Harry Potter 1-4 THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS

BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.

“Where’s the cannon?” he said stupidly.

cannon: noun [C] (GUN) a large, powerful gun, usually attached to two or four wheels, that was used in the past to fire heavy stone or metal balls:

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands — now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

• skid /skɪd/: verb [ I ] (especially of a vehicle) to slide along a surface so that you have no control:
  Tony’s car skidded on some ice and hit a tree.

• rifle /ˈraɪ.fəl/: noun (GUN) a type of gun with a long barrel (= part shaped like a tube), fired from the shoulder and designed to be accurate at long distances

“Who’s there?” he shouted. “I warn you — I’m armed!”

There was a pause. Then SMASH!

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.

swing: verb (MOVE SIDEWAYS) to move easily and without interruption backward and forward or from one side to the other, especially from a fixed point, or to cause something or someone to do this:

hinge: noun [ C ] a piece of metal that fastens the edge of a door, window, lid, etc. to something else and allows it to open or close:

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

beetle: noun [ C ] an insect with a hard shell-like back:

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.

squeeze /skwiːz/: verb (PRESS) to press something firmly, especially from all sides in order to change its shape, reduce its size, or remove liquid from it:

hut /hʌt/: noun [ C ] a small, simple building, usually consisting of one room:

“Couldn’t make us a cup o’ tea, could yeh? It’s not been an easy journey. . . .”

He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.

freeze /friːz/: verb (COLD) If you freeze something, you lower its temperature below 32° F , causing it to become cold and often hard, and if something freezes, its temperature goes below 32° F:

“Budge up, yeh great lump,” said the stranger.

budge /bʌdʒ/ up: said to someone in order to ask him or her to move so that there is room for you

lump /lʌmp/: noun (PIECE) a piece of a solid substance, usually with no particular shape:

Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.

squeak /skwiːk/: verb (SOUND) to make a short, very high cry or sound:

“An’ here’s Harry!” said the giant.

Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.

“Las’ time I saw you, you was only a baby,” said the giant. “Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh’ve got yer mom’s eyes.”

yer /jɚ/: determiner your:

Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.

“I demand that you leave at once, sir!” he said. “You are breaking and entering!”

“Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune,” said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon’s hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.

• prune /pruːn/: verb (CUT) to cut off branches from a tree, bush, or plant, especially so that it will grow better in the future:

• knot /nɑːt/: noun (FASTENING) a join made by tying together the ends of a piece or pieces of string, rope, cloth, etc.:
  to tie a knot

Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

“Anyway — Harry,” said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, “a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste all right.”

• summat /ˈsʌm.ət/: pronoun something:
  There’s summat wrong with this machine.

• yeh /jeə/: -> you [accent]

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.

squash /skwɑːʃ/: verb (MAKE FLAT) to crush something into a flat shape:

sticky /ˈstɪk.i/: adjective (NOT DRY/SMOOTH) made of or covered with a substance that stays attached to any surface it touches:

Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, “Who are you?”

The giant chuckled.

“True, I haven’t introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.”

He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry’s whole arm.

“What about that tea then, eh?” he said, rubbing his hands together. “I’d not say no ter summat stronger if yeh’ve got it, mind.”

海格说面对比自己强的人不要说没有茶。（对强者怀有敬意）

His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn’t see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he’d sunk into a hot bath.

• grate /ɡreɪt/: verb (COOKING) to rub food against a grater in order to cut it into a lot of small pieces:
  grated cheese

• shriveled /ˈʃrɪv.əld/: adjective dry, smaller than normal, and covered with lines as if by crushing or folding:
  Those oranges were looking old and shriveled, so I threw them out.
  All I had was two shriveled potatoes.
  a bent and shriveled old man
• snort /snɔːrt/: verb to make an explosive sound by forcing air quickly up or down the nose:
  He did an impression of a horse snorting.
  Camille snorts when she laughs.
  informal By this time I was snorting with laughter (= laughing a lot and loudly).
• roaring /ˈrɔːr.ɪŋ/: adjective loud and powerful:
  the roaring wind
  a roaring fire
• damp /dæmp/: adjective slightly wet, especially in a way that is not pleasant or comfortable:
  The grass is still damp.
  This shirt still feels a little damp.
  It was a damp, misty morning.
  Compare
  humid
  moist

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, “Don’t touch anything he gives you, Dudley.”

