CHAPTER ONE

1

THE WORST BIRTHDAY

2

Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive.

3

Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in?

the early

?

hours

?of the morning by a loud,?

hooting

?noise from his nephew Harry’s room.

the early hours?凌晨

hoot /hut/ n.?貓頭鷹叫聲

4

“Third time this week!” he?

roared

?across the table. “If you can’t control that owl, it’ll have to go!”

roar /r??r/ vi.?咆哮

5

Harry tried, yet again, to explain.

6

“She’s bored,” he said. “She’s used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night —”

7

“Do I look stupid?”?

snarled

?Uncle Vernon, a bit of?

fried

?egg?

dangling

?from his?

bushy

?mustache. “I know what’ll happen if that owl’s let out.”

snarl /snɑ?rl/ vi.?咆哮

fried /fra?d/ adj.?油炸的

dangling v.?搖晃（dangle的ing形式）

bushy /?b??i/ adj.?濃密的

mustache /'m?st??/ n.?胡子

8

He exchanged?

dark

?looks with his wife, Petunia.

dark /dɑrk/ adj.?陰險的

9

Harry tried to argue back but his words were?

drowned

?by a long, loud?

belch

?from the Dursleys’ son, Dudley.

drown /dra?n/ v. (聲音)壓過

belch /b?lt?/ n.?打嗝

10

“I want more bacon.”

11

“There’s more in the?

frying pan

,?

sweetums

,” said Aunt Petunia, turning?

misty

?eyes on her?

massive

?son.

frying pan /?fra???/?煎鍋

sweetums?寶貝

misty /?m?sti/ adj.?淚眼模糊的

massive /?m?s?v/ adj.?結(jié)實的

12

“We must feed you up while we’ve got the chance. . . . I don’t like the sound of that school food. . . .”

13

“Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings,” said Uncle Vernon?

heartily

. “Dudley gets enough, don’t you, son?”

heartily /'hɑrt?li/ adv.?衷心地

14

Dudley, who was so large his bottom?

drooped

?over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned to Harry. “Pass the frying pan.”

droop /dru?p/ vi.?下垂

15

“You’ve forgotten the magic word,” said Harry?

irritably

.

irritably /??r?t?bl?/ adv.?易怒地

16

The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible:

17

Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth;

18

Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet,?

veins

?

throbbing

?in his?

temples

.

vein /ve?n/ n.?血管

throb /θrɑb/ v.?（有規(guī)律地）抽動

temple /?templ/ n.?太陽穴

19

“I meant ‘please’!” said Harry quickly. “I didn’t mean —”

20

“WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU,” thundered his uncle,?

spraying

?spit over the table, “ABOUT SAYING THE ‘M’ WORD IN OUR HOUSE?”

spraying /spre/ n.?噴霧

21

“But I —”

22

“HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!” roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.

23

“I just —”

24

“I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR?

ABNORMALITY

?UNDER THIS ROOF!”

abnormality /??bn?r'm?l?ti/ n. (身體、行為等)不正常

25

Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt, who was trying to?

heave

?Dudley to his feet.

heave /hi?v/ v.?使勁拖

26

“All right,” said Harry, “all right . . .”

27

Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a?

winded

?

rhinoceros

?and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes.

winded /'w?nd?d/ adj.?喘氣的

Rhinoceros /ra?'nɑs?r?s/ n.?犀牛

28

Ever since Harry had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating him like a bomb that might?

go off

?at any moment, because Harry Potter wasn’t a normal boy.

go off vi.?爆炸

29

As a matter of fact, he was as not normal as it is possible to be.

30

Harry Potter was a wizard — a wizard?

fresh

?from his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

fresh /fr??/ adv.?剛剛

31

And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have him back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Harry felt.

32

He missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache.

33

He missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his lessons (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master),

34

the post arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory,?

35

visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin in the grounds next to the Forbidden Forest

36

and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the Wizarding world (six tall?

goalposts

, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).

goalpost /'ɡolpost/ n. (足球、曲棍球的)球門柱

37

All Harry’s spellbooks, his wand, robes, cauldron, and?

top-of-the-range

?Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry had come home.

top-of-the-range adj.?最好的

38

What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn’t practiced all summer??

