

There was a loud bang behind Harry as Neville Longbottom’s wand slipped, vanishing one of the legs on his desk.?

9

Professor McGonagall?

restored

?it with a wave of her own wand, and turned, frowning, to Seamus.

restore /r??st??(r)/ vt.?恢復(fù)

10

‘The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education,’ she said sternly. ‘The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all?

revising

?hard.’

revise /r??va?z/ vt. & vi.?復(fù)習(xí)

11

Revising hard! It had never occurred to Harry that there would be exams with the castle in this state.

12

There was a great deal of?

mutinous

?muttering around the room, which made Professor McGonagall scowl even more darkly.

mutinous /?mju?t?n?s/ adj.?反抗的

13

‘Professor Dumbledore’s?

instructions

?were to keep the school running as normally as possible,’ she said. ‘And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year.’

instruction /?n?str?k?n/ n.?指示

14

Harry looked down at the pair of white rabbits he was supposed to be turning into?

slippers

. What had he learned so far this year? He couldn’t seem to think of anything that would be useful in an exam.

slipper /?sl?p?(r)/ n.?拖鞋

15

Ron looked as though he’d just been told he had to go and live in the Forbidden Forest.

16

‘Can you imagine me taking exams with this?’ he asked Harry, holding up his wand, which had just started?

whistling

loudly.

whistle /?w?sl/ v.?鳴響

17

Three days before their first exam, Professor McGonagall made another?

announcement

?at breakfast.

announcement /??na?nsm?nt/ n.?宣布

18

‘I have good news,’ she said, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted.

19

‘Dumbledore’s coming back!’ several people yelled joyfully.

20

‘You’ve caught the heir of Slytherin!’ squealed a girl on the Ravenclaw table.

21

‘Quidditch matches are back on!’ roared Wood excitedly.

22

When the?

hubbub

?had?

subsided

, Professor McGonagall said,

hubbub /'h?b?b/ n.?喧嘩

subside /s?b?sa?d/ vi.?平息

23

‘Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to?

revive

those people who have been Petrified.

revive /r??va?v/ vi.?蘇醒

24

I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this?

dreadful

?year will end with our catching the?

culprit

.’

dreadful /?dredfl/ adj.?可怕的

culprit /?k?lpr?t/ n.?罪犯

25

There was an?

explosion

?of cheering. Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and wasn’t at all surprised to see that Draco Malfoy hadn’t joined in.

explosion /?k?spl???n/ n.?爆發(fā)

26

Ron, however, was looking happier than he’d looked in days.

27

‘It won’t matter that we never asked Myrtle, then!’ he said to Harry.

28

‘Hermione’ll probably have all the answers when they wake her up!?

Mind you

, she’ll go mad when she finds out we’ve got exams in three days’ time. She hasn’t revised.

mind you?注意

29

It might be kinder to leave her where she is till they’re over.’

30

Just then, Ginny Weasley came over and sat down next to Ron. She looked tense and nervous, and Harry noticed that her hands were?

twisting

?in her lap.

twist /tw?st/ v.?纏繞

31

‘What’s up?’ said Ron, helping himself to more porridge.

32

Ginny didn’t say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table with a scared look on her face that reminded Harry of someone, though he couldn’t think who.

33

‘

Spit it out

,’ said Ron, watching her.

spit it out v.?痛痛快快地講出來

34

Harry suddenly realised who Ginny looked like. She was?

rocking

?backwards and forwards slightly in her chair, exactly like Dobby did when he was?

teetering

?on the edge of?

revealing

?forbidden information.

rock /r?k/ vt. & vi. (使)來回擺動

teeter /?ti?t?(r)/ vi.?搖晃地站立或移動

reveal /r??vi?l/ vt.?透露

35

‘I’ve got to tell you something,’ Ginny mumbled, carefully not looking at Harry.

36

‘What is it?’ said Harry.

37

Ginny looked as though she couldn’t find the right words.

38

‘What?’ said Ron.

39

Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Harry leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ginny and Ron could hear him.

40

‘Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?’

41

Ginny drew a deep breath and, at that?

precise

?moment, Percy Weasley appeared, looking tired and?

wan

.

precise /pr??sa?s/ adj.?恰好的

wan /w?n/ adj.?乏力的

42

‘If you’ve finished eating, I’ll take that seat, Ginny. I’m starving, I’ve only just come off?

patrol

?duty.’

patrol /p??tr??l/ n.?巡邏

43

Ginny jumped up as though her chair had just been?

electrified

, gave Percy a fleeting,?

frightened

?look, and?

scarpered

?away. Percy sat down and grabbed a mug from the centre of the table.

electrify /?'lektr?fa?/ vt.?使觸電

frightened /'fraitnd/ adj.?害怕的

scarper /'skɑ?p?/ vi.?溜走

44

‘Percy!’ said Ron angrily. ‘She was just about to tell us something important!’

45

Halfway through a?

gulp

?of tea, Percy?

choked

.

gulp /ɡ?lp/ n.?一大口(尤指液體)

choke /t???k/ v.?噎住

46

‘What sort of thing?’ he said, coughing.

47

‘I just asked her if she’d seen anything odd, and she started to say –’

48

‘Oh – that – that’s nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets,’ said Percy at once.

49

‘How do you know?’ said Ron, his eyebrows raised.

