Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn’t know what time it was and he couldn’t be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn’t risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.
He’d lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he’d been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn’t remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn’t imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn’t remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.
When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.
At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley’s gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley’s gang.
Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Bloomsbury. Kindle Edition.
Knowledge Point
今天的內(nèi)容是這一章節(jié)的最后幾段內(nèi)容。一邊讀，內(nèi)心也漸漸平靜下來(lái)。這幾段內(nèi)容很有代入感，交代了Harry這十年來(lái)的遭遇。雖然與Harry不曾有相同的經(jīng)歷，但是跟著文字也慢慢感覺(jué)能體會(huì)Harry當(dāng)時(shí)的心境了。
Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn’t know what time it was and he couldn’t be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn’t risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.
? sneak [verb] (UK ? /sni?k/ US ? /sni?k/)
If you sneak somewhere, you go there very quietly on foot, trying to avoid being seen or heard.
Harry在柜子里躺了很久，想著如果有一只表就好了。他不知道現(xiàn)在是什么時(shí)辰了，他也不確定Dursley是不是已經(jīng)入睡了。在那之前，他不敢冒險(xiǎn)偷溜到廚房找食物。He’d lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he’d been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn’t remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn’t imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn’t remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.
? strain [verb] (UK ? /stre?n/ US ? /stre?n/)
If you strain to do something, you make a great effort to do it when it is difficult to do.
? 自從他還是一個(gè)嬰兒，自從他的父母在車禍中去世，他和Dursleys生活了將近10年的時(shí)間，自他記事起痛苦的10年。他父母去世的時(shí)候，他不記得自己在車?yán)?。有的時(shí)候，在躺在柜子里很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間里他拼命回憶，會(huì)出現(xiàn)一種奇妙的幻象：一道耀眼的閃電般的綠光，和前額上一陣火辣辣的疼痛。他猜想，這就是車禍，盡管他無(wú)法想象那些綠光從何而來(lái)。他也完全記不起他的父母。他的姨媽和姨父從不提起他們，當(dāng)然也禁止他提任何問(wèn)題。屋里沒(méi)有和他們有關(guān)的任何照片。-
When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.
? wild-looking 【參見(jiàn)圖片】
looking serious, almost mean
? wave [verb] (UK ? /we?v/ US ? /we?v/) ~ move hand【參見(jiàn)圖片】
? merrily [adverb] (UK ? /?mer.?l.i/ US ? /?mer.?l.i/)
showing happiness or enjoyment
? shake sb's hand/shake sb by the hand
to hold someone's hand and move it up and down, especially when you meet them for the first time or when you make an agreement with them
? 在他小的時(shí)候，Harry一直夢(mèng)想著某個(gè)不知名的親戚來(lái)把他帶走，但是從來(lái)沒(méi)有發(fā)生過(guò)；Dursleys是他僅有的家人。不僅如此，有時(shí)他會(huì)想（或者希望）街上的陌生人似乎認(rèn)識(shí)他。而且，他們是一些非常奇怪的陌生人。有一次，Petunia姨媽和Dudley出去買東西時(shí)，一個(gè)戴著紫色禮帽的小個(gè)子男人向他鞠了一躬。Petunia姨媽怒氣沖沖地問(wèn)Harry是否認(rèn)識(shí)那個(gè)人，然后就趕緊把他們帶出了商店，什么也沒(méi)買。有一次，一位看起來(lái)很嚴(yán)肅身著綠裝的女士興高采烈地向他揮手。有一天，一個(gè)穿紫色長(zhǎng)外套的禿頭男人在街上和他握手，然后一言不發(fā)地走開(kāi)了。這些人最奇怪的地方是，Harry一走近，他們就消失了。
wild-looking
wave me goodbye At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley’s gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley’s gang.
? 在學(xué)校，Harry沒(méi)有一個(gè)朋友。大家都知道， Dudley那伙人最恨的就是穿著他松松垮垮的舊衣服、戴著一副破眼鏡的怪人Harry Potter，而且誰(shuí)也不愿意去跟Dudley一伙人作對(duì)。