The giant chuckled darkly.

• kettle /ˈket̬.əl/: noun (EQUIPMENT) a container for boiling water, that has a lid, handle, and spout and is made from plastic or metal

• squashy /ˈskwɑː.ʃi/: adjective soft and easy to crush:
  I’ve bought some squashy pillows for the couch.
• sausage /ˈsɑː.sɪdʒ/: noun [ C or U ] a thin, tube-like case containing meat that has been cut into very small pieces and mixed with spices:
  fried/grilled pork sausages
  half a pound of sausage

• poker /ˈpoʊ.kɚ/: noun (GAME) a game played with cards in which people try to win money from each other

• mug /mʌɡ/: noun (CUP) a large cup with straight sides used for hot drinks:
  I made myself a large mug of cocoa (= enough to fill a mug) and went to bed.

• amber /ˈæm.bɚ/: noun [ U ] a hard, transparent, yellowish-brown substance that was formed in ancient times from resin (= a substance produced by trees) and is used in jewelry:
  He has a collection of prehistoric insects preserved in amber.
  Greek philosophers discovered that when amber is rubbed against cloth, lightweight objects will stick to it.

• fidget /ˈfɪdʒ.ət/: verb [ I ] to make continuous, small movements that annoy other people:
  Children can’t sit still for long without fidgeting.
  Stop fidgeting!

“Yer great puddin’ of a son don’ need fattenin’ anymore, Dursley, don’ worry.”

He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, “I’m sorry, but I still don’t really know who you are.”

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

• gulp /ɡʌlp/: verb to eat or drink food or liquid quickly by swallowing it in large amounts, or to make a swallowing movement because of fear, surprise, or excitement:
  She gulped down her drink and made a hasty exit.
  When it was his turn to dive, he gulped and stepped up onto the diving board.

“Call me Hagrid,” he said, “everyone does. An’ like I told yeh, I’m Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh’ll know all about Hogwarts, o’ course.”

“Er — no,” said Harry.

Hagrid looked shocked.

“Sorry,” Harry said quickly.

“Sorry?” barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. “It’s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren’t gettin’ yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn’t even know abou’ Hogwarts, fer cryin’ out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?”

“All what?” asked Harry.

“ALL WHAT?” Hagrid thundered. “Now wait jus’ one second!”

He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.

“Do you mean ter tell me,” he growled at the Dursleys, “that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin’ abou’ — about ANYTHING?”

Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren’t bad.

“I know some things,” he said. “I can, you know, do math and stuff.”

• stuff /stʌf/: noun (THING(S)) a substance, especially when you do not know or say exactly what it is:
  There’s sticky stuff all over the chair.
  What’s this black stuff?
  He drinks gallons of tea - he loves the stuff.

But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, “About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents’ world.”

“What world?” Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.

• explode /ɪkˈsploʊd/: verb (BREAK APART) to break up into pieces violently, or to cause something to do this:
  A bomb exploded at one of the capital’s busiest railroad stations this morning.
  He was driving so fast that his car tire exploded.

“DURSLEY!” he boomed.

Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like “Mimblewimble.” Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.

• pale /peɪl/: adjective used to describe a person’s face or skin if it has less color than usual, for example when the person is or sick or frightened, or if it has less color than people generally have:
  You’re looking pale - are you feeling well?
  She has a naturally pale complexion and dark hair.

“But yeh must know about yer mom and dad,” he said. “I mean, they’re famous. You’re famous.”

“What? My — my mom and dad weren’t famous, were they?” “Yeh don’ know . . . yeh don’ know . . .” Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.