39

What was it to the Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done?

40

The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins), and?

as far as

?they were concerned, having a wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame.

as far as prep.?就...而言

41

Uncle Vernon had even?

padlocked

?Harry’s owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, to stop her carrying messages to anyone in the Wizarding world.

padlock /'p?d'lɑk/ vt.?用掛鎖鎖上

42

Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family. Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black mustache;

43

Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and?

bony

; Dudley was blond, pink, and?

porky

.

bony /'boni/ adj.?骨瘦如柴的

porky /'p?rki/ adj.?肥胖的

44

Harry, on the other hand, was small and?

skinny

, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin, lightning-shaped scar.

skinny /?sk?ni/ adj.?極瘦的

45

It was this scar that made Harry so particularly unusual, even for a wizard.

46

This scar was the only hint of Harry’s very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys’ doorstep eleven years before.

47

At the age of one year old, Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark?

sorcerer

?of all time, Lord Voldemort, whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak.

sorcerer /'s?rs?r?/ n.?男巫士

48

Harry’s parents had died in Voldemort’s attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar,

49

and somehow — nobody understood why — Voldemort’s powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry.

50

So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother’s sister and her husband.?

51

He had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen without meaning to,

52

believing the Dursleys’ story that he had got his scar in the car crash which had killed his parents.

53

And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry, and the whole story had come out. Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous . . .

54

but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something?

smelly

.

smelly /'sm?li/ adj.?發(fā)出難聞氣味的

55

The Dursleys hadn’t even remembered that today happened to be Harry’s twelfth birthday.?

56

Of course, his hopes hadn’t been high; they’d never given him a real present, let alone a cake — but to ignore it completely . . .

57

At that moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, “Now, as we all know, today is a very important day.”

58

Harry looked up, hardly daring to believe it.

59

“This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my?

career

,” said Uncle Vernon.

career /k??r?r/ n.?生涯

60

Harry went back to his toast. Of course, he thought?

bitterly

, Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party.

bitterly /'b?t?li/ adv.?怨恨地

61

He’d been talking of nothing else for a fortnight.

62

Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon’s company made drills).

63

“I think we should run through the schedule one more time,” said Uncle Vernon. “We should all?

be in position

?at eight o’clock. Petunia, you will be — ?”

be in position?在適當?shù)奈恢?/p>

64

“In the?

lounge

,” said Aunt Petunia promptly, “waiting to welcome them?

graciously

?to our home.”

lounge /la?nd?/ n.?客廳

graciously /?ɡre??sl?/ adv.?親切地

65

“Good, good. And Dudley?”

66

“I’ll be waiting to open the door.” Dudley put on a?

foul

,?

simpering

?smile. “May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?”

foul /fa?l/ adj.?令人惡心的

simper /?s?mp?r/ n.?假笑

67

“They’ll love him!” cried Aunt Petunia?

rapturously

.

rapturously /'r?pt??r?sli/ adv.?狂喜地

68

“Excellent, Dudley,” said Uncle Vernon. Then he?

rounded

?on Harry. “And you?”

round /ra?nd/ vt. & vi.?繞行

69

“I’ll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I’m not there,” said Harry?

tonelessly

.

toneless /'tonl?s/ adj.?缺乏聲調(diào)的

70

“Exactly,” said Uncle Vernon?

nastily

. “I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them drinks. At eight-fifteen —”

nastily /?n?st?l?/ adv.?不潔地

71

“I’ll announce dinner,” said Aunt Petunia.

72

“And, Dudley, you’ll say —”

73

“May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?” said Dudley, offering his fat arm to an invisible woman.

74

“My perfect little gentleman!” sniffed Aunt Petunia.