50

‘Well, er, if you must know, Ginny, er,?

walked in on

?me the other day when I was – well, never mind – the point is, she spotted me doing something and I, um, I asked her not to mention it to anybody.

walk in on?撞見

51

I must say, I did think she’d?

keep her word

. It’s nothing, really, I’d just?

rather

?–’

keep one's word?遵守諾言

rather /?rɑ?e?(r)/ adv.?寧愿

52

Harry had never seen Percy look so?

uncomfortable

.

uncomfortable /?n'k?mf(?)t?b(?)l/ adj.?不安的

53

‘What were you doing, Percy?’ said Ron, grinning. ‘Go on, tell us, we won’t laugh.’

54

Percy didn’t smile back.

55

‘Pass me those?

rolls

, Harry, I’m starving.’

roll /r??l/ n.?小圓面包

56

Harry knew the whole mystery might be solved tomorrow without their help, but he wasn’t about to?

pass up

?a chance to speak to Myrtle if it turned up – and to his delight it did,?

pass up?放棄

57

mid-morning

, when they were being led to History of Magic by Gilderoy Lockhart.

midmorning /'m?d'm??n??/ n.?早晨

58

Lockhart, who had so often assured them that all danger had passed,

59

only

?to be proved wrong?

straight

?away, was now?

whole-heartedly

?convinced that it was hardly worth the trouble to see them safely down the corridors.

only /'??nl?/ conj.?但是

straight /stre?t/ adv.?立即

wholeheartedly /?h??l?h ɑ:t?dl?/ adv.?全心全意地

60

His hair wasn’t as sleek as usual; it seemed he had been up most of the night,?

patrolling

?the fourth floor.

patrol /p??tr??l/ vt.?巡邏

61

‘

Mark

?my words,’ he said,?

ushering

?them around a corner,

mark /mɑ?k/ v.?留心

usher /????(r)/ v.?引領(lǐng)

62

‘the first words out of those poor Petrified people’s mouths will be, “It was Hagrid.” Frankly, I’m astounded Professor McGonagall thinks all these?

security

?

measures

?are?

necessary

.’

security /s??kj??r?ti/ n.?保護（措施）

measure /?me??(r)/ n.?措施

necessary /?nes?s?ri/ adj.?必要的

63

‘I agree, sir,’ said Harry, making Ron drop his books in surprise.

64

‘Thank you, Harry,’ said Lockhart?

graciously

, while they waited for a long line of Hufflepuffs to pass.

graciously /'grei??sli/ adv.?優(yōu)雅地

65

‘I mean, we teachers have quite enough to be?

getting on with

, without?

walking

?students to classes and standing guard all night …’

get on with?繼續(xù)干

walk /w??k/ v.?護送……走

66

‘That’s right,’ said Ron,?

catching on

. ‘Why don’t you leave us here, sir, we’ve only got one more corridor to go.’

catch on?理解

67

‘You know, Weasley, I think I will,’ said Lockhart. ‘I really should go and?

prepare

?my next class.’

prepare /pr??pe?(r)/ vt.?準備

68

And he hurried off.

69

‘Prepare his class,’ Ron?

sneered

?after him. ‘Gone to curl his hair, more like.’

sneer /sn??(r)/ vi.?冷笑

70

They let the rest of the Gryffindors?

draw

?ahead of them, then?

darted

?down a side passage and hurried off towards Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

dart /dɑ?t/ vi.?飛奔

draw /dr??/ v.?行進

71

But just as they were?

congratulating

?each other on their brilliant?

scheme

?…

congratulate /k?n?ɡr?t?ule?t/ vt.?祝賀

scheme /ski?m/ n.?計劃

72

‘Potter! Weasley! What are you doing?’

73

It was Professor McGonagall, and her mouth was the thinnest of thin lines.

74

‘We were – we were –’ Ron stammered, ‘we were going to – to go and see –’

75

‘Hermione,’ said Harry. Ron and Professor McGonagall both looked at him.

76

‘We haven’t seen her for ages, Professor,’ Harry went on hurriedly,?

treading

?on Ron’s foot,

tread /tred/ vi.?踏

77

‘a(chǎn)nd we thought we’d sneak into the hospital wing, you know, and tell her the Mandrakes are nearly ready and, er, not to worry.’

78

Professor McGonagall was still staring at him, and for a moment, Harry thought she was going to?

explode

, but when she spoke, it was in a strangely?

croaky

?voice.

explode /?k?spl??d/ v.?大發(fā)(雷霆)

croaky /'kroki/ adj.（聲音）低沉而沙啞的

79

‘Of course,’ she said, and Harry, amazed, saw a tear?

glistening

?in her?

beady

?eye.

glisten /?ɡl?sn/ vi.?閃光

beady /'bi?d?/ adj.?機警的

80

‘Of course, I?

realise

?this has all been hardest on the friends of those who have been … I quite understand.

realise /'r??la?z/ vt.?了解

81

Yes, Potter, of course you may visit Miss Granger. I will inform Professor Binns where you’ve gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission.’

82

Harry and Ron walked away, hardly daring to believe that they’d avoided detention. As they turned the corner, they?

distinctly

?heard Professor McGonagall blow her nose.

distinctly /dis'ti?ktli/ adv.?清晰地

83

‘That,’ said Ron?

fervently

, ‘was the best story you’ve ever?

come up with

.’

fervently /'f?:v?ntli/ adv.?熱情地

come up with?想出

84

They had no choice now but to go to the hospital wing and tell Madam Pomfrey that they had Professor McGonagall’s permission to visit Hermione.

85

Madam Pomfrey let them in, but?

reluctantly

.

reluctantly /ri'l?kt?ntli/ adv.?不情愿地

86

‘There’s just no point talking to a Petrified person,’ she said, and they had to admit she was right when they’d taken their seats next to Hermione.

