The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn’t think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs Potter was Mrs Dursley’s sister, but they hadn’t met for several years; 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. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn’t want Dudley mixing with a child like that.
Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Kindle Locations 48-53). Bloomsbury. Kindle Edition.
知识点
▷ find out about 找出;弄清有关…的情况;调查关于
⇒ I hope we can find out about it. （我希望我们能查清此事。）
▷ good-for-nothing [adjective] (not helpful or useful) 没有用处的，没有价值的
▷ sb shudder to think 某人一想到……就惴惴不安
⇒ I shudder to think what my parents will say when I tell them I've failed my exams. 我真不敢想如果告诉父母自己沒有通过考试他们会怎么说。
▷ mix with sb 和某人交往（混在一起）
▷ keep sb/sth away 远离某人或者某事
从句知多少
▷ The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.
→ ...everything they wanted... （限定性定语从句）
→ ...their greatest fear was that... （that引导的表语从句）
▷ They didn’t think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.
→ sb think that （that引导的宾语从句）
→ ...they could bear it... （it做形式宾语）
▷ Mrs Potter was Mrs Dursley’s sister, but they hadn’t met for several years; 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.
→ Mrs Dursley pretended (that) ... （宾语从句）
▷ The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street.
→ ...to think what... （what引导的宾语从句）
▷ The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him.
→ ...knew that... （that引导的宾语从句）
▷ This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn’t want Dudley mixing with a child like that.
→ 似乎是唯一不包含从句的句子了。
补充（it做形式宾语）： 当不定式（短语）、动名词（短语）或从句在某个句子中作宾语时，为保持句子结构平衡，避免句式结构的混乱，常用it作形式宾语，而将真正的宾语放在句尾。此时it仍只起先行引导作用，本身无词义。
知识星球——读英语原著
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