• bewildered /bɪˈwɪl.dɚd/: adjective confused and uncertain:
  Arriving in a strange city at night, I felt alone and bewildered.
  I came out of the movie a bit bewildered, but I enjoyed it.

“Yeh don’ know what yeh are?” he said finally.

Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.

“Stop!” he commanded. “Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!”

A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.

• brave /breɪv/: adjective showing no fear of dangerous or difficult things:
  a brave soldier
  It was a brave decision to quit her job and start her own business.
  She was very brave to learn to ski at 50.
  Of the three organizations criticized, only one was brave enough to face the press.
  Richards has made a brave attempt to answer his critics.
  This action will cause problems, despite the bank’s brave talk/words about carrying on as if nothing had happened.

• quail /kweɪl/: verb to feel or show fear; to want to be able to move away from something because you fear it:
  Charlie quailed at the sound of his mother’s angry voice.
  She quailed before her boss’s anger.

• furious /ˈfʊr.i.əs/: adjective (ANGRY) extremely angry:
  I was late and he was furious with me.
  He’s furious about/at the way he’s been treated.
  We had a furious debate about the death penalty.

• syllable /ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/: noun [ C ] a single unit of speech, either a whole word or one of the parts into which a word can be separated, usually containing a vowel

• tremble /ˈtrem.bəl/: verb [ I ] to shake slightly in a way that you cannot control, for example because you are frightened, angry, or excited, or because of illness:
  I was trembling with fear, panicking that I had not made the right decision.
  At her side Michael trembled uncontrollably. He was so distraught he could not speak.
  I could see them coming for me. I was already trembling in anticipation when they grabbed me.
  Her bottom lip trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.
  His voice started to tremble, and I thought he was going to cry.

• rage /reɪdʒ/: noun (ANGER) (a period of) extreme or violent anger:
  Her sudden towering rages were terrifying.
  I was frightened because I had never seen him in such a rage before.
  He flew into a fit of rage over the smallest mistake.

“You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An’ you’ve kept it from him all these years?” “Kept what from me?” said Harry eagerly.

“STOP! I FORBID YOU!” yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.

Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.

“Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,” said Hagrid. “Harry — yer a wizard.”

There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.

• gasp /ɡæsp/: verb [ I ] to take a short, quick breath through the mouth, especially because of surprise, pain, or shock:
  When she saw the money hidden in the box she gasped in surprise.
  [ + speech ] “Help me!” he gasped.
  • horror /ˈhɔːr.ɚ/: noun an extremely strong feeling of fear and shock, or the frightening and shocking character of something:
    The crowd cried out in horror as the car burst into flames.
    The thought of speaking in front of so many people fills me with horror.
    I then realized to my absolute horror, that I had forgotten the present.
    What the book does convey very successfully is the horror of war.

“I’m a what?” gasped Harry.

“A wizard, o’ course,” said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, “an’ a thumpin’ good’un, I’d say, once yeh’ve been trained up a bit. With a mum an’ dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An’ I reckon it’s abou’ time yeh read yer letter.”

Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Huton-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:

• stretch /stretʃ/: verb (REACH) to cause something to reach, often as far as possible, in a particular direction:
  I tripped on a piece of wire that someone had stretched across the path.
  She stretched out her hand and helped him from his chair.
• emerald /ˈem.ə.rəld/: noun a transparent, bright green, valuable stone that is often used in jewelry:
  a ring with a large emerald
  an emerald necklace/ring

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards )

Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

• witchcraft /ˈwɪtʃ.kræft/: noun [ U ] the activity of performing magic to help or harm other people

麦格教授全名是Minerva McGonagall。

邓布利多头衔是“国际魔法联合会会长、巫师协会会长、梅林爵士团一级魔法师”。

Questions exploded inside Harry’s head like fireworks and he couldn’t decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, “What does it mean, they await my owl?” “Gallopin’ Gorgons, that reminds me,” said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl — a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:

Dear Professor Dumbledore, Given Harry his letter.

Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather’s horrible. Hope you’re well. Hagrid

• stammer /ˈstæm.ɚ/: verb [ I or T ] to speak or say something with unusual pauses or repeated sounds, either because of speech problems or because of fear or nervousness :
  [ + speech ] “Wh-when can we g-go?” she stammered.
  He dialed 911 and stammered (out) his name and address.
• cart /kɑːrt/: noun [ C ] a vehicle with either two or four wheels, pulled by a horse and used for carrying goods:
  a horse and cart

• overcoat /ˈoʊ.vɚ.koʊt/: noun [ C ] a long thick coat worn in cold weather

• quill /kwɪl/: noun [ C ] any of the long sharp pointed hairs on the body of a porcupine

• parchment /ˈpɑːrtʃ.mənt/: noun the thin, dried skin of some animals that was used in the past for writing on, or a high-quality paper made to look like this:
  ancient parchment
  He’d been sick for a long time, and his skin was like parchment.

Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.

Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly. “Where was I?” said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

“He’s not going,” he said.

Hagrid grunted.

• clamp /klæmp/: verb (FASTEN) a device made of wood or metal that is used to hold two things together tightly:
  Carefully tighten the clamp until it firmly supports the pipette in a vertical position.

• grunt /ɡrʌnt/: noun (LOW SOUND) (of a pig) to make a low, rough noise:
  The pigs were grunting contentedly as they ate their food.

“I’d like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him,” he said.

“A what?” said Harry, interested.

“A Muggle,” said Hagrid, “it’s what we call nonmagic folk like them. An’ it’s your bad luck you grew up in a family o’ the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on.”

“We swore when we took him in we’d put a stop to that rubbish,” said Uncle Vernon, “swore we’d stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!”

“You knew?” said Harry. “You knew I’m a — a wizard?”

“Knew!” shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. “Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that school — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!”

• dratted: adj. Damned; confounded.

• spawn /spɑːn/: noun (EGGS) the eggs of fish, frogs, etc.

• rat /ræt/: noun (ANIMAL) a small rodent, larger than a mouse, that has a long tail and is considered to be harmful:
  Rats carry disease.
  I think we’ve got rats (= there are rats in our house).

• freak /friːk/: noun (STRANGE) a thing, person, animal, or event that is extremely unusual or unlikely, and not like any other of its type:
  I was born with black hair all over my back, like some sort of freak.
  The pearl is so big that it has been described as a freak of nature.
  humorous At my school you were considered to be a freak if you weren’t interested in sports.

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

“Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you’d be just the same, just as strange, just as — as — abnormal — and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!”

• blow /bloʊ/ up: noun (STORM) When a storm blows up, it begins.

Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, “Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!”

“CAR CRASH!” roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. “How could a car crash kill Lily an’ James Potter? It’s an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin’ his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!”

“But why? What happened?” Harry asked urgently.

The anger faded from Hagrid’s face. He looked suddenly anxious. “I never expected this,” he said, in a low, worried voice. “I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin’ hold of yeh, how much yeh didn’t know. Ah, Harry, I don’ know if I’m the right person ter tell yeh — but someone’s gotta — yeh can’t go off ter Hogwarts not knowin’.”

He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

“Well, it’s best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can’t tell yeh everythin’, it’s a great myst’ry, parts of it. . . .”

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, “It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it’s incredible yeh don’t know his name, everyone in our world knows —”

“Who?”

“Well — I don’ like sayin’ the name if I can help it. No one does.”

“Why not?”

“Gulpin’ gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went . . . bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was . . .”

Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.

• gulp /ɡʌlp/: verb to eat or drink food or liquid quickly by swallowing it in large amounts, or to make a swallowing movement because of fear, surprise, or excitement:
  She gulped down her drink and made a hasty exit.
  When it was his turn to dive, he gulped and stepped up onto the diving board.

“Could you write it down?” Harry suggested.

