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
今天的内容是这一章节的最后几段内容。一边读，内心也渐渐平静下来。这几段内容很有代入感，交代了Harry这十年来的遭遇。虽然与Harry不曾有相同的经历，但是跟着文字也慢慢感觉能体会Harry当时的心境了。
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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 /sniːk/ US /sniːk/)
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，想着如果有一只表就好了。他不知道现在是什么时辰了，他也不确定Dursley是不是已经入睡了。在那之前，他不敢冒险偷溜到厨房找食物。 -
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 /streɪn/ US /streɪn/)
If you strain to do something, you make a great effort to do it when it is difficult to do.
⇒ 自从他还是一个婴儿，自从他的父母在车祸中去世，他和Dursleys生活了将近10年的时间，自他记事起痛苦的10年。他父母去世的时候，他不记得自己在车里。有的时候，在躺在柜子里很长的时间里他拼命回忆，会出现一种奇妙的幻象：一道耀眼的闪电般的绿光，和前额上一阵火辣辣的疼痛。他猜想，这就是车祸，尽管他无法想象那些绿光从何而来。他也完全记不起他的父母。他的姨妈和姨父从不提起他们，当然也禁止他提任何问题。屋里没有和他们有关的任何照片。 -
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 【参见图片】
looking serious, almost mean
⇒ wave [verb] (UK /weɪv/ US /weɪv/) ~ move hand【参见图片】
⇒ merrily [adverb] (UK /ˈmer.əl.i/ US /ˈmer.əl.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
⇒ 在他小的时候，Harry一直梦想着某个不知名的亲戚来把他带走，但是从来没有发生过；Dursleys是他仅有的家人。不仅如此，有时他会想（或者希望）街上的陌生人似乎认识他。而且，他们是一些非常奇怪的陌生人。有一次，Petunia姨妈和Dudley出去买东西时，一个戴着紫色礼帽的小个子男人向他鞠了一躬。Petunia姨妈怒气冲冲地问Harry是否认识那个人，然后就赶紧把他们带出了商店，什么也没买。有一次，一位看起来很严肃身着绿装的女士兴高采烈地向他挥手。有一天，一个穿紫色长外套的秃头男人在街上和他握手，然后一言不发地走开了。这些人最奇怪的地方是，Harry一走近，他们就消失了。
wild-looking
wave me goodbye
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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.
⇒ 在学校，Harry没有一个朋友。大家都知道， Dudley那伙人最恨的就是穿着他松松垮垮的旧衣服、戴着一副破眼镜的怪人Harry Potter，而且谁也不愿意去跟Dudley一伙人作对。
知识星球——读英语原著
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