时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:跟希哥学英语


英语课

   THE BOY WHO LIVED


  Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proudto say that they were perfectly3 normal, thank you very much. Theywere the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strangeor mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
  Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, whichmade drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, althoughhe did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blondeand had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in veryuseful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences,spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudleyand in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.
  The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had asecret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discoverit. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out aboutthe Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn'tmet for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn'thave a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husbandwere as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shudderedto think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in thestreet. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too,but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reasonfor keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing witha child like that.
  哈利波特:大难不死的男孩
  When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesdayour story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside tosuggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happeningall over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his mostboring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as shewrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.
  None of them noticed a large, tawny4 owl2 flutter 3 past the window.
  At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase5, peckedMrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye butmissed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing hiscereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he leftthe house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.
  It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the firstsign of something peculiar6 -- a cat reading a map. For a second,Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen -- then he jerked 4 hishead around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing7 on thecorner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. Whatcould he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick ofthe light. Mr. Dursley blinked 6 and stared at the cat. It staredback. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, hewatched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign thatsaid Privet Drive -- no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't readmaps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put thecat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothingexcept a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.
  But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mindby something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, hecouldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangelydressed people about. People in cloaks 8. Mr. Dursley couldn't bearpeople who dressed in funny clothes -- the getups you saw on youngpeople! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed hisfingers on the steering8 wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle9 of theseweirdos standing 5 quite close by. They were whispering excitedlytogether. Mr. Dursley was enraged10 to see that a couple of themweren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was,and wearing an emerald-green cloak 7! The nerve of him! But then itstruck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt11 -- thesepeople were obviously collecting for something... yes, that wouldbe it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursleyarrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.
  Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his officeon the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder toconcentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls12 swoop13 ingpast in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; theypointed and gazed open- mouthed as owl 2 after owl sped overhead. Mostof them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley,however, had a perfectly 1 normal, owl-free morning. He yelled 10 atfive different people. He made several important telephone callsand shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime,when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road tobuy himself a bun from the bakery.
  He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passeda group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as hepassed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy 11. This bunch werewhispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collectingtin. It was on his way back past them, clutching 12 a large doughnutin a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.
  "The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, theirson, Harry 13"Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked backat the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, butthought better of it.
  He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office,snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changedhis mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache,thinking... no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusualname. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had ason called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephewwas called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have beenHarvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley;she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn'tblame her -- if he'd had a sister like that... but all the same,those people in cloaks...
  He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoonand when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still soworried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.
  "Sorry," he grunted14, as the tiny old man stumbled 14 and almostfell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the manwas wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at beingalmost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split 15 intoa wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersbystare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset metoday! Rejoice 16, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggleslike yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle andwalked off.
  Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged bya complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle,whatever that was. He was rattled15. He hurried to his car and setoff for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had neverhoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.
  As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thinghe saw -- and it didn't improve his mood -- was the tabby cat he'dspotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He wassure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.
  "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It justgave him a stern 17 look. Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursleywondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into thehouse. He was still determined16 not to mention anything to his wife.
  Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him overdinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter andhow Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley triedto act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into theliving room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:
  "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that thenation's owls 9 have been behaving very unusually today. Althoughowls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight,there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in everydirection since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owlshave suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowedhimself a grin 18. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffinwith the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"

