‘Thirty-six,’ he said, looking up at his mother and father. ‘That’s two less than last year.’
‘Darling, you haven’t counted Auntie Marge’s present, see, it’s here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy.’
‘All right, thirty-seven then,’ said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.
Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger too, because she said quickly, ‘And we’ll buy you another two presents while we’re out today. How’s that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?’
Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, ‘So I’ll have thirty … thirty …’
‘Thirty-nine, sweetums,’ said Aunt Petunia.
‘Oh.’ Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. ‘All right then.’
Uncle Vernon chuckled.
‘Little tyke wants his money’s worth, just like his father. Atta boy, Dudley!’ He ruffled Dudley’s hair.
At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a cine-camera, a remote-control aeroplane, sixteen new computer games and a video recorder. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone, looking both angry and worried.
Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Bloomsbury. Kindle Edition.
Knowledge Point
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Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.
⇒ tantrum [noun]
（又一次出现了，因为Dudley突然又要发脾气了。）
have/throw a tantrum
⇒ wolf [verb]
to eat a large amount of food very quickly
⇒ in case
In case means if something else should happen.
e.g. I think we should leave a little early, in case there’s a lot of traffic. -
Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger too, because she said quickly, ‘And we’ll buy you another two presents while we’re out today. How’s that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?’
⇒ scent [verb]
If you scent something, you have a feeling that something exists or is present.
e.g. We could scent danger/trouble/success.
⇒ popkin
Affectionate term used for a small child, from “poppet,” which is a kind of a puppet or doll.
Refer to https://www.hp-lexicon.org/thing/popkin/ -
‘Thirty-nine, sweetums,’ said Aunt Petunia.
⇒ sweetums
和“popkin”一样，“sweetums”也是Dudley诸多爱称中的一个，或许是Petunia太爱她儿子的缘故吧。 -
‘Oh.’ Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. ‘All right then.’
⇒ grab [verb]
If you grab something, you take it or pick it up suddenly and roughly. -
‘Little tyke wants his money’s worth, just like his father. Atta boy, Dudley!’ He ruffled Dudley’s hair.
⇒ little tyke
是Vernon对自己儿子的爱称。
⇒ attaboy
an expression of approval or exhortation 好样的 [美国英语] [slang]
⇒ ruffle [verb] 【参见图片】
If you ruffle someone's hair, you move your hand backwards and forwards through it as a way of showing your affection towards them.
ruffle
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At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a cine-camera, a remote-control aeroplane, sixteen new computer games and a video recorder.
⇒ unwrap [verb] 【参见图片】
When you unwrap something, you take off the paper, plastic, or other covering that is around it.
⇒ cine-camera
美版里使用的是“video camera”。
unwrap the gift
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He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone, looking both angry and worried.
⇒ rip sth off
to remove something very quickly and carelessly
⇒ wristwatch [noun] 【参见图片】
a watch that is worn on the wrist
⇒ looking both angry and worried
看起来既生气又着急
wristwatch
知识星球——读英语原著
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