【英语原著】哈利·波特与魔法石 （5）

But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn’t help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr Dursley couldn’t bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the get-ups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren’t young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something … yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on, and a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills.

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

Knowledge Point

• "But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else."
  ⇒ on the edge of twon
  先来看一下关于edge的解释：
  The edge of something is the place or line where it stops, or the part of it that is furthest from the middle.
  从上文来看，Mr Dursley就要快要进城了。
  ⇒ be driven out of … 被驱赶出…
  由于一些事，钻机被驱逐出了他的思绪。很形象地表现出其他的事占据了大脑，而把刚才在想的事情赶走了。（是什么事那么有吸引力呢？！）

• "As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn’t help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about."
  ⇒ can not help doing sth 情不自禁做某事
  ⇒ 句末的about作副词，在附近；在周围

• "People in cloaks."
  ⇒ in在这里表示“穿着”
  ⇒ 认识一下cloak，长袍；披风。
  魔法师的着装～

• "Mr Dursley couldn’t bear people who dressed in funny clothes –the get-ups you saw on young people!"
  ⇒ Mr Dursley还真是和Magic有关的任何事物都有仇啊～在开篇就已经介绍过了，对于“anything strange or mysterious”都无法忍受（bear）。
  ⇒ 两处定语从句。一处由“who”引导；一处省略了that，the get-ups (that) you saw。
  ⇒ get-ups是get-up的复数形式，“服装；穿戴”，尤其是奇装异服。
  千万不要对着美女说，“Your get-up is so good.” （怕你被打，^_）

• "He supposed this was some stupid new fashion."
  ⇒ 这句宾语从句很简单。
  ⇒ stupid new……
  两个形容词连续排列的表达方式形容fashion。
  当然，两个以上的形容词也是可以的，那么排列方式是？去找下语法书，里面肯定有哦～(o^^o)

• "He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by."
  ⇒ to drum one’s fingers on sth
  用手指有节奏地敲打某物
  ⇒ steering wheel 方向盘
  a handwheel that is used for steering
  ⇒ ... his eyes fell on...
  传神得描写了一个动作，眼神落在某处。比起使用look at这类烂大街的词是不是在表达上丰富了许多。
  ⇒ a huddle of 一团
  a lot of 表示多，但是huddle更具表现力。因为huddle有“crowd together; nestle cosely”之意。描写出这些weirdos挤成一团。（不打到一定数量，怎么crowd together呢~(o^^o)）
  ⇒ weirdos是weirdo的复数形式，“古怪的人；奇怪的人”。
  ⇒ standing quite close by 非谓语结构
  close by = near

• "Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren’t young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!"
  ⇒ enrage verb
  to cause someone to become very angry
  从今往后，angry有了高级词 enrage 咯～
  ⇒ 是什么又让 Mr Dursley 光火了？原来他看见当中几个人一点都不年轻。为什么那个男人非要比把自己弄的比他还要老呢，非要穿着一件翠绿色的长袍！

• "The nerve of him!"
  ⇒ 他可真是厚颜无耻！对这句话译者是这么翻译的：“搞什么鬼！”

• "But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt –these people were obviously collecting for something … yes, that would be it."
  ⇒ it struck Mr Dursley that...
  strike? （Mr Dursley是被什么砸到了？开个小玩笑～）
  这里的意思是：to cause someone to have a feeling or idea about something
  If a thought or idea strikes you, you suddenly think of it.
  突然之间...闪现在脑海；猛然意识到。
  一句很好的例句：
  Sitting at her desk, she was struck by the thought that there had to be something more to life. （她坐在书桌前，突然意识到生活一定还意味着更多的东西。）
  ⇒ silly stunt 愚蠢的花招，噱头
  stunt: something that is to get attention for the person or the people responsible for it
  引人注目的花招或噱头
  ⇒ yes, that would be it. （对，就是这样）

• "The traffic moved on, and a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills."
  ⇒ 终于终于，Mr Dursley 终于到公司了；终于终于，他的心思又回到钻机上了。

  
  【英语原著】哈利·波特与魔法石 （5）