75

“And you?” said Uncle Vernon?

viciously

?to Harry.

viciously /'vi??sli/ adv.?兇惡地

76

“I’ll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I’m not there,” said Harry?

dully

.

dully /?d ?ll?/ adv.?沒精打采地

77

“

Precisely

. Now, we should?

aim to

?get in a few good?

compliments

?at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?”

precisely /pr??sa?sli/?的確如此

aim to vt.?計劃

compliment /?kɑ?mpl?m?nt/ n.?贊美(話)

78

“Vernon tells me you’re a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason. . . . Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs. Mason. . . .”

79

“Perfect . . . Dudley?”

80

“How about — ‘We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you.’”

81

This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and Harry. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry ducked under the table so they wouldn’t see him laughing.

82

“And you, boy?”

83

Harry?

fought

?to keep his face straight as he?

emerged

.

fought /f?t/ v.?努力爭?。╢ight的過去式和過去分詞）

emerge /i?m??rd?/ vi.?出現(xiàn)

84

“I’ll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I’m not there,” he said.

85

“Too right, you will,” said Uncle Vernon?

forcefully

.

forcefully /?f ?rsf?l?/ adv.?強有力地

86

“The Masons don’t know anything about you and it’s going to stay that way. When dinner’s over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I’ll bring the subject around to drills.

87

With any luck, I’ll have the deal signed and?

sealed

?before the news at ten. We’ll be shopping for a holiday home in Majorca this time tomorrow.”

seal /si?l/ vt.?蓋章于

88

Harry couldn’t feel too excited about this. He didn’t think the Dursleys would like him any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive.

89

“Right — I’m off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you,” he snarled at Harry. “You stay out of your aunt’s way while she’s cleaning.”

90

Harry left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day. He crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and sang under his breath: “Happy birthday to me . . . happy birthday to me . . .”

91

No cards, no presents, and he would be spending the evening pretending not to exist. He?

gazed

?miserably into the?

hedge

.

gaze /ɡe?z/ vi.?凝視

hedge /hed?/ n.?樹籬

92

He had never felt so lonely. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

93

They, however, didn’t seem to be missing him at all. Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.

94

Countless

?times, Harry had been?

on the point of

?unlocking Hedwig’s cage by magic and sending her to Ron and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

countless /?ka?ntl?s/ adj.?無數(shù)的

on the point of?正要......地時候

95

Underage wizards weren’t allowed to use magic outside of school.

96

Harry hadn’t told the Dursleys this;?

97

he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into?

dung beetles

?that stopped them locking him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.

dung beetle n.?金龜子科

98

For the first couple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him.

99

But the long silence from Ron and Hermione had made Harry feel so?

cut off

?from the magical world that even?

taunting

?Dudley had lost its appeal — and now Ron and Hermione had forgotten his birthday.

cut off?使隔絕

taunt /t??nt/ v.?逗弄

100

What wouldn’t he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? He’d almost be glad of a sight of his?

archenemy

, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn’t all been a dream. . . .

archenemy /ɑrt???n?mi/ n.?主要敵人

101

Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end of last term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself.

102

Voldemort might be a?

ruin

?of his former self, but he was still?

terrifying

, still?

cunning

, still determined to?

regain

?power.

ruin /?ru??n/ n.?毀壞

terrifying /?ter?fa???/ adj.?可怕的

cunning /?k?n??/ adj.?狡猾的

regain /r?'ɡen/ vt.?復(fù)得

103

Harry had slipped through Voldemort’s clutches for a second time, but it had been a?

narrow

?escape, and even now, weeks later,

narrow /?n?ro?/ adj.?勉強的

104

Harry kept waking in the night,?

drenched

?in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his?

livid

face, his wide, mad eyes —

drench /drent?/ vt.?使?jié)裢?/p>

livid /'l?v?d/ adj.?鉛色的

105

Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had been staring?

absent-mindedly

?into the hedge — and the hedge was staring back. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.

absent-mindedly /??bs?nt?ma?nd?dl?/ adv.?心不在焉地

106

Harry jumped to his feet just as a?

jeering

?voice floated across the lawn.

jeer /d??r/ vt. & vi.?嘲笑

107

“I know what day it is,” sang Dudley,?

waddling

?toward him.

waddle /?wɑ?dl/ vi. (像鴨子一樣)搖搖擺擺地走

108

The huge eyes blinked and vanished.