87

It was plain that Hermione didn’t have the?

faintest

?

inkling

?that she had visitors, and that they might?

just as well

?tell her bedside cabinet not to worry for all the good it would do.

faint /fe?nt/ adj.?微弱的

inkling /???kl??/ n.?略知

just as well?無妨

88

‘Wonder if she did see the attacker, though?’ said Ron, looking sadly at Hermione’s?

rigid

?face. ‘Because if he sneaked up on them all, no one’ll ever know …’

rigid /?r?d??d/ adj.?僵硬的

89

But Harry wasn’t looking at Hermione’s face. He was more interested in her right hand. It lay clenched on top of her blankets, and bending closer, he saw that a piece of paper was?

scrunched

?inside her fist.

scrunch /skr?n(t)?/ v.?把……揉成一團

90

Making sure that Madam Pomfrey was nowhere near, he pointed this out to Ron.

91

‘Try and get it out,’ Ron whispered, shifting his chair so that he blocked Harry from Madam Pomfrey’s view.

92

It was no easy?

task

. Hermione’s hand was?

clamped

?so tightly around the paper that Harry was sure he was going to tear it.

task /tɑ?sk/ n.?任務(wù)

clamp /kl?mp/ v.?緊緊抓住

93

While Ron kept watch he tugged and twisted, and at last, after several tense minutes, the paper came free.

94

It was a page torn from a very old library book. Harry?

smoothed

?it out eagerly and Ron leaned close to read it too.

smooth /smu?e/ vt.?使平整

95

Of the many?

fearsome

?beasts and monsters that?

roam

?our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the?

Basilisk

, known also as the King of?

Serpents

.

fearsome /?f??s?m/ adj. <正>很可怕的

roam /r??m/ vi.?閑逛

basilisk /'b?z?l?sk/ n.?蛇怪

serpent /'s??p(?)nt/ n.?蛇（尤指大蛇或毒蛇）

96

This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad.

97

Its methods of killing are most?

wondrous

, for aside from its deadly and?

venomous

?fangs, the Basilisk has a?

murderous

?stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death.

wondrous /'w?ndr?s/ adj.?令人驚奇的

venomous /?ven?m?s/ adj.?有毒的

murderous /?m??d?r?s/ adj.?殺人的

98

Spiders?

flee

?before the Basilisk, for it is their?

mortal

?enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the?

crowing

?of the rooster, which is?

fatal

?to it.

flee /fli?/ vi.?逃走

mortal /?m??tl/ adj.?不共戴天的

crow /kr??/ vi.?啼叫

fatal /?fe?tl/ adj.?致命的

99

And beneath this, a single word had been written, in a hand Harry recognised as Hermione’s. Pipes.

100

It was as though somebody had just?

flicked a light on

?in his brain.

flick on?（通過輕按）咯噠地一聲打開（開關(guān)等）

101

‘Ron,’ he breathed,

102

‘this is it. This is the answer. The monster in the Chamber’s a?

Basilisk

?– a giant?

serpent

!?

basilisk /'b?z?l?sk/ n.?蛇怪

serpent /'s??p(?)nt/ n.?蛇（尤指大蛇或毒蛇）

103

That’s why I’ve been hearing that voice all over the place, and nobody else has heard it. It’s because I understand Parseltongue …’

104

Harry looked up at the beds around him.

105

‘The Basilisk kills people by looking at them. But no one’s died – because no one looked it straight in the eye.

106

Colin saw it through his camera. The Basilisk?

burned up

?all the film inside it, but Colin just got Petrified.

burn up?燒起來

107

Justin … Justin must’ve seen the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick!

108

Nick got the full?

blast

?of it, but he couldn’t die again …

blast /blɑ?st/ n.?沖擊波

109

and Hermione and that Ravenclaw Prefect were found with a mirror next to them. Hermione had just realised the monster was a Basilisk.

110

I bet you anything she warned the first person she met to look round corners with a mirror first! And that girl pulled out her mirror – and –’

111

Ron’s jaw had dropped.

112

‘And Mrs Norris?’ he whispered?

eagerly

.

eagerly /'i:g?li/ adv.?急切地

113

Harry thought hard, picturing the scene on the night of Hallowe’en.

114

‘The water …’ he said slowly, ‘the flood from Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. I bet you Mrs Norris only saw the reflection …’

115

He?

scanned

?the page in his hand eagerly. The more he looked at it, the more it?

made sense

.

scan /sk?n/ vt.?細看

make sense?講得通

116

‘the crowing of the rooster is fatal to it!’ he read aloud.

117

‘Hagrid’s roosters were killed! The heir of Slytherin didn’t want one anywhere near the castle once the Chamber was opened! Spiders?

flee

?before the Basilisk! It all?

fits

!’

flee /fli?/ vi.?逃走

fit /f?t/ v.?使……相符

118

‘But how’s the Basilisk been getting around the place?’ said Ron. ‘A dirty great snake … Someone would’ve seen …’

119

Harry, however, pointed at the word Hermione had?

scribbled

?at the foot of the page.

scribble /?skr?bl/ v.?潦草地寫

120

‘Pipes,’ he said. ‘Pipes … Ron, it’s been using the?

plumbing

. I’ve been hearing that voice inside the walls …’

plumbing n.?自來水管道

121

Ron suddenly grabbed Harry’s arm.

122

‘The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!’ he said?

hoarsely

. ‘What if it’s a bathroom? What if it’s in –’

hoarsely /'h?:sli/ adv.?嘶啞地

123

‘– Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom,’ said Harry.

124

They sat there, excitement?

coursing

?through them, hardly able to believe it.

course /k??s/ v.?（感情、思想）涌動

125

‘This means,’ said Harry, ‘I can’t be the only Parselmouth in the school. The heir of Slytherin’s one, too. That’s how they’ve been controlling the Basilisk.’

