That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he’d never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.
‘Where’s my letter?’ said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. ‘Who’s writing to me?’
‘No one. It was addressed to you by mistake,’ said Uncle Vernon shortly. ‘I have burned it.’
‘It was not a mistake,’ said Harry angrily. ‘It had my cupboard on it.’
‘SILENCE!’ yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.
‘Er–yes, Harry–about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking … you’re really getting a bit big for it … we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley’s second bedroom.’
‘Why?’ said Harry.
‘Don’t ask questions!’ snapped his uncle. ‘Take this stuff upstairs, now.’
The Dursleys’ house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon’s sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn’t fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old cine-camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over next door’s dog; in the corner was Dudley’s first-ever television set, which he’d put his foot through when his favourite programme had been cancelled; there was a large bird-cage which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air-rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they’d never been touched.
Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Bloomsbury. Kindle Edition.
Knowledge Point
今天的内容包括两部分。
上半部分主要是Uncle Vernon找Harry聊天的对话内容。聊天的内容还是比较简单易懂的。从对话中我们得知Uncle Vernon把那封信烧了，说那封信的地址错了，不是写给他的。可是Harry明明记得信封上的地址里提到了“cupborad”，就是Harry一直以来住的地方。或许正是因为如此，Uncle Vernon“命令”Harry搬出他的“cupborad”，住进Dudley的备用卧室。纵然Harry有满肚子的疑问，也只能保持沉默，因为他不可以“ask questions”。
下半部分主要是描写了Harry的“新家”。
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The Dursleys’ house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon’s sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn’t fit into his first bedroom.
⇒ Dursley家有四间卧室:一间是给Uncle Vernon和Aunt Petunia住的，一间是给客人住的(通常是Uncle Vernon的妹妹Marge)，一间是Dudley睡觉的地方，还有一间是Dudley放满了第一间卧室放不下的玩具和其他东西。 -
It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room.
⇒ Harry 只跑了一趟楼梯就把他所有的东西从碗柜里搬到了这个房间。 -
He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken.
⇒ 他坐在床上环顾四周。这里几乎所有的东西都坏了。 -
The month-old cine-camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over next door’s dog; in the corner was Dudley’s first-ever television set, which he’d put his foot through when his favourite programme had been cancelled; there was a large bird-cage which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air-rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.
⇒ month-old 一个月大的
⇒ parrot [noun] (UK /ˈpær.ət/ US /ˈper.ət/) 【参见图片】
parrot
⇒ 只用了一个月的摄像机放在一辆还能动的小坦克顶上，Dudley有一次开着它撞过邻居家的小狗；角落里放着Dudley的第一台电视机，当他最喜欢的节目被取消时，他就把它踩坏了；那儿有个巨大的鸟笼，里面曾装着只鹦鹉，后来Dudley在学校里拿它换了支货真价实的气步枪，那支枪高高地放在架子上，枪头因为Dudley曾在上面坐过而完全扭曲了。
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Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they’d never been touched.
⇒ 其他书架上摆满了书。房间里只有这些东西看起来好像从来没有人碰过。
知识星球——读英语原著
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