109

“What?” said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.

110

“I know what day it is,” Dudley repeated, coming?

right

?up to him.

right /ra?t/ adv.?直接地

111

“Well done,” said Harry. “So you’ve finally learned the days of the week.”

112

“Today’s your birthday,” sneered Dudley. “How come you haven’t got any cards? Haven’t you even got friends at that?

freak

?place?”

freak /frik/ adj.?不正常的

113

“Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school,” said Harry coolly.

114

Dudley?

hitched

?up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.

hitch /h?t?/ v.?提起

115

“Why’re you staring at the hedge?” he said suspiciously.

116

“I’m trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire,” said Harry.

117

Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.

118

“You c-can’t — Dad told you you’re not to do m-magic — he said he’ll?

chuck

?you out of the house — and you haven’t got anywhere else to go — you haven’t got any friends to take you —”

chuck /t??k/ vt.?驅(qū)逐

119

“Jiggery pokery!” said Harry in a fierce voice. “

Hocus

?pocus —?

squiggly

?

wiggly

?—”

hocus /?hok?s/ vt.?欺騙

squiggly /'skw?gli/ adj.?彎彎曲曲的

wiggly /'w?ɡli/ adj.?扭動的

120

“MUUUUUUM!” howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. “MUUUUM! He’s doing you know what!”

121

Harry paid?

dearly

?for his moment of fun.?

dearly /'d?rli/ adv.?昂貴地

122

As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn’t really done magic, but he still had to duck as she?

aimed

?a heavy?

blow

?at his head with the?

soapy

?frying pan.

aim /e?m/ vt. & vi. (以…)瞄準

blow /blo?/ n.?打擊

soapy /'sopi/ adj.?涂著肥皂的

123

Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he wouldn’t eat again until he’d finished.

124

While Dudley?

lolled

?around watching and eating ice cream, Harry cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flower beds,?

loll /lɑl/ vi.?懶洋洋地躺著〔坐著、站著〕

125

pruned and watered the roses, and?

repainted

?the garden bench.

repaint /ri:'peint/ vt.?再次(重新)油漆

126

The sun?

blazed

?overhead, burning the back of his neck.

blaze /ble?z/ vi.?照耀

127

Harry knew he shouldn’t have?

risen to Dudley’s bait

, but Dudley had said the?

very

?thing Harry had been thinking himself . . . maybe he didn’t have any friends at Hogwarts. . . .

rise to the bait?入圈套

very /?v?ri/ adj.?正是

128

Wish they could see famous Harry Potter now, he thought?

savagely

?as he spread?

manure

?on the flower beds, his back?

aching

, sweat running down his face.

savagely /'s?v?d?li/ adv.?野蠻地

manure /m??n?r/ n.?肥料

ache /e?k/ vi.?疼痛

129

It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted, he heard Aunt Petunia calling him.

130

“Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!”

131

Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen.?

132

On top of the?

fridge

?stood tonight’s pudding: a huge mound of?

whipped cream

?and sugared violets. A?

joint

?of roast pork was sizzling in the?

oven

.

fridge /fr?d?/ n.?冰箱

whipped cream n.?摜奶油（攪打至松軟的奶油）

joint /d???nt/ n.?（牛，羊等的腿）大塊肉

oven /??vn/ n.?烤箱

133

“Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!” snapped Aunt Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table. She was already wearing a?

salmon-pink

?cocktail dress.

salmon-pink?橙紅色

134

Harry washed his hands and bolted down his?

pitiful

?supper. The moment he had finished, Aunt Petunia?

whisked

away his plate.

pitiful /?p?t?fl/ adj.?可憐的

whisk /w?sk/ v.?迅速帶走

135

“Upstairs! Hurry!” As he passed the door to the living room, Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in?

bow

?ties and dinner jackets.

bow /ba?/ n.?蝴蝶結(jié)

136

He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the doorbell rang and Uncle Vernon’s furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs.

137

“Remember, boy — one sound —”

138

Harry crossed to his bedroom on?

tiptoe

, slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his bed.

tiptoe /'t?pto/ n.?腳尖

139

The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.

140