126

‘What’re we going to do?’ said Ron, whose eyes were flashing. ‘Shall we go straight to McGonagall?’

127

‘Let’s go to the staff room,’ said Harry, jumping up. ‘She’ll be there in ten minutes, it’s nearly?

break

.’

break /bre?k/ n.?休息

128

They ran downstairs. Not wanting to be discovered hanging around in another corridor, they went straight into the?

deserted

?staff room.

deserted /d?'z??t?d/ adj.?空無一人的

129

It was a large,?

panelled

?room full of dark wooden chairs. Harry and Ron?

paced

?around it, too excited to sit down.

panelled adj.?有飾板的

pace /pe?s/ vt. & vi.?踱步于

130

But the bell to?

signal

?break never came.

signal /?s?ɡn?l/ v.?發(fā)信號

131

Instead, echoing through the corridors came Professor McGonagall’s voice, magically?

magnified

.

magnify /?m?ɡn?fa?/ vt.?放大

132

‘All students to return to their house?

dormitories

?at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please.’

dormitory /?d??m?tri/ n.?集體宿舍

133

Harry?

wheeled

?around to stare at Ron.

wheel /wi?l/ v.?猛然轉(zhuǎn)身

134

‘Not another attack? Not now?’

135

‘What’ll we do?’ said Ron,?

aghast

. ‘Go back to the dormitory?’

aghast /??ɡɑ?st/ adj.?驚駭?shù)?/p>

136

‘No,’ said Harry, glancing around.?

137

There was an ugly sort of?

wardrobe

?to his left, full of the teachers’ cloaks. ‘In here. Let’s hear what it’s all about. Then we can tell them what we’ve found out.’

wardrobe /?w??dr??b/ n.?衣柜

138

They hid themselves inside it, listening to the rumbling of hundreds of people moving overhead, and the staff-room door?

banging

?open.

bang /b??/ v.?猛敲

139

From between the?

musty

?

folds

?of the cloaks, they watched the teachers?

filtering

?into the room.?

musty /'m?st?/ adj.?發(fā)霉的

fold /f??ld/ n.?褶皺

filter /?f?lt?(r)/ v.?陸續(xù)步入

140

Some of them were looking puzzled, others?

downright

?scared. Then Professor McGonagall arrived.

downright /'da?nra?t/ adv.?完全地

141

‘It has happened,’ she told the silent staff room. ‘A student has been?

taken

?by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself.’

take /te?k/ vt.?帶(去)

142

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard and said, ‘How can you be sure?’

143

‘The heir of Slytherin,’ said Professor McGonagall, who was very white, ‘left another message. Right underneath the first one. Her?

skeleton

?will lie in the Chamber for ever.’

skeleton /?skel?tn/ n.?骨架

144

Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

145

‘Who is it?’ said Madam Hooch, who had sunk,?

weak-kneed

?into a chair. ‘Which student?’

weak-kneed /'wi:kni:d/ adj.?軟弱的

146

‘Ginny Weasley,’ said Professor McGonagall.

147

Harry felt Ron?

slide

?silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside him.

slide /sla?d/ vi.?跌落

148

‘We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow,’ said Professor McGonagall. ‘This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said …’

149

The staff-room door banged open again. For one?

wild

?moment, Harry was sure it would be Dumbledore. But it was Lockhart, and he was beaming.

wild /wa?ld/ adj.?瘋狂的

150

‘So sorry –?

dozed off

?– what have I missed?’

doze off?打瞌睡

151

He didn’t seem to notice that the other teachers were looking at him with something?

remarkably

?like?

hatred

. Snape stepped forward.

remarkably /ri'ma:k?bli/ adv.?明顯地

hatred /?he?tr?d/ n.?憎恨

152

‘Just the man,’ he said. ‘The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last.’

153

Lockhart?

blanched

.

blanch /blɑ?nt?/ v.?（受驚嚇）臉發(fā)白

154

‘That’s right, Gilderoy,’?

chipped in

?Professor Sprout. ‘Weren’t you saying just last night that you’ve known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?’

chip in?插嘴

155

‘I – well, I –’?

spluttered

?Lockhart.

splutter /'spl?t?/ v.?急促地說

156

‘Yes, didn’t you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?’?

piped up

?Professor Flitwick.

pipe up?開始（大聲）講話

157

‘D-did I? I don’t?

recall

?…’

recall /r??k??l/ vt. & vi.?回憶起

158

‘I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn’t had a?

crack

?at the monster before Hagrid was arrested,’ said Snape.

crack /kr?k/ n.?嘗試

159

‘Didn’t you say that the whole affair had been?

bungled

, and that you should have been given a?

free rein

?from the first?’

bungle /?b??ɡl/ vt. &vi.?搞糟

free rein n.?完全地行動自由

160

Lockhart stared around at his?

stony-faced

?

colleagues

.

stony-faced adj.?冷漠的

colleague /?k?li?ɡ/ n.?同事

161

‘I … I really never … You may have?

misunderstood

?…’

misunderstand /?m?s?nd??st?nd/ vt.?誤會

162

‘We’ll?

leave

?it to you, then, Gilderoy,’ said Professor McGonagall.

leave /li?v/?把…交給

163

‘Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We’ll make sure everyone’s out of your way. You’ll be able to?

tackle

?the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last.’

tackle /?t?kl/ vt.?解決

164

Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to the rescue.

