Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone（16）

Chapter 16 Through the Trapdoor

Harry suddenly found out that Hagrid had leaked it out the method to get across the monster,three-headed dog guarding the trapdoor,as a swap for a dragon egg.Convinced of the approaching severe outcome,Harry,Hermione and Ron steeled themselves to take actions to stop Snape from getting the Sorcerer's Srone when they realized that the leaving of Dumbledore was a safety loophole.

The obstacles to go further were not easy to be dealt with.Hagrid's three-headed monster could be conquered by music and Sprout's Devil's Snare by fire that Hermione ignited.The third one was made by McGonagall who transfigured the chessmen to alive but Ron sacrificed himself to help Harry win the chess.Furthermore,Hemione used her cool logic reasoning which assisted Harry in choosing the right potion(the puzzle was set by Snape).Finally,only Harry could be face-to-face with the evildoer.

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Words and phrases

 1.fret (about/over sth) | fret(that…) ：to be worried or unhappy and not able to relax 苦恼；烦躁；焦虑不安

   ◆ Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补

2.flock+ adv./prep: to go or gather together somewhere in large numbers 群集；聚集；蜂拥

    ◆ Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend. 这个周末有好几千人蜂拥到了海滩。

3.unsettled feeling 不安的感觉

4.cut sb↔ˈoff:to interrupt sb and stop them from speaking 打断（某人并阻止其讲话）

5.throw/cast caution to the wind(s):to stop caring about how dangerous sth might be; to start taking risks 不顾危险；鲁莽行事；冒险

6.out of ˈearshot (of sb/sth):too far away to hear sb/sth or to be heard 在听力范围之外

   ◆ We waited until Ted was safely out of earshot before discussing it. 我们一直等到特德保准听不见时才讨论这事

7.wheel around:to turn quickly or suddenly and face the opposite direction; to make sb/sth do this （使）迅速转身，猛然转身

   ◆ She wheeled around and started running. 她突然转身就跑。

8.lose/keep your temper (with sb):to fail/manage to control your anger 发脾气；忍住怒火

9.on sb's tail: following behind sb very closely, especially in a car （尤指开车）盯梢，尾随

10.come off it:( informal) used to disagree with sb rudely （粗鲁地表示不同意）住口

11. steel yourself to do sth:to prepare yourself to deal with sth unpleasant 准备对付；下决心应付

   ◆ He steeled himself to tell them the truth. 他硬下心来把实情告诉了他们。

12.close ˈin (on sb/sth):to move nearer to sb/sth, especially in order to attack them （尤指为了进攻）逼近，靠近

   ◆ The lions closed in on their prey. 狮子逼近它们的猎物

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Sentences

1.The days crept by,....

    日子悄然流逝

2.Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.

斯内普使他们都很紧张，在他们努力回忆如何制作遗忘药剂时紧盯着他们。

breathe down sb's ˈneck：( informal) to watch closely what sb is doing in a way that makes them feel anxious and/or annoyed 紧盯着某人看；看得某人发毛（或心烦）；监视

3.he couldn’t shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he’d forgotten to do, something important.

   他无法摆脱预感：忘了做一件很重要的事。

shake off =to get rid of sth 去除；摆脱