— CHAPTER TWO —

The Vanishing Glass

Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys’ front door; it crept into their living-room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bobble hats – but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.
Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice which made the first noise of the day.

Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Bloomsbury. Kindle 版本.

Knowledge Point

⇒ vanish [verb]
If someone or something vanishes, they disappear suddenly or in a way that cannot be explained.
Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.
⇒ 第二章的故事发生在10年后，嗯嗯，小Harry也有10岁了。
The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys’ front door; it crept into their living-room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.
⇒ light up
to make or become light
⇒ the brass number four
Dursleys家的门牌号码是brass做的哟！
⇒ it crept into their living-room
太阳缓缓爬进了他们的客厅（描写得好形象好生动！）

the brass number four
Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed.
⇒ mantelpiece [noun]
a shelf above a fireplace, usually part of a frame that surrounds the fireplace

mantelpiece
Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bobble hats – but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother.
⇒ 这句话，好长好长ing～其实主要在描写照片里的内容。都是Dudley的照片，没有一张是有关小Harry的。（好可怜啊～～～）
⇒ bobble hat 顶部有小圆羊毛球的）羊毛帽子
a hat made from wool with a small, round wool ball on top

bobble hat

⇒ roundabout [noun]
traffic circle a place where three or more roads join and traffic must go around a circular area in the middle, rather than straight across

roundabout
roundabout
The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.
⇒ hold ～ contain
这里的hold是“容纳；包含”的意思。显而易见，家里完全没有第二个小孩的影子。
Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice which made the first noise of the day.
⇒ shrill [adjective]
having a loud and high sound that is unpleasant or painful to listen to