CHAPTER FIFTEEN

1

Aragog

2

Summer was creeping over the grounds around the castle; sky and lake?

alike

?turned?

periwinkle

?blue and flowers large as cabbages?

burst into bloom

?in the greenhouses.

alike /??la?k/ adv.?同樣地

periwinkle /'per?w??k(?)l/ n.?長(zhǎng)春花

burst into bloom?開(kāi)花

3

But with no Hagrid?

visible

?from the castle windows,?

striding

?the grounds with Fang at his heels, the scene didn’t look right to Harry;

visible /?v?z?bl/ adj.?看得見(jiàn)的

stride /stra?d/ vt.?大踏步走過(guò)

4

no better, in fact, than the inside of the castle, where things were so?

horribly

?wrong.

horribly /'h?r?bl?/ adv.?非常地

5

Harry and Ron had tried to visit Hermione, but visitors were now?

barred

?from the hospital wing.

bar /bɑ?(r)/ v.?阻擋

6

‘We’re taking no more chances,’ Madam Pomfrey told them?

severely

?through a crack in the hospital door. ‘No, I’m sorry, there’s every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off …’

severely /si'vi?li/ adv.?嚴(yán)厲地

7

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the?

mullioned

?windows.

mullioned /'m?li?nd/ adj.?有豎框的

8

There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn’t look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill and?

unnatural

?and was quickly?

stifled

.

unnatural /?n'n?t?(?)r(?)l/ adj.?反常的

stifle /?sta?fl/ v.?抑制

9

Harry constantly repeated Dumbledore’s final words to himself. ‘I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me … Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.’

10

But what good were these words? Who exactly were they supposed to ask for help, when everyone was just as confused and scared as they were?

11

Hagrid’s hint about the spiders was far easier to understand – the trouble was, there didn’t seem to be a single spider left in the castle to follow.

12

Harry looked everywhere he went, helped (rather?

reluctantly

) by Ron.

reluctantly /ri'l?kt?ntli/ adv.?不情愿地

13

They were?

hampered

, of course, by the fact that they weren’t allowed to wander off on their own, but had to move around the castle?

in a pack

?with the other Gryffindors.

hamper /?h?mp?(r)/ vt.?妨礙

in a pack?在一群

14

Most of their fellow students seemed glad that they were being?

shepherded

?from class to class by teachers, but Harry found it very?

irksome

.

shepherd /??ep?d/ v.?護(hù)送

irksome /???ks?m/ adj.?令人厭煩的

15

One person, however, seemed to be?

thoroughly

?enjoying the?

atmosphere

?of terror and suspicion. Draco Malfoy was strutting around the school as though he had just been?

appointed

?Head Boy.

thoroughly /'θ?r?li/ adv.?完全地

atmosphere /??tm?sf??(r)/ n.?氣氛

appoint /??p??nt/ vt.?任命

16

Harry didn’t realise what he was so pleased about until the Potions lesson about a fortnight after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left, when, sitting right behind Malfoy,

17

Harry overheard him?

gloating

?to Crabbe and Goyle.

gloat /ɡl??t/ vi.?幸災(zāi)樂(lè)禍

18

‘I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore,’ he said, not?

troubling

?to keep his voice down.

trouble /?tr?bl/ v.?費(fèi)神

19

‘I told you he thinks Dumbledore’s the worst Headmaster the school’s ever had. Maybe we’ll get a decent Headmaster now. Someone who won’t want the Chamber of Secrets closed.

20

McGonagall won’t last long, she’s only?

filling in

?…’

fill in?替代

21

Snape swept past Harry, making no?

comment

?about Hermione’s empty seat and cauldron.

comment /?k?ment/ n.?評(píng)論

22

‘Sir,’ said Malfoy loudly. ‘Sir, why don’t you?

apply

?for the Headmaster’s job?’

apply /??pla?/ vi.?申請(qǐng)

23

‘

Now

, now, Malfoy,’ said Snape, though he couldn’t?

suppress

?a?

thin-lipped

?smile. ‘Professor Dumbledore has only been?

suspended

?by the governors. I dare say he’ll be back with us soon enough.’

now /na?/ adv.?（用于引起注意或用于轉(zhuǎn)換話題）好了

suppress /s??pres/ v.?克制(感情或反應(yīng))

thin-lipped?薄嘴唇地

suspend /s??spend/ v.?使暫時(shí)停職（或停學(xué)等）

24

‘Yeah, right,’ said Malfoy, smirking. ‘I expect you’d have father’s?

vote

, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job. I’ll tell father you’re the best teacher here, sir …’

vote /v??t/ n.?選票

25

Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon,?

fortunately

?not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was?

pretending

to?

vomit

?into his cauldron.

fortunately /'f?rt??n?tli/ adv.?幸運(yùn)地

pretend /pr??tend/ vt. & vi.?假裝

vomit /'v?m?t/ vi.?嘔吐

26

‘I’m quite surprised the Mudbloods haven’t all packed their bags by now,’ Malfoy went on. ‘bet you five Galleons the next one dies.?