1 perfectly
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
2 owl
n.猫头鹰,枭
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚,经常半夜后才睡觉。
3 flutter
vi.振翼,飘动,快速跳动;n.紧张,激动不安
  • Our surprise attack put the enemy into a flutter.我们的奇袭使敌人张皇失措。
  • They unfurled the flag and let it flutter in the wind.他们将旗展开让其迎风招展。
4 jerked
猛拉( jerk的过去式和过去分词 ); (使…)猝然一动[颤动]
  • He jerked the phone away from her. 他猛然一下从她那儿把电话抢走。
  • When she heard the news, she jerked upright in surprise. 当听到这则消息时,她惊讶得跳了起来。
5 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
6 blinked
眨眼睛( blink的过去式 ); 闪亮,闪烁
  • He blinked in the bright sunlight. 他在强烈的阳光下直眨眼睛。
  • The boy blinked up at me in some surprise. 那男孩有些吃惊地眨着眼看我。
7 cloak
n.斗蓬,披风,掩饰,幌子;vt.掩盖,掩饰
  • The snow covered up the fields with a white cloak.积雪给田野盖上了一件白色的外衣。
  • She threw a heavy woollen cloak over her shoulders.她把一件厚重的羊毛斗篷披在肩上。
8 cloaks
n.(尤指旧时的)披风( cloak的名词复数 );斗篷;外衣;战袍v.遮盖,掩盖( cloak的第三人称单数 )
  • On the left are the arrangements for the gentlemen's cloaks. 左边是放男客的外衣的地方。 来自辞典例句
  • I observed that they were both wrapped in cloaks, and appeared to conceal themselves. 我察觉他俩都包裹在外套里面,似乎有意隐藏自己。 来自辞典例句
9 owls
n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )
  • 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋,”我说,“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句
10 yelled
v.叫喊,号叫,叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )
  • He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
  • The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着,希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 uneasy
adj.心神不安的,担心的,令人不安的
  • He feels uneasy today.他今天心里感到不安。
  • She had an uneasy feeling that they were still following her.她有一种他们仍在跟踪她的不安感觉。
12 clutching
抓住,紧紧抓住( clutch的现在分词 ); (因害怕或痛苦)突然抓住
  • He was clutching the magazine lovingly with both hands. 他紧紧地捏着杂志,好像害怕琴会把它抢去似的。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • Children clutching empty bowls form a line. 紧紧抓着空碗的孩子们排成一队。
13 harry
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
14 stumbled
v.(不顺畅地)说( stumble的过去式和过去分词 );跌跌撞撞地走;绊脚;(说话、演奏等)出错
  • I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤,把脚脖子扭了。
  • The child stumbled and fell. 孩子绊了一下,摔倒了。
15 split
n.劈开,裂片,裂口;adj.分散的;v.分离,分开,劈开
  • Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了?
  • The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。
16 rejoice
vi.感到高兴,充满喜悦
  • We rejoice at every victory won by your people.我们为贵国人民取得的每一个胜利都感到高兴。
  • Let us rejoice together on this great occasion!在这样一个盛大的节日里,让我们共同欢庆吧!
17 stern
adj.严厉的,严格的,严峻的;n.船尾
  • The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。
  • The headmaster ruled the school with a stern discipline.校长治校严谨。
18 grin
n./vi.露齿而笑,咧嘴一笑
  • I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
  • She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。
标签: 口语
学英语单词
a tidal wave of crime
a twopenny halfpenny affair
Abel-beth-maachah
additive rate
after hours value
alnicoes
ammonium mucate
Amphibicorisae
anemia of myxedema
angle shot
antitechnologist
application valve pin
as suwar
ashen-faceds
at stake
auto-releaser
automatic spray washer
baaron
be immersed in
Bendazle
BRL-17421
Bukuishi
Bull Moose Party
cholesteatoma
civil commotion
close to tears
confirmation order
Corona Borealis Cluster
culhaven
D line
data bucket
digital scale
diphosphoinositides
dissatisfied customer
dognap
don't give me that
dorbank
drug-administration
elbow meter
entropy of the endomorphism
epencephala
flindosies
Gauss model
get off lightly
globe pliers
Gouves
Helmholtz-Lagrange theorem
hime
horizontal strip borer
Hyalellidae
hydaticus vittatus
ilesa
incapacitative
incidental inclusion
interests of the whole
international debt
kinara
metigate
molybdenum(iv) fluoride
monosized
morn
multihead automatic arc welding machine
non-educational
NZ claw type coupling
open systems interconnection architecture
ovatus crataegarius
overwinds
pachylaelaps squamosus
panel filling
Parisier-Parr-Pople method
phosphorin
pipe-to-soil potential
pododynamometer
Pooftas
prayering
Pseudaspidodera
rawa
saaddine
secondary test
secured loan
semiconductor thermoresistance
shrugged
Signal Needle Code
slipper spurge
sociology of leisure
speed-in
spruemaster
strength of joint
structural retrieval
sundel
thermoluminescent dosimetry
toughened polystyrene resin
tracheloplasty
transonic wing design
transverse carpal ligament
trim joist
unbuttonings
Viscum monoicum
voice band
Wakuya
Walpeup
yucca