【英语原著】哈利·波特与魔法石 （38）

Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.
‘Make it move,’ he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn’t budge.
‘Do it again,’ Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.
‘This is boring,’ Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.
Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn’t have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself –no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up –at least he got to visit the rest of the house.

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

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Knowledge Point

• Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.
  ⇒ nose pressed against the glass 【参见图片】
  英语中的against表现出一种“对立；互相抗衡”的意味。鼻子向玻璃，玻璃向鼻子，互相有力的作用。
  ⇒ glisten [verb] (UK ​ /ˈɡlɪs.ən/ US ​ /ˈɡlɪs.ən/)
  to shine by reflecting light from a wet or smooth surface
  ⇒ coil [noun] (UK ​ /kɔɪl/ US ​ /kɔɪl/)【参见图片】
  a length of rope, hair, or wire, arranged into a series of circles, one above or outside the other

  
  
  nose pressed against the glass
  
  
  coil

• ‘Make it move,’ he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn’t budge.
  ⇒ whine [verb] (UK ​ /waɪn/ US ​ /waɪn/)
  to make a long, high, sad sound
  ⇒ budge [verb] (UK ​ /bʌdʒ/ US ​ /bʌdʒ/) ~ move
  If something will not budge or you cannot budge it, it will not move.

• ‘Do it again,’ Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.
  ⇒ rap [verb] (UK ​ /ræp/ US ​ /ræp/) -pp- ~ hit
  to hit or say something suddenly and forcefully
  ⇒ smartly [adverb] (UK ​ /ˈsmɑːt.li/ US ​ /ˈsmɑːrt.li/) ~ quick
  quickly or forcefully
  ⇒ knuckle [noun] (UK ​ /ˈnʌk.əl/ US ​ /ˈnʌk.əl/) 【参见图片】
  one of the joints in the hand where your fingers bend, especially where your fingers join on to the main part of your hand

  
  
  knuckle

• ‘This is boring,’ Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.
  ⇒ moan [verb] (UK ​ /məʊn/ US ​ /moʊn/) ~ sound
  to make a long, low sound of pain, suffering, or another strong emotion
  ⇒ shuffle [verb] (UK ​ /ˈʃʌf.əl/ US ​ /ˈʃʌf.əl/)
  to walk by pulling your feet slowly along the ground rather than lifting them

• Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake.
  ⇒ snake tank 【参见图片】
  tank为我们熟知的含义是“坦克”，但是在这里“容器”，根据上下文可以知道是蛇呆的地方。
  ⇒ intently [adverb] (UK ​ /ɪnˈtent.li/ US ​ /ɪnˈtent.li/)
  in a way that gives all your attention to something

  
  
  snake tank

• He wouldn’t have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself –no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long.
  ⇒ drum [verb] (UK ​ /drʌm/ US ​ /drʌm/ -mm-)
  to hit a surface regularly and make a sound like a drum, or to make something do this
  ⇒ 如果它自己郁郁寡欢而死的话，Harry一点都不会感到惊讶。——没有伙伴，除了愚蠢的人类一天到晚试图敲打玻璃打扰它。

• It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up –at least he got to visit the rest of the house.
  ⇒ hammer [verb] (UK ​ /ˈhæm.ər/ US ​ /ˈhæm.ɚ/) ~ hit with force
  to hit or kick something with a lot of force
  hammer的作为名词时意思是“锤子”，用锤子敲的方式很野蛮。
  ⇒ 和用壁柜做卧室相比，Harry觉得这儿更糟糕。虽然唯一的访客就是他的阿姨Petunia，用力敲门来叫他起床——但至少他可以参观屋子的其他地方。（不像这条蛇，永远只能呆在这里面哪也去不了。）

知识星球——读英语原著