Pity

?it wasn’t Granger …’

pity /'p?t?/ n.?遺憾的事

27

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy’s last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the?

scramble

?to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

scramble /?skr?mbl/ n.?（因趕任務(wù)出現(xiàn)的）忙亂

28

‘Let me?

at

?him,’ Ron growled, as Harry and Dean hung onto his arms. ‘I don’t care, I don’t need my wand, I’m going to kill him with my?

bare hands

?–’

at /?t/ prep. (抓)住

bare hand?徒手空拳

29

‘Hurry up, I’ve got to take you all to Herbology,’ barked Snape over the class’s heads, and off they went,?

crocodilefashion

, with Harry, Ron and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get?

loose

.

crocodile /?kr?k?da?l/?成對(duì)縱列行進(jìn)的人(尤指兒童)

fashion /?f??n/ n. (做事的)方式

loose /lu?s/ v.?釋放

30

It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had?

seen

?them out of the castle, and they were making their way across the vegetable patch towards the greenhouses.

see /si?/ v.?陪送

31

The Herbology class was very?

subdued

; there were now two missing from their?

number

, Justin and Hermione.

subdue /s?b?dju?/ v.?制服

number /'n?mb?/ n.?一群人

32

Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning the?

Abyssinian

?

Shrivelfigs

.?

Abyssinian /??bi'sini?n/ adj.?阿比西尼亞的

Shrivelfig?無(wú)花果

33

Harry went to tip an?

armful

?of?

withered

?

stalks

?onto the?

compost

?heap and found himself face to face with Ernie Macmillan.

armful /'ɑ?mf?l/ n.?一抱之量

withered /'wie?d/ adj.?枯萎的

stalk /st??k/ n.?（植物的）莖

compost /'k?mp?st/ n.?混合肥料

34

Ernie took a deep breath and said, very?

formally

, ‘I just want to say, Harry, that I’m sorry I ever suspected you.

formally /'f??m?l?/ adv.?正式地

35

I know you’d never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologise for all the stuff I said. We’re all?

in the same boat

?now, and, well –’

in the same boat?面臨同樣的危險(xiǎn)

36

He held out a?

pudgy

?hand, and Harry shook it.

pudgy /'p?d??/ adj.?短而粗的

37

Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same?

Shrivelfig

?as Harry and Ron.

Shrivelfig?無(wú)花果

38

‘That Draco Malfoy character,’ said Ernie,?

breaking

?off dead?

twigs

, ‘he seems very pleased about all this, doesn’t he? D’you know, I think he might be Slytherin’s heir.’

break /bre?k/ v.?折斷

twig /tw?g/ n.?細(xì)枝

39

‘That’s clever of you,’ said Ron, who didn’t seem to have forgiven Ernie as?

readily

?as Harry.

readily /?red?li/ adv.?容易地

40

‘Do you think it’s Malfoy, Harry?’ Ernie asked.

41

‘No,’ said Harry, so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared.

42

A second later, Harry spotted something that made him hit Ron over the hand with his pruning?

shears

.

shear /???(r)/ n.?大剪刀

43

‘Ouch! What’re you –’

44

Harry was pointing at the ground a few feet away. Several large spiders were?

scurrying

?across the?

earth

.

scurry /?sk?ri/ vi.?急跑

earth /??θ/ n.?地面

45

‘Oh, yeah,’ said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased. ‘But we can’t?

follow

?them now …’

follow /?f?l??/ v.?跟蹤

46

Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously.

47

Harry watched the spiders running away.

48

‘Looks like they’re heading for the Forbidden Forest …’

49

And Ron looked even unhappier about that.

50

At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout?

escorted

?the class to their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Harry and Ron?

lagged

?behind the others so they could talk out of earshot.

escort /?esk??t/ vt.?護(hù)送

lag /l?ɡ/ vi.?滯后

51

‘We’ll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again,’ Harry told Ron. ‘We can take Fang with us. He’s used to going into the Forest with Hagrid, he might be some help.’

52

‘Right,’ said Ron, who was twirling his wand nervously in his fingers.

53

‘Er – aren’t there – aren’t there supposed to be werewolves in the Forest?’ he added, as they took their usual places at the back of Lockhart’s classroom.