165

He didn’t look remotely handsome any more. His lip was trembling, and in the?

absence

?of his usually toothy grin he looked weak-chinned and?

weedy

.

absence /??bs?ns/ n.?沒有

weedy /'wi?d?/ adj.?弱不禁風(fēng)的

166

‘V-very well,’ he said. ‘I’ll – I’ll be in my office, getting – getting ready.’

167

And he left the room.

168

‘Right,’ said Professor McGonagall, whose nostrils were?

flared

,

flare /fle?(r)/ v.?張開

169

‘that’s got him out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened.

170

Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories.’

171

The teachers rose, and left one by one.

172

It was probably the worst day of Harry’s entire life. He, Ron, Fred and George sat together in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable to say anything to each other.

173

Percy wasn’t there. He had gone to send an owl to Mr and Mrs Weasley, then shut himself up in his dormitory.

174

No afternoon ever lasted as long as that one, nor had Gryffindor Tower ever been so crowded, yet so quiet. Near sunset, Fred and George went up to bed, unable to sit there any longer.

175

‘She knew something, Harry,’ said Ron, speaking for the first time since they had entered the wardrobe in the staff room.

176

‘That’s why she was taken. It wasn’t some stupid thing about Percy at all. She’d found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was –’

177

Ron rubbed his eyes frantically. ‘I mean, she was a pure-blood. There can’t be any other reason.’

178

Harry could see the sun sinking, blood red, below the?

skyline

. This was the worst he had ever felt.?

If only

?there was something they could do. Anything.

skyline /?ska?la?n/ n. (以天空為背景的)輪廓線

if only?要是...多好

179

‘Harry,’ said Ron, ‘d’you think there’s any chance at all she’s not – you know –’

180

Harry didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t see how Ginny could still be alive.

181

‘D’you know what?’ said Ron,?

182

‘I think we should go and see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He’s going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him where we think it is, and tell him it’s a Basilisk in there.’

183

Because Harry couldn’t think of anything else to do, and because he wanted to be doing something, he agreed.

184

The Gryffindors around them were so miserable, and felt so sorry for the Weasleys, that nobody tried to stop them as they got up, crossed the room, and left through the portrait hole.

185

Darkness was falling as they walked down to Lockhart’s office.?

186

There seemed to be a lot of?

activity

?going on inside it. They could hear?

scraping

,?

thumps

?and hurried?

footsteps

.

activity /?k't?v?t?/ n.?活躍狀況

scrape /skre?p/ v. (使)發(fā)出刺耳的刮擦聲

thump /θ?mp/ n.?重擊聲

footstep /?f?tstep/ n.?腳步聲

187

Harry knocked and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and they saw one of Lockhart’s eyes peering through it.

188

‘Oh … Mr Potter … Mr Weasley …’ he said, opening the door a?

mite

?wider. ‘I’m rather busy at the moment. If you would be quick …’

mite /ma?t/ n.?一點點

189

‘Professor, we’ve got some information for you,’ said Harry. ‘We think it’ll help you.’

190

‘Er – well – it’s not?

terribly

?–’ The side of Lockhart’s face that they could see looked very uncomfortable. ‘I mean – well – all right.’

terribly /?ter?bli/ adv.?很

191

He opened the door and they entered.

192

His office had been almost completely?

stripped

. Two large trunks stood open on the floor.

strip /str?p/ v.?使空無一物

193

Robes,?

jade

?green,?

lilac

,?

midnight blue

, had been hastily folded into one of them; books were?

jumbled

?untidily into the other.?

jade /d?e?d/ adj.?綠玉色的

lilac /'la?l?k/ adj.?淡紫色的

midnight blue?深藍色

jumbled /'d??mbld/ adj.?亂七八糟的

194

The photographs that had covered the walls were now?

crammed

?into boxes on the desk.

cram /kr?m/ vt.?塞入

195

‘Are you going somewhere?’ said Harry.

196

‘Er, well, yes,’ said Lockhart, ripping a?

life-size

?poster of himself from the back of the door as he spoke, and starting to?

roll it up

. ‘Urgent?

call

?…?

unavoidable

?… got to go …’

life-size /'laif'saiz/ adj. (藝術(shù)作品)與真人[實物]一樣大的

roll up?卷起

call /k??l/ n.?呼叫

unavoidable /??n??v??d?bl/ adj.?不可避免的

197

‘What about my sister?’ said Ron jerkily.

198

‘Well, as to that – most unfortunate,’ said Lockhart, avoiding their eyes as he?

wrenched

?open a drawer and started emptying the contents into a bag. ‘No one?

regrets

?more than I –’

wrench /rent?/ v.?猛拉

regret /r??ɡret/ n.?遺憾

199

‘You’re the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher!’ said Harry. ‘You can’t go now! Not with all the dark stuff going on here!’

200

‘Well, I must say … when I took the job …’ Lockhart muttered, now piling socks on top of his robes, ‘nothing in the job?

description

?… didn’t expect …’

description /d??skr?p?n/ n.?描述

201

‘You mean you’re running away?’ said Harry disbelievingly. ‘After all that stuff you did in your books?’

202

‘Books can be?

misleading

,’ said Lockhart?

delicately

.

misleading /?m?s?li?d??/ adj.?欺騙的

delicately /?del?k?tl?/ adv.?微妙地

203

‘You wrote them!’ Harry shouted.

204

‘My dear boy,’ said Lockhart,?

straightening up

?and frowning at Harry.

straighten up?直起來

205

‘Do use your?

common sense

. My books wouldn’t have sold half as well if people didn’t think I’d done all those things.

common sense n.?常識(尤指判斷力)

206

No one wants to read about some ugly old?

Armenian

?warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He’d look?

dreadful

?on the front cover. No?

dress sense

?at all.

