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?蓋上

tent /tent/ n.帳篷

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.皮邊兒的,用皮革包邊兒的

prop /pr?p/ vt.支撐

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 /?ese?/ n.(學(xué)生為某門課程所寫的)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 /?la?kli/ adj.可信的

torch /t??t?/ n.手電筒

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 /?medi?i?vl/ adj.中世紀(jì)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 /?t?kl/ vi.覺得癢

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 /d?s?ɡa?z/ n.偽裝

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 /?n'skru?/ vt.&vi.旋開

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 /ste?(r)/ n.樓梯

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 /?medi?i?vl/ adj.中世紀(jì)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 /'da?ntr?d(?)n/ adj.被踐踏的

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 /?fj??ri/ 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 /?d?ma??(r)/ vt.欣賞

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?現(xiàn)在

30

all because he’d received a telephone call from a?

fellow

?wizard one week into the school holidays.

fellow /?fel??/ 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 /?m??ɡl/ vt.&vi.混合

alarm /??lɑ?m/ n.警告

37

WHO IS THIS?’ he roared in the direction of the?

mouthpiece

. ‘WHO ARE YOU?’

mouthpiece /'ma?θpi?s/ n.話筒

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 /'sw?v(?)l/ vt.&vi.(使)旋轉(zhuǎn)

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!’

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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 /r??/ n.<英>爭吵

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?聯(lián)系

46

Harry suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a?

pity

,

pity /'p?t?/ n.遺憾

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.讓步

racket /'r?k?t/ n.吵鬧聲

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 /?t?/ v.(使)發(fā)癢

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 /r??ple?s/ vt.把…放回原處

torch /t??t?/ n.手電筒

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 /?lu?m?n?s/ adj.發(fā)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 /d???lt/ n.搖晃

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 /s?l/ n.窗臺(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 /fl?nt?/ vi.畏懼

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 /'st?b?nli/ adv.倔強地

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 /?k?str??dnri/ adj.非同尋常的

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 /?su?v??n??(r)/ n.紀(jì)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 /r?'ba?nd/ vi.產(chǎn)生反作用

originator /??r?d ???ne?t?/ n.發(fā)起人

68

Barely alive, Voldemort had?

fled

?…

fled /fled/ v.逃走(flee的過去分詞)

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 /'stɑ?r?/ adj.布滿星星的

praise /pre?z/ n.稱贊

71

Gazing?

absently

?over the rooftops, it was a few seconds before Harry realised what he was seeing.

absently /'?bs(?)ntl?/ 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 /?s?l?'et/ n.輪廓

lop-sided /l?p'saidid/ adj.偏向一邊的

flap /fl?p/ vt.&vi.(使)上下左右移動

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 /l?t?/ n.(門窗的)門閂

slam /sl?m/ vt.&vi.砰地關(guān)上(門或窗)

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 /?n?k?n??s/ adj.失去知覺的

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 /ki?l/ v.傾覆

78

Harry recognised the?

unconscious

?owl at once – his name was Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family.

unconscious /?n?k?n??s/ adj.失去知覺的

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 /?n'ta?/ vt.&vi.解開

80

Errol opened one?

bleary

?eye, gave a?

feeble

?

hoot

?of thanks, and began to gulp some water.

bleary /?bl??ri/ adj.視線模糊的

feeble /?fi?bl/ adj.虛弱的

hoot /hu?t/ n.貓頭鷹叫聲

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 /??fek??n?t/ adj.溫柔親切的

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 /be?(r)/ vt.句有

crest /krest/ n.信箋上的飾章

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 /?m?p??tntli/ 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 /smu?e/ v.撫平

88

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE?

SCOOPS

?

GRAND PRIZE

scoop /sku?p/ v.<非正式>贏得(金錢、獎品或勝利紀(jì)念品)

grand prize?特獎

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 /'ɑ?t?f?kt/ n.人工制品

prophet /?pr?f?t/ n.預(yù)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 /?i:d??pt/ 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 /??tend/ vt.上(大學(xué)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 /?p?r?m?d/ 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 /?ɡ??ɡl??/ adj.(指人)瘦高而難看的

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 /k??s/ n.咒語

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 /'mju?t(?)nt/ n.<生>突變體

skeleton /?skel?tn/ 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 /??ke??n/ n.(某事發(fā)生的)時刻

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?使沮喪

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 /sm?ɡ/ adj.自滿的

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.土耳其氈帽

jauntily /'d??:ntili/ adv.得意洋洋地

horn-rimmed /'h?:n'rimd/ adj.,n.角質(zhì)架的(眼鏡)

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 /?m?n?t??(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 /?n?tr?stw??ei/ adj.不能信賴的

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 /r??la??bl/ adj.可靠的

113

Bye – Ron

114

Harry put the?

Pocket

?

Sneakoscope

?on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his?

clock

.

pocket /?p?k?t/ adj.袖珍的

Sneakoscope?窺鏡

clock /kl?k/ n.時鐘

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?電話

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 /?k?st?m/ n.海關(guān)

120

I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday?

for a change

.

for a change?變個花樣

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 /l??d/ n.許多

jealous /?d?el?s/ adj.妒羨的

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 /'w?t?krɑ?ft/ 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?及時抵達(dá)

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 /sli?k/ adj.線條流暢的

stamp /st?mp/ vt.蓋章于…

servicing /'s?:visi?/ n.維修

kit /k?t/ n.成套用品

131

Wow, Hermione!’ Harry whispered,?

unzipping

?the case to look inside.

unzip /?n'z?p/ vi.拉開拉鏈

132

There was a large?

jar

?of Fleetwood’s?

High-Finish

?Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail-

Twig

?

Clippers

,?

jar /d?ɑ?(r)/ n.罐子

High-Finish?精磨

twig /tw?g/ n.細(xì)枝

clipper /'kl?p?/ 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 /?k?mp?s/ n.指南針

handbook /?h?ndb?k/ n.手冊

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 /pra?zd/ adj.被看作最重要的

possession /p??ze?n/ n.私人財物

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 /'ge?mki?p?/ n.(私人土地上防止偷獵的)獵場看守人

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 /?le??(r)/ n.層

leathery /'lee(?)r?/ adj.似皮革的

139

and whatever was inside it snapped loudly – as though it had?

jaws

.

jaws /d??:/ 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 /?v???s/ adj.邪惡的

pub /p?b/ n.酒館

illegal /??li?ɡl/ 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 /'bedsa?d/ adj.床旁的

firmly /'f?:mli/ adv.堅固地

strike /stra?k/ vi.打擊

wrapping /'r?p??/ adj.包裝用的

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 /?red??st?(r)/ v.注意到

emblazon /?m'ble?z(?)n/ vt.用紋章裝飾

146

before it flipped onto its edge and?

scuttled

?sideways along the bed like some weird?

crab

.

scuttle /'sk?t(?)l/ vi.急促地跑

crab /kr?b/ 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 /kl??k/ n.沉悶的金屬聲

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 /a?t?/ int.(痛苦或驚訝時的叫聲)哎喲

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 /?fl?tn/ 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 /kl?mp/ vt.緊緊抓住

chest of drawers?五斗柜

buckle /?b?kl/ 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 /???d?(r)/ vi.發(fā)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 /??m?n?s/ 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 /p??m?t/ vi.允許

form /f??m/ n.表格

guardian /?ɡɑ?di?n/ n.監(jiān)護(hù)人

166

A list of books for next year is enclosed.

167

Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall?

Deputy

?Headmistress

deputy /?depjuti/ 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 /p??swe?d/ vt.&vi.說服

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?從……劃掉

count down?倒計時

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