54

Preferring

?not to answer that question, Harry said, ‘There are good things in there, too. The centaurs are all right, and the unicorns.’

prefer /pr??f??(r)/ vt.?更喜歡

55

Ron had never been into the Forbidden Forest before. Harry had entered it only once, and had hoped never to do so again.

56

Lockhart?

bounded

?into the room and the class stared at him. Every other teacher in the place was looking?

grimmer

than usual, but Lockhart appeared nothing?

short of

?

buoyant

.

bound /ba?nd/ v.?蹦跳著走

grim /ɡr?m/ adj.?嚴(yán)肅的

short of?除……以外

buoyant /?b???nt/ adj.?愉快而自信的

57

‘Come now,’ he cried, beaming around him, ‘why all these long faces?’

58

People?

swapped

?

exasperated

?looks, but nobody answered.

swap /sw?p/ vt. & vi.?交換

exasperate /?ɡ?z?sp?re?t/ vt.?觸怒

59

‘Don’t you people realise,’ said Lockhart, speaking slowly, as though they were all a bit dim, ‘the danger has passed! The?

culprit

?has been taken away.’

culprit /?k?lpr?t/ n.?罪犯

60

‘Says who?’ said Dean Thomas loudly.

61

‘My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn’t have taken Hagrid if he hadn’t been one hundred per cent sure that he was guilty,’?

62

said Lockhart, in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two.

63

‘Oh, yes he would,’ said Ron, even more loudly than Dean.

64

‘I?

flatter

?myself I know a?

touch

?more about Hagrid’s?

arrest

?than you do, Mr Weasley,’ said Lockhart in a?

self-satisfied

tone.

flatter /?fl?t?(r)/ v.?自認(rèn)為

touch /t?t?/ n.?稍微

arrest /??rest/ n.?逮捕

self-satisfied /'self's?tisfaid/ adj.?自鳴得意的

65

Ron started to say that he didn’t think so, somehow, but stopped in mid-sentence when Harry kicked him hard under the desk.

66

‘We weren’t there, remember?’ Harry?

muttered

.

mutter /?m?t?(r)/ vt. & vi.?輕聲低語(yǔ)

67

But Lockhart’s disgusting?

cheeriness

, his hints that he had always thought Hagrid was no good,?

cheery /'t???r?/ adj.?愉快的

68

his?

confidence

?that the whole business was now at an end,?

irritated

?Harry so much that he?

yearned

?to throw?

Gadding

?with Ghouls right in Lockhart’s stupid face.

confidence /?k?nf?d?ns/ n.?自信

irritate /??r?te?t/ vt.?激怒

yearn /j??n/ vi.?渴望

gad /g?d/ v.?閑逛

69

Instead he?

contented

?himself with scrawling a note to Ron: ‘Let’s do it tonight.’

content /?k?ntent/ v.?使?jié)M意

70

Ron read the message, swallowed hard and looked sideways at the empty seat usually filled by Hermione. The sight seemed to?

stiffen

?his?

resolve

, and he nodded.

stiffen /?st?fn/ vt. & vi.?變堅(jiān)定

resolve /r??z?lv/ n. <正式>決心

71

The Gryffindor common room was always very crowded these days, because from six o’clock?

onwards

, the Gryffindors had nowhere else to go.

onward /??nw?d/ adv.（從某時(shí)起）一直

72

They also had plenty to talk about, with the result that the common room often didn’t empty until past midnight.

73

Harry went to get the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk right after dinner, and spent the evening sitting on it, waiting for the room to clear.

74

Fred and George?

challenged

?Harry and Ron to a few games of Exploding Snap and Ginny sat watching them, very?

subdued

?in Hermione’s usual chair.

challenge /?t??l?nd?/ vt.?挑戰(zhàn)

subdue /s?b?dju?/ vt.?抑制

75

Harry and Ron kept losing on purpose, trying to finish the games quickly, but even so, it was well past midnight when Fred, George and Ginny finally went to bed.

76

Harry and Ron waited for the distant sounds of two dormitory doors closing before seizing the Cloak, throwing it over themselves, and climbing through the portrait hole.

77

It was another difficult?

journey

?through the castle, dodging all the teachers.

journey /'d???n?/ n.?行程

78

At last they reached the Entrance Hall, slid back the lock on the oak front doors, squeezed between them, trying to stop any creaking, and stepped out into the?

moonlit

?grounds.

moonlit /'mu?nl?t/ adj.?月光照耀的

79

‘Course,’ said Ron?

abruptly

, as they strode across the black grass,

abruptly /?'br?ptli/ adv.?突然地

80

‘we might get to the Forest and find there’s nothing to follow. Those spiders might not’ve been going there at all. I know it looked like they were moving in that sort of?

general

?direction, but …’

general /?d?en?r?l/ adj.?大體的

81

His voice?