Armenian /ɑ:?mi:ni?n/ adj.?亞美尼亞人的

dreadful /?dredfl/ adj.?令人不快的

dress sense?著裝品味

207

And the witch who?

banished

?the Bandon?

Banshee

?had a hairy chin. I mean, come on …’

banish /?b?n??/ vt.?驅(qū)逐

banshee /b?n'?i?/ n.?女鬼

208

‘So you’ve just been?

taking credit

?for what a load of other people have done?’ said Harry?

incredulously

.

take credit?居功

incredulously /in'kredjul?sli/ adv.?不相信地

209

‘Harry, Harry,’ said Lockhart, shaking his head impatiently,

210

‘it’s not nearly as simple as that. There was work?

involved

.

involve /?n?v?lv/ vt.?包含

211

I had to?

track

?these people down. Ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn’t remember doing it.

track /tr?k/ vt.?追蹤

212

If there’s one thing I pride myself on, it’s my Memory Charms.

213

No, it’s been a lot of work, Harry. It’s not all book-signings and?

publicity

?photos, you know. You want?

fame

, you have to be prepared for a long hard slog.’

publicity /p?b?l?s?ti/ n.?宣傳

fame /fe?m/ n.?名聲

214

He banged the?

lids

?of his trunks shut and locked them.

lid /l?d/ n.?蓋子

215

‘Let’s see,’ he said. ‘I think that’s everything. Yes. Only one thing left.’

216

He pulled out his wand and turned to them.

217

‘Awfully sorry, boys, but I’ll have to put a Memory Charm on you now. Can’t have you?

blabbing

?my secrets all over the place. I’d never sell another book …’

blab /bl?b/ vi.?泄露秘密

218

Harry reached his wand just in time. Lockhart had barely raised his, when Harry?

bellowed

, ‘Expelliarmus!’

bellow /?bel??/ vt.?大聲喊叫

219

Lockhart was?

blasted

?backwards, falling over his trunk. His wand flew high into the air; Ron caught it, and?

flung

?it out of the open window.

blast /blɑ?st/ v.?轟開

fling /fl??/ vt.拋

220

‘Shouldn’t have let Professor Snape teach us that one,’ said Harry furiously, kicking Lockhart’s trunk aside.?

221

Lockhart was looking up at him,?

weedy

?once more. Harry was still pointing his wand at him.

weedy /'wi?d?/ adj.?弱不禁風(fēng)的

222

‘What d’you want me to do?’ said Lockhart?

weakly

. ‘I don’t know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There’s nothing I can do.’

weakly /'wi?kl?/ adv.?軟弱地

223

‘You’re in luck,’ said Harry, forcing Lockhart to his feet at wandpoint. ‘We think we know where it is. And what’s inside it. Let’s go.’

224

They marched Lockhart out of his office and down the nearest stairs, along the dark corridor where the messages shone on the wall, to the door of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

225

They sent Lockhart in first. Harry was pleased to see that he was shaking.

226

Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the?

cistern

?of the end toilet.

cistern /'s?st?n/ n.?水箱

227

‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said, when she saw Harry. ‘What do you want this time?’

228

‘To ask you how you died,’ said Harry.

229

Myrtle’s whole?

aspect

?changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked such a?

flattering

?question.

aspect /??spekt/ n.?神態(tài)

flattering /'fl?t?ri?/ adj.?使人感到榮幸的

230

‘Ooooh, it was?

dreadful

,’ she said?

with relish

.

dreadful /?dredfl/ adj.?可怕的

with relish?津津有味地

231

‘It happened right in here. I died in this very?

cubicle

. I remember it so well. I’d hidden because Olive Hornby was?

teasing

?me about my glasses.

cubicle /'kju?b?k(?)l/ n.?小隔間

tease /ti?z/ vt. & vi.?取笑

232

The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been.

233

Anyway, what really?

got

?me was that it was a boy speaking.?

get /ɡet/ v.?使困惑

234

So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then –’

235

Myrtle swelled?

importantly

, her face shining, ‘I died.’

importantly /?m?p??tntli/ adv.?自命不凡地

236

‘How?’ said Harry.

237

‘No idea,’ said Myrtle in?

hushed

?tones. ‘I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes. My whole body?

sort of

seized up, and then I was?

floating

?away …’

hushed /h??t/ adj.?安靜的

sort of?稍稍

float /fl??t/ vi.?飄動

238

She looked?

dreamily

?at Harry. ‘And then I came back again. I was determined to?

haunt

?Olive Hornby,?

you see

. Oh, she was sorry she’d ever laughed at my glasses.’

dreamily /?dri:m?l?/ adv.?出神地

haunt /h??nt/ vt.?經(jīng)常出沒于

you see?你是知道的

239

‘Where?

exactly

?did you see the eyes?’ said Harry.

exactly /?g'z?k(t)l?/ adv. <口>(要求得到更多信息)到底

240

‘Somewhere there,’ said Myrtle, pointing?

vaguely

?towards the sink in front of her toilet.

vaguely /'veigli/ adv.?含糊地

241

Harry and Ron hurried over to it. Lockhart was standing?

well

?back, a look of?

utter

?

terror

?on his face.

well /wel/ adv.?遠遠地

utter /??t?(r)/ adj.?完全地

terror /?ter?(r)/ n.?恐怖

242

It looked like an ordinary sink. They examined every inch of it, inside and out, including the pipes below. And then Harry saw it: scratched on the side of one of the copper?

taps

?was a tiny snake.

tap /t?p/ n.?水龍頭

243

‘That tap’s never worked,’ said Myrtle brightly, as he tried to turn it.

