CHAPTER ONE – THE BOY WHO LIVED
1．Sorcerer – One who practices sorcery; a wizard.
这是Harry Potter的身份，一个巫师，一个男巫师；对应的女巫师为Sorceress.
2．The boy who lived.
这里的’lived’是’活着’的意思而不是’居住’，这里它是一个不及物动词(vi)，我们可以再举几个相同的例子：
My grandfather is still living.
Kings in history wanted to live forever, but none of them succeeded.
Live and Learn! 活到老,学到老.
3．Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
这里的’Of number four, Privet Drive’是Dursley家的住址，Drive在字典中有’机动车道’的意思，如果这样的话Dursley家就临着这条4号Privet Drive’机动车道。Privet是欧洲的一种叫’女贞’的植物，这里大可不必翻译为’女贞大街’，可直接使用音译，其中文版好像用的就是其音译’普里怀特’。
4．They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.
这里的’There were the last people … to be involved in anything strange or mysterious,’意思就是’他们最不希望被卷入到任何奇怪或者神秘的事情中’; ‘hold with’ 有容忍的意思，而’nonsense’则有’无稽之谈’、’胡说’之意。所以整个意思就是’他们不相信这些无稽之谈’。
5．He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.
Beefy: 结实的、粗壮的。
Blonde: 金发碧眼的。
通过读这段对Dursley一家人的描写，大家也基本上能猜测出Dursley一家人的德行了^_^。
6．They hadn’t met for several years.
整篇故事以’一般过去时’贯穿，所以这里使用过去完成时大家该很容易理解。
7．In fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.
Good-for-nothing – Having little worth; useless. 无用的, 像饭桶般的
如：Get out of here, you good-for-nothing fool!
8．The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.
这是一个’过去将来时’的句子；
Shudder: 战栗、发抖。
9．None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.
Tawny: 茶色的;
Owl: 猫头鹰;
Flutter: 拍翅地飞行。
猫头鹰出现了，离我们的主人公出现就不远了。
10．Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.
Peck somebody on the cheek: 匆匆的吻一下…面颊
Kiss somebody good-bye: 吻别^_^
Have a tantrum: 发脾气
11．Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat.
这是人们的一个常见的动作序列，’眨眨眼睛，再凝视’。
12．As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.
Think of something;
Nothing except …;
An order of …; 什么的订单
13．But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else.
A Be driven out of somebody’s mind by B. 关于A的想法被B事情所替代了。
14．He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
他的手指敲击着方向盘。
Drum: To perform (a piece or tune) on or as if on a drum. 好象击鼓演奏
15．Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him.
Fear flooded him. 很好的一个句子，大家要牢记。Fear像洪水一般，足可见Dursley恐惧的程度。
16． 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 changed his mind.
这一连串的动作描写很是传神亚, 专业作家笔下的文字和我们平时看到的就是不一样。
Dash: 飞跑
Snap at somebody: 厉声对…说
Seize something: 抓住
17．Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!
Muggle: 这里就应该指不会巫术的人，至于这个词估计是作者罗琳缔造的。
18．Shooting star、Bonfire、Whisper
Shooting star: 流星
Bonfire: 大篝火, 营火
Whisper: 私语
19．You haven’t heard from your sister lately, have you?
还记得现在完成时的反问句如何构成么？这句帮你回顾一下。
20．”Funny stuff on the new,” Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting
stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…".
Stuff 使用率极高的一个单词，其能指带的东西也很广，如：
There’s some white stuff on this plate. 这个盘子上有些白色的东西。
Don’t give me that stuff about being tired. 不要对我说累了之类的话。
Mumble喃喃而语, 咕哝
In town – 在城里, 类似的还有：
Down town – (从郊区或郊外高地)进城
Uptown – 住宅区
Downtown – 中心商业区
21．"What’s his name again? Howard, isn’t it?"
当我们记不清某个人的名字的时候，我们也可以这么来确认：
What’s the name of this guy in red? Tom, isn’t it?
22．While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden.
Creep – 蹑手蹑脚, 蹑足前进
Peer – 凝视，前面我们提到stare也有凝视的意思。
23．How very wrong he was.
Very加强这句的色彩，’他真是大错特错了’。
24．Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at
least twice. This man’s name was Albus Dumbledore.
这段话都是描述一个伟大的男巫师 – Albus Dumbledore的，多读上几遍，记住他的样子。
His nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. 一种常见的虚拟语气手法。… as if/though …。
25．Lighter、flicker、Pop、Pinprick、beady-eyed和Pavement
Cigarette Lighter – 打火机
Flicker -使摇曳使摇摆不定地动He flicked the cigartte lighter open.
Pop -砰的响声The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.
Pinprick -小孔The only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of a cat.
Beady-eyed -目光锐利的
Pavement – 公路、人行道
26．Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.
Fancy seeing you here. 想不到在这儿见到你了, 很常见的一句寒暄用语。
27．"But that’s no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."
Lose one’s head 失去理智，疯狂的
Downright 完全地、彻底地He was downright rude to me.
In broad daylight/day 在大白天
28．It all gets so confusing if we keep saying ‘You-Know-Who.’ I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort’s name.
两个很好的句型：
It gets confusing if ….
I have never seen any reason to be frightened of doing something.
Voldemort – 本小说中最恐怖、最黑暗的男巫师.
29．Everyone knows you’re the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."
"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."
交代出Dumbledore的威力，连Voldemort都惧怕三分。但是Voldemort有着Dumbledore所不具备也不愿意具备的’邪恶和欲望’。
Flatter – 过分夸赞。Oh, you flatter me.
30．It’s just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"
Astounding -令人惊骇的
In the name of – 以…的名义
31．They’re the only family he has left now. 他们是Harry剩下的唯一的亲人了。
32．I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. 我可以用我的生命担保。
33．If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it.
如果说这辆摩托是巨型的话，那么它跟坐在上面的人比起来简直不算什么。
Astride – 跨着 Astride a horse跨着马
34．Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.
又是一连串传神的动作描写，wipe-> swing-> kick.
评论