tailed away

?hopefully.

tail away?減弱

82

They reached Hagrid’s house, sad and sorry-looking with its?

blank

?windows.

blank /bl??k/ adj.?空著的

83

When Harry pushed the door open, Fang went mad with joy?

at the sight of

?them.

at the sight of?一看見(jiàn)……就

84

Worried he might wake everyone at the castle with his deep,?

booming

?barks, they?

hastily

?fed him?

treacle

?

fudge

?from a tin on the mantelpiece, which glued his teeth together.

booming /'bu:mi?/ adj. (聲音)低沉洪亮的

hastily /'heistili/ adv.?急速地

treacle /'tri?k(?)l/ n.?糖蜜

fudge /f?d?/ n.?乳脂(巧克力)軟糖

85

Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid’s table. There would be no need for it in the?

pitch-dark

?Forest.

pitch-dark /'pit?'dɑ:k/ adj.?漆黑的

86

‘C’mon, Fang, we’re going for a?

walk

,’ said Harry, patting his leg,?

walk /w??k/ n.?散步

87

and Fang bounded happily out of the house behind them, dashed to the edge of the Forest and lifted his leg against a large sycamore tree.

88

Harry took out his wand, murmured, ‘

Lumos

!’ and a tiny light appeared at the end of it, just enough to let them watch the path for signs of spiders.

Lumos n.?魔杖照明咒（《哈利波特》中的咒語(yǔ)名）

89

‘Good thinking,’ said Ron. ‘I’d light mine too, but you know – it’d probably blow up or something …’

90

Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two?

solitary

?spiders were hurrying away from the wandlight into the shade of the trees.

solitary /?s?l?tri/ adj.?（人或動(dòng)物）獨(dú)處的

91

‘OK,’ Ron sighed, as though?

resigned

?to the worst, ‘I’m ready. Let’s go.’

resign /r??za?n/ v. (使)聽(tīng)從

92

So, with Fang?

scampering

?around them, sniffing tree roots and leaves, they entered the Forest. By the?

glow

?of Harry’s wand, they followed the steady?

trickle

?of spiders moving along the path.

scamper /?sk?mp?(r)/ vi.?蹦蹦跳跳地跑

glow /ɡl??/ n.?微弱穩(wěn)定的光

trickle /?tr?kl/ n.?慢速移動(dòng)

93

They walked for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and?

rustling

leaves.

rustle /?r?sl/ vt. & vi.?發(fā)出沙沙的聲音

94

Then, when the trees had become?

thicker

?than ever, so that the stars overhead were no longer visible, and Harry’s wand shone alone in the sea of dark, they saw their spider guides leaving the?

path

.

thick /θ?k/ adj.?茂密的

path /pɑ?θ/ n.?小路

95

Harry paused, trying to see where the spiders were going, but everything outside his little?

sphere

?of light was pitch black.

sphere /sf??(r)/ n.?范圍

96

He had never been this deep into the Forest before. He could?

vividly

?remember Hagrid advising him not to leave the Forest path last time he’d been in here.

vividly /'vividli/ adv.?強(qiáng)烈地

97

But Hagrid was miles away now, probably sitting in a?

cell

?in Azkaban, and he had also said to follow the spiders.

cell /sel/ n.?小牢房

98

Something wet touched Harry’s hand and he jumped backwards,?

crushing

?Ron’s foot, but it was only Fang’s nose.

crush /kr??/ v.?壓壞

99

‘What d’you?

reckon

?’ Harry said to Ron, whose eyes he could just make out, reflecting the light from his wand.

reckon /?rek?n/ vt.?認(rèn)為

100

‘We’ve come this far,’ said Ron.

101

So they followed the?

darting

?shadows of the spiders into the trees. They couldn’t move very quickly now; there were tree roots and stumps in their way, barely visible in the near blackness.

dart /dɑ?t/ v.?飛奔

102

Harry could feel Fang’s hot breath on his hand. More than once, they had to stop, so that Harry could crouch down and find the spiders in the wandlight.

103

They walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, their robes?

snagging

?on?

low-slung

?branches and?

brambles

.

snag /sn?g/ v. (在帶尖的東西上)鉤住

low-slung adj.?矮的

bramble /'br?mb(?)l/ n.?荊棘

104

After a while, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping?

downwards

, though the trees were as thick as ever.

downward /?da?nw?d/ adv.?向下

105

Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making both Harry and Ron?

jump out of their skins

.

jump out of skin?嚇得魂飛魄散

106

‘What?’ said Ron loudly, looking around into the pitch dark, and gripping Harry’s elbow very hard.

107

‘There’s something moving over there,’ Harry breathed. ‘Listen … Sounds like something big.’

