【英语原著】哈利·波特与魔法石 （22）

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, ‘Yes – yes, you’re right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?’ She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.
‘Hagrid’s bringing him.’
‘You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?’
‘I would trust Hagrid with my life,’ said Dumbledore.
‘I’m not saying his heart isn’t in the right place,’ said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, ‘but you can’t pretend he’s not careless. He does tend to – what was that?’
A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorbike fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.
If the motorbike was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.

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

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Knowledge Point

• Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, ‘Yes – yes, you’re right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?’
  ⇒ swallow [verb]
  If you swallow, you make a movement in your throat as if you are swallowing something, often because you are nervous or frightened.
  (常因紧张或害怕而) 做吞咽动作
  Professor McGonagall改变了想法所以话到嘴边又咽了下去。

• She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.
  ⇒ Professor McGonagall真可爱啊，居然怀疑Dumbledore把Harry藏在斗篷里～

• ‘You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?’
  ‘I would trust Hagrid with my life,’ said Dumbledore.
  ⇒ "be wise to" means to do something is wise.
  ⇒ trust sb with sth
  to let someone have something or have control over something, believing that they will be careful with it

• ‘I’m not saying his heart isn’t in the right place,’ said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, ‘but you can’t pretend he’s not careless. He does tend to – what was that?’
  ⇒ heart in the right place
  If you say that someone's heart is in the right place, you mean that they are kind, considerate, and generous, although you may disapprove of other aspects of their character. He is a bit of a tearaway but his heart is in the right place.
  ⇒ grudgingly ~ unwillingly
  ⇒ Hagrid心眼不错就是有点粗心～看到后面你就知道啦～

• A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them.
  ⇒ rumbling 发出隆隆声；发出辘辘声；发出低沉连续的响声
  a continuous low sound

• It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorbike fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.
  ⇒ steadily [adverb] ~ gradually
  ⇒ headlight [noun] （车辆的）头灯，前灯
  a large, powerful light at the front of a vehicle, usually one of two
  ⇒ swell [verb]
  If music swells, it becomes louder.
  （音乐声等）变大，增大，变响亮
  ⇒ roar [noun]
  a loud, deep sound
  ⇒ 参见图片

  
  
  a huge motorbike fell out of the air

• If the motorbike was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.
  ⇒ astride [preposition]
  with a leg on each side of something
  ⇒ tangle [noun]
  an untidy mass of things that are not in a state of order, or a state of confusion or difficulty
  ⇒ bushy [adjective]
  Bushy hair or fur is very thick.
  ⇒ dustbin lid 垃圾桶盖
  ⇒ baby dolphin 小海豚 【参见图片】
  ⇒ muscular [adjective]
  having well-developed muscles

  
  
  

  Hagrid on motorbike
  
  
  

  baby dolphin 小海豚

知识星球——读英语原著