The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.
Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’.
‘Hurry up, boy!’ shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. ‘What are you doing, checking for letter-bombs?’ He chuckled at his own joke.
Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.
Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust and flipped over the postcard.
‘Marge’s ill,’ he informed Aunt Petunia. ‘Ate a funny whelk …’
‘Dad!’ said Dudley suddenly. ‘Dad, Harry’s got something!’
Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.
‘That’s mine!’ said Harry, trying to snatch it back.

Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Bloomsbury. Kindle Edition.

Knowledge Point

• The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.
  ? yellowish [adjective] (UK ? /?jel.??.??/ US ? /?jel.o?.??/) also yellowy
  slightly yellow
  ? parchment [noun] (UK ? /?pɑ?t?.m?nt/ US ? /?pɑ?rt?.m?nt/) 【參見圖片】
  Parchment is a kind of thick yellowish paper. （仿羊皮紙）

  
  
  parchment
  
  

  ? emerald [adjective] (UK ? /?em.?.r?ld/ US ? /?em.?.r?ld/) ALSO emerald green
  [noun] 翡翠，綠寶石 【參見圖片】
  a transparent, bright green, valuable stone that is often used in jewellery

  
  
  emerald

• Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’.
  ? wax seal 蠟封 【參見圖片】

  
  
  wax seal
  
  

  ? Sealing wax is a malleable material which, after melting, quickly hardens (onto paper, parchment, ribbons and wire, and other material) forming a bond that is difficult to separate without noticeable tampering. Sealing wax is primarily used to seal envelopes or documents.
  ? Hogwarts acceptance letters were closed with a purple wax seal bearing a large "H" and the four animals representing the four Hogwarts Houses. 【參見圖片】

  
  
  sealing wax

• ‘Hurry up, boy!’ shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. ‘What are you doing, checking for letter-bombs?’ He chuckled at his own joke.
  ? letter bomb [noun] (UK ? /?let.? ?b?m/ US ? /?let?.? ?bɑ?m/) 郵件炸彈
  a small bomb that is put in an envelope or parcel and posted to someone

• Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.
  ? hand [verb]
  to put something into someone's hand from your own hand

• Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust and flipped over the postcard.
  ? rip [verb] (UK ? /r?p/ US ? /r?p/ -pp-)
  to remove something quickly, without being careful
  ? snort [verb] (UK ? /sn??t/ US ? /sn??rt/)
  When people or animals snort, they breathe air noisily out through their noses. People sometimes snort in order to express disapproval or amusement. 噴鼻息 (有時(shí)表示不贊同或可笑)
  ? disgust [noun] (UK ? /d?s?ɡ?st/ US ? /d?s?ɡ?st/)
  a strong feeling of disapproval and dislike at a situation, person's behaviour, etc.
  ? flip [verb] (UK ? /fl?p/ US ? /fl?p/ -pp-)
  If you flip something, you turn it over quickly one or more times, and if something flips, it turns over quickly.

• ‘Marge’s ill,’ he informed Aunt Petunia. ‘Ate a funny whelk …’
  ? whelk [noun] (UK ? /welk/ US ? /welk/) 【參見圖片】
  a soft sea creature, similar to a snail, that lives in a hard shell

  
  
  whelk

• Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.
  ? be on the point of (doing) sth
  to be going to do something very soon

• ‘That’s mine!’ said Harry, trying to snatch it back.
  ? snatch [verb] (UK ? /sn?t?/ US ? /sn?t?/) ~ take quickly
  to take hold of something suddenly and roughly

知識(shí)星球——讀英語(yǔ)原著