108

They listened. Some distance to their right, the something big was snapping branches as it?

carved

?a path through the trees.

carve /kɑ?v/ vt.?開(kāi)創(chuàng)

109

‘Oh no,’ said Ron. ‘Oh no, oh no, oh –’

110

‘Shut up,’ said Harry?

frantically

. ‘It’ll hear you.’

frantically /'fr?ntik?li/ adv.?瘋狂地

111

‘Hear me?’ said Ron in an?

unnaturally

?high voice. ‘It’s already heard Fang!’

unnaturally /?n'n?t??r?li/ adv.?不自然地

112

The darkness seemed to be?

pressing

?on their eyeballs as they stood, terrified, waiting. There was a strange?

rumbling

?noise and then silence.

press /pres/ v.?逼迫

rumble /?r?mbl/ n.?隆隆聲

113

‘What d’you think it’s doing?’ said Harry.

114

‘Probably getting ready to?

pounce

,’ said Ron.

pounce /pa?ns/ vi.?猛撲

115

They waited, shivering, hardly daring to move.

116

‘D’you think it’s gone?’ Harry whispered.

117

‘Dunno –’

118

Then, to their right, came a sudden blaze of light, so bright in the darkness that both of them?

flung

?up their hands to?

shield

?their eyes.

fling /fl??/ v.?猛動(dòng)(身體部位)

shield /?i?ld/ v.?遮擋

119

Fang yelped and tried to run, but got?

lodged

?in a tangle of?

thorns

?and?

yelped

?even louder.

lodge /l?d?/ v. (使)卡住

thorn /θ??n/ n.?荊棘

yelp /jelp/ n. (因痛苦、氣憤、興奮等的)短而尖的叫聲

120

‘Harry!’ Ron shouted, his voice?

breaking

?with relief. ‘Harry, it’s our car!’

break /bre?k/ v.?（因強(qiáng)烈的情緒）聲調(diào)突變

121

‘What?’

122

‘Come on!’

123

Harry blundered after Ron towards the light,?

stumbling

?and tripping, and a moment later they had emerged into a clearing.

stumble /?st?mbl/ vi.?絆腳

124

Mr Weasley’s car was?

standing,

?empty, in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of?

dense

?branches, its headlamps?

ablaze

.

standing /'st?nd??/ adj.?固定的

dense /dens/ adj.?稠密的

ablaze /??ble?z/ adj.?閃耀的

125

As Ron walked, open-mouthed, towards it, it moved slowly towards him, exactly like a large,?

turquoise

?dog greeting its owner.

turquoise /'t?:kw?iz/ adj.?藍(lán)綠色的

126

‘It’s been here all the time!’ said Ron delightedly, walking around the car. ‘Look at it. The Forest’s turned it wild …’

127

The wings of the car were scratched and?

smeared

?with mud. Apparently it had?

taken to

?

trundling

?around the Forest on its own.

smear /sm??(r)/ vt.?弄臟

take to?形成…的習(xí)慣

trundle /'tr?nd(?)l/ v.?（車）緩慢地移動(dòng)

128

Fang didn’t seem at all keen on it; he kept close to Harry, who could feel him quivering. His breathing?

slowing down

again, Harry stuffed his wand back into his robes.

slow down?減速

129

‘And we thought it was going to attack us!’ said Ron, leaning against the car and patting it. ‘I wondered where it had gone!’

130

Harry squinted around on the?

floodlit

?ground for signs of more spiders, but they had all?

scuttled

?away from the?

glare

of the headlights.

floodlit /'fl?dlit/ adj.?照明的

scuttle /'sk?t(?)l/ vi.?逃避

glare /ɡle?(r)/ n.?強(qiáng)光

131

‘We’ve lost the?

trail

,’ he said. ‘C’mon, let’s go and find them.’

trail /tre?l/ n.?蹤跡

132

Ron didn’t speak. He didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on a point some ten feet above the Forest floor, right behind Harry. His face was?

livid

?with terror.

livid /'l?v?d/ adj.?青灰色的

133

Harry didn’t even have time to turn around.

134

There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly he felt something long and?

hairy

?seize him around the middle and lift him off the ground, so that he was hanging, face down.

hairy /'he?r?/ adj.?多毛的

135

Struggling, terrified, he heard more clicking, and saw Ron’s legs leave the ground too, heard Fang?

whimpering

?and howling – next moment, he was being?

swept

?away into the dark trees.

whimper /?w?mp?(r)/ vi.?嗚咽

sweep /swi?p/ vt.?（快速地）帶走

136

Head hanging, Harry saw that what had hold of him was marching on six?

immensely

?long, hairy legs, the front two clutching him tightly below a pair of shining black?

pincers

.

immensely /??mensli/ adv.?非常

pincer /'pins?(r)/ n.?鉗子

137

Behind him, he could hear another of the creatures, no doubt carrying Ron.