244

‘Harry,’ said Ron, ‘say something. Something in Parseltongue.’

245

‘But –’ Harry thought hard. The only times he’d ever managed to speak Parseltongue were when he’d been faced with a real snake. He stared hard at the tiny?

engraving

, trying to imagine it was real.

engraving /?n'gre?v??/ n.?雕刻(作品)

246

‘Open up,’ he said.

247

He looked at Ron, who shook his head.

248

‘English,’ he said.

249

Harry looked back at the snake, willing himself to believe it was alive. If he moved his head, the candlelight made it look as though it was moving.

250

‘Open up,’ he said.

251

Except that the words weren’t what he heard; a strange hissing had?

escaped

?him, and at once the tap?

glowed

?with a?

brilliant

?white light and began to?

spin

.

escape /??ske?p/ v.?不自覺地說出

glow /ɡl??/ v.?發(fā)出微弱而穩(wěn)定的光

brilliant /?br?li?nt/ adj.?明亮的

spin /sp?n/ vi.?旋轉(zhuǎn)

252

Next second, the sink began to move. The sink, in fact, sank, right out of sight, leaving a large pipe?

exposed

, a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

expose /?k?sp??z/ v.?暴露

253

Harry heard Ron gasp and looked up again. He had?

made up his mind

?what he was going to do.

make up one's mind?下定決心

254

‘I’m going down there,’ he said.

255

He couldn’t not go, not now they had found the entrance to the Chamber, not if there was even the faintest,?

slimmest

,?

wildest

?chance that Ginny might be alive.

slim /sl?m/ adj.?渺茫的

wild /wa?ld/ adj.?缺乏根據(jù)的

256

‘Me too,’ said Ron.

257

There was a pause.

258

‘Well, you hardly seem to need me,’ said Lockhart, with a?

shadow

?of his old smile. ‘I’ll just –’

shadow /???d??/ n.?一點點

259

He put his hand on the door?

knob

, but Ron and Harry both pointed their wands at him.

knob /n?b/ n. (門、抽屜的)球形把手

260

‘You can go first,’ Ron?

snarled

.

snarl /snɑ?l/ v.?齜牙低吼

261

White-faced and wandless, Lockhart approached the?

opening

.

opening /???pn??/ n.?洞

262

‘Boys,’ he said, his voice?

feeble

, ‘boys, what good will it do?’

feeble /?fi?bl/ adj.?虛弱的

263

Harry?

jabbed

?him in the back with his wand. Lockhart slid his legs into the pipe.

jab /d??b/ vt. (用尖物)戳

264

‘I really don’t think –’ he started to say, but Ron gave him a push, and he slid out of sight. Harry followed quickly. He?

lowered

?himself slowly into the pipe, then let go.

lower /?l???(r)/ v.?使……降下

265

It was like rushing down an endless,?

slimy

, dark slide.

slimy /?sla?mi/ adj.?黏滑的

266

He could see more pipes branching off in all directions, but none as large as theirs, which twisted and?

turned

,?

sloping

?

steeply

?downwards,

turn /t??n/ v.?（使）轉(zhuǎn)動，旋轉(zhuǎn)

sloping /sl??p??/ adj.?傾斜的

steeply /'sti:pli/ adv.?陡峭地

267

and he knew that he was falling deeper below the school than even the dungeons.

268

Behind him he could hear Ron, thudding slightly at the?

curves

.

curve /k??v/ n. (道路的)彎曲處

269

And then, just as he had begun to worry about what would happen when he hit the ground, the pipe?

levelled

?out,

level /?levl/ v.?變成平面

270

and he shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel, large enough to stand in.

271

Lockhart was getting to his feet a little way away, covered in?

slime

?and white as a ghost. Harry stood aside as Ron came?

whizzing

?out of the pipe, too.

slime /sla?m/ n.?爛泥

whiz /hw?z/ vi.?發(fā)出颼颼聲

272

‘We must be miles under the school,’ said Harry, his voice echoing in the black tunnel.

273

‘Under the lake, probably,’ said Ron, squinting around at the dark,?

slimy

?walls.

slimy /?sla?mi/ adj.?黏滑的

274

All three of them turned to stare into the darkness ahead.

275

‘

Lumos

!’ Harry muttered to his wand and it lit again. ‘C’mon,’ he said to Ron and Lockhart, and off they went, their footsteps?

slapping

?loudly on the wet floor.

Lumos n.?魔杖照明咒

slap /sl?p/ v.?拍打

276

The tunnel was so dark that they could only see a little distance ahead. Their shadows on the wet walls looked?

monstrous

?in the wandlight.

monstrous /?m?nstr?s/ adj.?巨大的

277

‘Remember,’ Harry said quietly, as they walked cautiously forward, ‘a(chǎn)ny sign of movement, close your eyes?

straight

away …’

straight /stre?t/ adv.?立刻

278

But the tunnel was quiet as the?

grave

, and the first unexpected sound they heard was a loud?

crunch

?as Ron stepped on what turned out to be a rat’s?

skull

.

grave /ɡre?v/ n.?墳?zāi)?/p>

crunch /kr?nt?/ n.?咬碎聲

skull /sk?l/ n.?頭蓋骨

279

Harry lowered his wand to look at the floor and saw that it was?

littered

?with small animal bones.?

litter /'l?t?/ v.?使(某事物)充滿

280

Trying very hard not to imagine what Ginny might look like if they found her, Harry?

led the way

?forward,?

round

?a dark?

bend

?in the tunnel.

lead the way?帶路

round /ra?nd/ v.?繞過

bend /bend/?（路）轉(zhuǎn)彎

281

‘Harry, there’s something up there …’ said Ron hoarsely, grabbing Harry’s shoulder.