“Nah — can’t spell it. All right — Voldemort.” Hagrid shuddered. “Don’ make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin’ fer followers. Got ’em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o’ his power, ’cause he was gettin’ himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn’t know who ter trust, didn’t dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches . . . terrible things happened. He was takin’ over. ’Course, some stood up to him — an’ he killed ’em. Horribly. One o’ the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore’s the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn’t dare try takin’ the school, not jus’ then, anyway.

• shudder /ˈʃʌd.ɚ/: verb [ I ] to shake suddenly with very small movements because of a very unpleasant thought or feeling:
  The sight of so much blood made him shudder.
  She shuddered at the thought of kissing him.

“Now, yer mum an’ dad were as good a witch an’ wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an’ girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst’ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get ’em on his side before . . . probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin’ ter do with the Dark Side.

“Maybe he thought he could persuade ’em . . . maybe he just wanted ’em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an’ — an’ —”

10 月 30 日伏地魔杀死了哈利的父母

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.

• foghorn /ˈfɑːɡ.hɔːrn/: noun [ C ] a horn that makes a very loud sound to warn ships that they are close to land or other ships:
  He has a voice like a foghorn (= an unpleasantly loud voice).

“Sorry,” he said. “But it’s that sad — knew yer mum an’ dad, an’ nicer people yeh couldn’t find — anyway . . .

“You-Know-Who killed ’em. An’ then — an’ this is the real myst’ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin’ by then. But he couldn’t do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That’s what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an’ dad an’ yer house, even — but it didn’t work on you, an’ that’s why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill ’em, no one except you, an’ he’d killed some o’ the best witches an’ wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts — an’ you was only a baby, an’ you lived.”

伏地魔杀死了McKinnons夫妇、Bones夫妇、Prewetts夫妇。

Something very painful was going on in Harry’s mind. As Hagrid’s story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Hagrid was watching him sadly.

“Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore’s orders. Brought yeh ter this lot . . .”

“Load of old tosh,” said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.

“Now, you listen here, boy,” he snarled, “I accept there’s something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn’t have cured — and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world’s better off without them in my opinion — asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they’d come to a sticky end —”

• snarl /snɑːrl/: verb (SOUND) (especially of dogs) to make a deep, rough sound while showing the teeth, usually in anger or (of people) to speak or say something angrily and forcefully:
  The dogs started to snarl at each other so I had to separate them.
  [ + speech ] “Go to hell!”, he snarled.

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, “I’m warning you, Dursley — I’m warning you — one more word . . .”

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon’s courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

• beard /bɪrd/: noun [ C ] the hair that some men allow to grow on the lower part of their face:
  a flowing white beard
  He’s growing a beard.
  He shaved off his beard but kept his mustache.

• giant /ˈdʒaɪ.ənt/: noun (VERY TALL PERSON) an imaginary creature like a man but extremely tall, strong, and usually very cruel, appearing especially in children’s stories

“That’s better,” said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.

Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.

“But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?”

“Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That’s the biggest myst’ry, see . . . he was gettin’ more an’ more powerful — why’d he go?

“Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he’s still out there, bidin’ his time, like, but I don’ believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of ’em came outta kinda trances. Don’ reckon they could’ve done if he was comin’ back.

• codswallop /ˈkɑːdzˌwɑː.ləp/: noun [ U ] nonsense:
  What a load of codswallop!

“Most of us reckon he’s still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. ’Cause somethin’ about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin’ goin’ on that night he hadn’t counted on — I dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin’ about you stumped him, all right.”

Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He’d spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn’t they been turned into warty toads every time they’d tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he’d once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?

• clout /klaʊt/: noun (POWER) to hit someone or something with the hand or with a heavy object:
  Quigley clouted me smartly across the side of the head.
• bully /ˈbʊl.i/: noun [ C ] someone who hurts or frightens someone else, often over a period of time, and often forcing them to do something that they do not want to do:
  You’re just a big bully!
  Teachers usually know who the bullies are in a class.
• sorcerer /ˈsɔːr.sɚ.ɚ/: noun [ C ] in stories, a man who has magical powers and who uses them to harm other people

“Hagrid,” he said quietly, “I think you must have made a mistake. I don’t think I can be a wizard.”