138

They were moving into the very heart of the Forest.

139

Harry could hear Fang fighting to free himself from a third monster,?

whining

?loudly, but Harry couldn’t have yelled even if he had wanted to; he seemed to have left his voice back with the car in the clearing.

whine /wa?n/ vi.?發(fā)嗚嗚聲

140

He never knew how long he was in the creature’s clutches; he only knew that the darkness suddenly lifted enough for him to see that the leaf-

strewn

?ground was now swarming with spiders.

strew /stru?/ vt.?撒滿

141

Craning

?his neck?

sideways

, he realised that they had reached the?

rim

?of a vast?

hollow

,?

crane /kre?n/ vi.?伸著脖子看

sideways /?sa?dwe?z/ adv.?向一旁

rim /r?m/ n.?邊緣

hollow /?h?l??/ n.?山谷

142

a hollow which had been cleared of trees, so that the stars shone brightly onto the worst scene he had ever?

clapped eyes upon

.

clap eyes on?看見(jiàn)

143

Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those?

surging

?over the leaves below. Spiders the size of?

carthorses

, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic.

surge /s??d?/ v.?洶涌

carthorse /?kɑ:t?h?:s/ n.?拖貨車的馬

144

The massive specimen that was carrying Harry made its way down the?

steep

?

slope

, towards a misty?

domed

?web in the very centre of the hollow,

steep /sti?p/ adj.?陡峭的

slope /sl??p/ n.?斜坡

domed /domd/ adj.?半球形的

145

while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its?

load

.

load /l??d/ n.?負(fù)載

146

Harry fell to the ground on all fours as the spider released him. Ron and Fang?

thudded

?down next to him.?

thud /θ?d/ vi.?砰然下落

147

Fang wasn’t howling any more, but?

cowering

?silently on the spot.

cower /?ka??(r)/ vi.?抖縮

148

Ron looked exactly like Harry felt. His mouth was stretched wide in a kind of silent scream and his eyes were popping.

149

Harry suddenly realised that the spider which had dropped him was saying something. It had been hard to tell, because he clicked his pincers with every word he spoke.

150

‘Aragog!’ it called. ‘Aragog!’

151

And from the middle of the misty domed web, a spider the size of a small?

elephant

?emerged, very slowly.

elephant /'el?f(?)nt/ n.?大象

152

There was grey in the black of his body and legs, and each of the eyes on his ugly, pincered head was milky white. He was?

blind

.

blind /bla?nd/ adj.?瞎的

153

‘What is it?’ he said, clicking his pincers rapidly.

154

‘Men,’?

clicked

?the spider who had caught Harry.

click /kl?k/ v.?發(fā)出咔嗒聲

155

‘Is it Hagrid?’ said Aragog, moving closer, his eight milky eyes wandering?

vaguely

.

vaguely /'veigli/ adv.?茫然地

156

‘Strangers,’ clicked the spider who had brought Ron.

157

‘Kill them,’ clicked Aragog?

fretfully

. ‘I was sleeping …’

fretfully /'fretf?li/ adv.?焦躁地

158

‘We’re friends of Hagrid’s,’ Harry shouted. His heart seemed to have left his chest to pound in his throat.

159

Click, click, click went the pincers of the spiders all around the hollow.

160

Aragog paused.

161

‘Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before,’ he said slowly.

162

‘Hagrid’s in trouble,’ said Harry, breathing very fast. ‘That’s why we’ve come.’

163

‘In trouble?’ said the aged spider, and Harry thought he heard?

concern

?beneath the clicking pincers. ‘But why has he sent you?’

concern /k?n?s??n/ n.?關(guān)心

164

Harry thought of getting to his feet, but decided?

against

?it; he didn’t think his legs would?

support

?him. So he spoke from the ground, as calmly as he could.

against /?'genst/ prep.?靠

support /s??p??t/ vt.?支撐

165

‘They think, up at the school, that Hagrid’s been?

setting a – a – something on

?students. They’ve taken him to Azkaban.’

set on?唆使

166

Aragog clicked his pincers furiously, and all around the hollow the sound was echoed by the crowd of spiders; it was like applause, except applause didn’t usually make Harry feel sick with fear.

167

‘But that was years ago,’ said Aragog?

fretfully

.

fretfully /'fretf?li/ adv.?焦躁地

168

‘Years and years ago. I remember it well. That’s why they made him leave the school.

169

They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free.’

170

‘And you … you didn’t come from the Chamber of Secrets?’ said Harry, who could feel cold sweat on his forehead.