282

They froze, watching. Harry could just see the?

outline

?of something huge and?

curved

, lying right across the tunnel. It wasn’t moving.

outline /?a?tla?n/ n.?輪廓

curve /k??v/ vi. (使)呈曲線形

283

‘Maybe it’s asleep,’ he breathed, glancing back at the other two.?

284

Lockhart’s hands were pressed over his eyes. Harry turned back to look at the thing, his heart beating so fast it hurt.

285

Very slowly, his eyes as narrow as he could make them and still see, Harry edged forward, his wand held high.

286

The light slid over a gigantic snake skin, of a?

vivid

,?

poisonous

?green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The creature that had?

shed

?it must have been twenty feet long at least.

vivid /?v?v?d/ adj.?鮮艷的

poisonous /?p??z?n?s/ adj.?有毒的

shed /?ed/ v.?（動物）蛻（皮）

287

‘

Blimey

,’ said Ron weakly.

blimey /'bla?m?/ int.?啊呀!

288

There was a sudden movement behind them. Gilderoy Lockhart’s knees had?

given way

.

give way?倒塌

289

‘Get up,’ said Ron sharply, pointing his wand at Lockhart.

290

Lockhart got to his feet – then he dived at Ron, knocking him to the ground.

291

Harry jumped forward, but too late. Lockhart was straightening up, panting, Ron’s wand in his hand and a gleaming smile back on his face.

292

‘The adventure ends here, boys!’ he said.

293

‘I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you two?

tragically

lost your minds at the sight of her?

mangled

?body. Say goodbye to your memories!’

tragically /?tr?d ??k?l?/ adv.?悲慘地

mangle /?m??ɡl/ vt.?撕爛

294

He raised Ron’s Spellotaped wand high over his head and yelled, ‘Obliviate!’

295

The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb.

296

Harry flung his arms over his head and ran,?

slipping

?over the?

coils

?of snake skin, out of the way of great?

chunks

?of tunnel ceiling which were?

thundering

?to the floor.

slip /sl?p/ vi.?滑倒

coil /k??l/ n.?卷

chunk /t???k/ n.?大塊

thunder /?θ?nd?(r)/ v.?砰然重擊

297

Next moment, he was standing alone, gazing at a solid wall of broken rock.

298

‘Ron!’ he shouted. ‘Are you OK? Ron!’

299

‘I’m here!’ came Ron’s muffled voice from behind the?

rockfall

. ‘I’m OK. This?

git’s

?not, though – he got?

blasted

?by the wand.’

rockfall /'r?kf??l/ n.?落石

git /g?t/ n. [俚]飯桶

blast /blɑ?st/ v.?向……射擊

300

There was a?

dull

?thud and a loud ‘ow!’. It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the?

shins

.

dull /d?l/ adj.?（聲音）不清晰的

shin /??n/ n.?脛骨

301

‘What now?’ Ron’s voice said, sounding desperate. ‘We can’t get through. It’ll take ages …’

302

Harry looked up at the tunnel ceiling. Huge cracks had appeared in it.

303

He had never tried to break apart anything as large as these rocks by magic, and now didn’t seem a good moment to try – what if the whole tunnel?

caved

?in?

cave /ke?v/ vi.?塌落

304

There was another thud and another ‘ow!’ from behind the rocks. They were wasting time. Ginny had already been in the Chamber of Secrets for hours. Harry knew there was only one thing to do.

305

‘Wait there,’ he called to Ron. ‘Wait with Lockhart. I’ll go on. If I’m not back in an hour …’

306

There was a very?

pregnant

?pause.

pregnant /?preɡn?nt/ adj.?意味深長的

307

‘I’ll try and?

shift

?some of this rock,’ said Ron, who seemed to be trying to keep his voice steady. ‘So you can – can get back through. And, Harry –’

shift /??ft/ vi.?移動

308

‘See you?

in a bit

,’ said Harry, trying to?

inject

?some confidence into his shaking voice.

in a bit?一會兒

inject /?n?d?ekt/ vt.?注入

309

And he set off alone past the giant snake skin.

310

Soon the distant noise of Ron?

straining

?to shift the rocks was gone.

strain /stre?n/ v.?竭力

311

The tunnel turned and turned again. Every nerve in Harry’s body was?

tingling

?unpleasantly. He wanted the tunnel to end, yet?

dreaded

?what he’d find when it did.

tingle /'t??g(?)l/ vi.?感到刺痛

dread /dred/ vt.?懼怕

312

And then, at last, as he crept around yet another bend, he saw a solid wall ahead on which two?

entwined

?serpents were?

carved

, their eyes set with great,?

glinting

?

emeralds

.

entwine /?n?twa?n/ vt.?纏繞

carve /kɑ?v/ vt.?雕刻

glint /gl?nt/ vi.?閃閃發(fā)光

emerald /?em?r?ld/ n.?綠寶石

313

Harry approached, his throat very dry. There was no need to pretend these stone snakes were real, their eyes looked strangely alive.

314

He could guess what he had to do. He cleared his throat, and the emerald eyes seemed to?

flicker

.

flicker /?fl?k?(r)/ v.?閃爍

315

‘Open,’ said Harry, in a low,?

faint

?hiss.

faint /fe?nt/ adj.?微弱的

316

The?

serpents

?parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly?

out of sight

, and Harry, shaking from head to foot, walked inside.

serpent /'s??p(?)nt/ n.?蛇（尤指大蛇或毒蛇）

out of sight?看不見

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