To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.

• chuckle /ˈtʃʌk.əl/: verb [ I ] to laugh quietly:
  She was chuckling as she read the letter.

“Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?”

Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it . . . every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry . . . chased by Dudley’s gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach . . . dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he’d managed to make it grow back . . . and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn’t he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn’t he set a boa constrictor on him?

• furious /ˈfʊr.i.əs/: adjective (ANGRY) extremely angry:
  I was late and he was furious with me.
  He’s furious about/at the way he’s been treated.
  We had a furious debate about the death penalty.
• revenge /rɪˈvendʒ/: noun [ U ] harm done to someone as a punishment for harm that they have done to someone else:
  She took/got/exacted (her) revenge on him for leaving her by smashing up his car.
  He is believed to have been shot by a rival gang in revenge for the shootings last week.

Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.

• positively /ˈpɑː.zə.t̬ɪv.li/: adverb (WELL) in a good or positive way:
  I don’t respond very positively to being bossed around - it just makes me angry
• beaming /ˈbiː.mɪŋ/: adjective used to describe a smile that is very wide and happy, or someone who is smiling in this way:
  a beaming smile

“See?” said Hagrid. “Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you’ll be right famous at Hogwarts.”

But Uncle Vernon wasn’t going to give in without a fight.

“Haven’t I told you he’s not going? ” he hissed. “He’s going to Stonewall High and he’ll be grateful for it. I’ve read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —”

• hiss /hɪs/: verb to make a noise like a long s sound:
  Why do snakes hiss?
  The iron was hissing and spluttering.
  People in the audience were hissing their disapproval.
• wand /wɑːnd/: noun [ C ] a special thin stick waved by a person who is performing magic tricks:
  The fairy godmother waved her magic wand over the cabbages and they turned into horses.

“If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won’t stop him,” growled Hagrid. “Stop Lily an’ James Potter’s son goin’ ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name’s been down ever since he was born. He’s off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won’t know himself. He’ll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an’ he’ll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled—”

“I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!” yelled Uncle Vernon.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, “NEVER —” he thundered, “— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT OF — ME!”

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig’s tail poking through a hole in his trousers.

• trousers /ˈtraʊ.zɚz/: noun [ plural ] a piece of clothing that covers the lower part of the body from the waist to the feet, consisting of two cylinder-shaped parts, one for each leg, that are joined at the top:
  I need a new pair of trousers to go with this jacket.
  Why aren’t you wearing any trousers, David?

电影里是因为达力偷吃蛋糕，才被变的猪尾巴。

Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

• roar /rɔːr/: verb to make a long, loud, deep sound:
  We could hear the lions roaring at the other end of the zoo.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

“Shouldn’ta lost me temper,” he said ruefully, “but it didn’t work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn’t much left ter do.”

He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.

“Be grateful if yeh didn’t mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts,” he said. “I’m — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin’. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an’ get yer letters to yeh an’ stuff — one o’ the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job —”

“Why aren’t you supposed to do magic?” asked Harry.

“Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an’ everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore.”

• gamekeeper /ˈɡeɪmˌkiː.pɚ/: noun [ C ] a person whose job is to take care of wild animals and birds that are kept especially for hunting

海格三年级的时候被学校开除了，但是邓布利多让他留下来看守狩猎场。开除的原因海格不愿意讲。

“Why were you expelled?” “It’s gettin’ late and we’ve got lots ter do tomorrow,” said Hagrid loudly. “Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an’ that.”

He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.

“You can kip under that,” he said. “Don’ mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o’ dormice in one o’ the pockets.”

• wriggle /ˈrɪɡ.əl/: verb to twist your body, or move part of your body, with small, quick movements:
  A large worm wriggled in the freshly dug earth.
  Baby Martha was wriggling her toes in the sand.
• dormouse /ˈdɔːr.maʊs/: noun [ C ] a small animal that looks like a mouse with a long tail covered in fur