171

‘I!’ said Aragog, clicking angrily.

172

‘I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land.

173

A traveller gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on?

scraps

?from the table.

scraps /skr?ps/ n.?殘羹剩飯

174

Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was?

discovered

, and?

blamed

?for the death of a girl, he protected me.

discover /d??sk?v?(r)/ vt.?發(fā)現(xiàn)

blame /ble?m/ vt.?歸咎于

175

I have lived here in the Forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me.?

176

He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid’s?

goodness

?…’

goodness /?ɡ?dn?s/ n.?善良

177

Harry?

summoned

?what remained of his courage.

summon /?s?m?n/ vt.?鼓起

178

‘So you never – never attacked anyone?’

179

‘Never,’ croaked the old spider.

180

‘It would have been my?

instinct

, but from respect of Hagrid, I never?

harmed

?a human.

instinct /??nst??kt/ n.?本能

harm /hɑ?m/ vt.?傷害

181

The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet …’

182

‘But then … Do you know what did kill that girl?’ said Harry. ‘Because whatever it is, it’s back and attacking people again –’

183

His words were drowned by a loud?

outbreak

?of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily; large black shapes shifted all around him.

outbreak /?a?tbre?k/ n.?爆發(fā)

184

‘The thing that lives in the castle,’ said Aragog,

185

‘is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I?

pleaded

?with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school.’

plead /pli?d/ vi.?懇求

186

‘What is it?’ said Harry urgently.

187

More loud clicking, more rustling; the spiders seemed to be closing in.

188

‘We do not speak of it!’ said Aragog fiercely. ‘We do not?

name

?it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that?

dread

creature, though he asked me, many times.’

name /ne?m/ vt.?說(shuō)出…的名字

dread /dred/ adj.?可怕的

189

Harry didn’t want to?

press

?the subject, not with the spiders pressing closer on all sides.

press /pres/ v.?竭力勸說(shuō)

190

Aragog seemed to be tired of talking. He was backing slowly into his?

domed

?web, but his fellow spiders continued to inch slowly towards Harry and Ron.

domed /domd/ adj.?半球形的

191

‘We’ll just go, then,’ Harry called desperately to Aragog, hearing leaves rustling behind him.

192

‘Go?’ said Aragog slowly. ‘I think not …’

193

‘But – but –’

194

‘My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my?

command

. But I cannot?

deny

?them fresh meat, when it wanders so?

willingly

?into our?

midst

. Goodbye, friend of Hagrid.’

command /k??mɑ?nd/ n.?命令

deny /d??na?/ vt.?拒絕給予

willingly /? w?l???l?/ adv.?愿意地

midst /m?dst/ n.?當(dāng)中

195

Harry?

spun

?around. Feet away, towering above him, was a solid wall of spiders, clicking, their many eyes gleaming in their ugly black heads …

spin /sp?n/ v. (使)急轉(zhuǎn)聲

196

Even as he reached for his wand, Harry knew it was no?

good

, there were too many of them,?

good /g?d/ n.?好結(jié)果

197

but as he tried to stand, ready to die fighting, a loud, long note sounded, and a blaze of light flamed through the hollow.

198

Mr Weasley’s car was?

thundering

?down the slope, headlamps glaring, its?

horn

?screeching, knocking spiders aside; several were thrown onto their backs, their endless legs waving in the air.

thunder /?θ?nd?(r)/ v.?轟隆地響

horn /h??n/ n.?喇叭

199

The car screeched to a halt in front of Harry and Ron and the doors flew open.

200

‘Get Fang!’ Harry yelled, diving into the front seat; Ron seized the boarhound round the middle and threw him, yelping, into the back of the car. The doors slammed shut.

201

Ron didn’t touch the?

accelerator

?but the car didn’t need him; the engine roared and they were off, hitting more spiders.

accelerator /?k'sel?re?t?/ n.?油門

202

They sped up the slope, out of the hollow,

203

and they were soon crashing through the Forest, branches?

whipping

?the windows as the car wound its way cleverly through the widest?

gaps

, following a path it obviously?

knew

.

whip /w?p/ vt.?抽打

gap /ɡ?p/ n.?缺口

know /n??/ vt.?熟悉

204

Harry looked sideways at Ron. His mouth was still open in the silent scream, but his eyes weren’t popping any more.

205

‘Are you OK?’

206

Ron stared straight ahead, unable to speak.

207

They smashed their way through the?

undergrowth

, Fang howling loudly in the back seat, and Harry saw the?

wing mirror

?snap off as they squeezed past a large oak.

undergrowth /'?nd?gr??θ/ n.?灌木叢

wing mirror?后視鏡

208

After ten noisy, rocky minutes, the trees thinned, and Harry could again see?

patches

?of sky.

patch /p?t?/?小塊

209

The car stopped so suddenly that they were nearly thrown into the windscreen. They had reached the edge of the Forest.

210

Fang flung himself at the window in his anxiety to get out and when Harry opened the door, he shot off through the trees to Hagrid’s house, tail between his legs.

211

Harry got out too, and after a minute or so, Ron seemed to regain the feeling in his?

limbs

?and followed, still stiff-necked and staring.

limbs /l?mz/?四肢

212

Harry gave the car a grateful pat as it reversed back into the Forest and disappeared from view.

213

Harry went back into Hagrid’s cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. Fang was trembling under a?

blanket

?in his basket. When Harry got outside again, he found Ron being?

violently

?

sick

?in the pumpkin patch.

blanket /?bl??k?t/ n.?毯子

violently /?va??l?ntl?/ adv.?強(qiáng)烈地

sick /s?k/ v. <英，非正式>?嘔吐

214

‘Follow the spiders,’ said Ron weakly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. ‘I’ll never forgive Hagrid. We’re lucky to be alive.’

215

‘I bet he thought Aragog wouldn’t hurt friends of his,’ said Harry.

216

‘That’s exactly Hagrid’s problem!’ said Ron,?

thumping

?the wall of the cabin. ‘He always thinks monsters aren’t as bad as they’re?

made out

, and look where it’s got him! A?

cell

?in Azkaban!’

thump /θ?mp/ vt. & vi.?重?fù)?/p>

make out?理解

cell /sel/ n.?小牢房

217

He was shivering uncontrollably now. ‘What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I’d like to know?’

218

‘That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets,’ said Harry, throwing the cloak over Ron and prodding him in the arm to make him walk. ‘He was?

innocent

.’

innocent /??n?snt/ adj.?無(wú)辜的

219

Ron gave a loud?

snort

. Evidently,?

hatching

?Aragog out in a cupboard wasn’t his idea of being innocent.

snort /sn??t/ n. (表示氣憤或被逗樂(lè))噴鼻息

hatch /h?t?/ v.?孵出

220

As the castle?

loomed

?nearer Harry?

twitched

?the Cloak to make sure their feet were hidden, then pushed the creaking front doors ajar.

loom /lu?m/ vi.?隱約可見(jiàn)

twitch /tw?t?/ v.?猛拉

221

They walked carefully back across the Entrance Hall and up the marble staircase, holding their breath as they passed corridors where watchful?

sentries

?were walking.

sentry /?sentri/ n.?哨兵

222

At last they reached the safety of the Gryffindor common room, where the fire had?

burned itself

?into glowing ash. They took off the Cloak and climbed the winding staircase to their dormitory.

burn oneself?自焚

223

Ron fell onto his bed without bothering to get undressed. Harry, however, didn’t feel very sleepy. He sat on the edge of his four-poster, thinking hard about everything Aragog had said.

224

The creature that was lurking somewhere in the castle, he thought, sounded like a sort of monster Voldemort – even other monsters didn’t want to name it.

225

But he and Ron were no closer to finding out what it was, or how it Petrified its?

victims

. Even Hagrid had never known what was in the Chamber of Secrets.

victim /?v?kt?m/ n.?受害人

226

Harry swung his legs up onto his bed and?

leaned

?back against his pillows, watching the moon?

glinting

?at him through the tower window.

lean /li?n/ vi.?倚靠

glint /gl?nt/ vi.?閃爍

227

He couldn’t see what else they could do. They had hit?

dead ends

?everywhere.

dead end?死胡同

228

Riddle had caught the wrong person, the heir of Slytherin had got off, and no one could tell whether it was the same person, or a different one, who had opened the Chamber this time.

229

There was nobody else to ask. Harry lay down, still thinking about what Aragog said.

230

He was becoming?

drowsy

?when what seemed like their very last hope occurred to him and he suddenly sat?

boltupright

.

drowsy /?dra?zi/ adj.?欲睡的

bolt /b??lt/ adv.?突然地

upright /??pra?t/ adv.?直立地

231

‘Ron,’ he hissed through the dark. ‘Ron!’

232

Ron woke with a yelp like Fang’s, stared?

wildly

?around and saw Harry.

wildly /'waildli/ adv.?失控地

233

‘Ron – that girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom,’ said Harry, ignoring Neville’s?

snuffling

?snores from the corner.?

snuffle /'sn?f(?)l/ vi. (吸氣時(shí))發(fā)出響聲

234

‘What if she never left the bathroom? What if she’s still there?’

235

Ron rubbed his eyes, frowning through the moonlight. And then he understood.

236

‘You don’t think – not Moaning Myrtle?’

237