精读哈利波特与魔法石Chapter 2（八）
原文："It's -- it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"
"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."
Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it.
译文：“这—— 这是真的吗?”麦格教授用颤巍巍的声音说。“他做了这么多坏事..杀了这么多人..可竟然杀不了一个孩子?这简直令人震惊..我们想了那么多办法去阻止他..可苍天在上，哈利究竟是怎么幸免于难的呢?”
“我们只能猜测，”邓布利多说，“我们可能永远也不会知道。”
麦格教授掏出一块花边手帕轻轻拭了拭镜片后边的眼睛。邓布利多深深吸了一口气，从衣袋里掏出一块金表，认真看起来。
思考下列单词和词组在文中的释义
falter
astounding
heaven
dab
spectacles
sniff
examine
精读笔记
第一部分："It's -- it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"
写作分析：
falter在原文中做谓语动词，意为：（嗓音）颤抖。
例：”Why are you here?” faltered Mike’s mistress.
拓展：falter在英语中还有很多别的用法，如下
V-I If something falters, it loses power or strength in an uneven way, or no longer makes much progress. 衰退
例：Normal life is at a standstill, and the economy is faltering.
正常生活陷入停滞，经济正在衰退。
V-I If you falter, you lose your confidence and stop doing something or start making mistakes. 犹豫
例：I have not faltered in my quest for a new future.
我对崭新未来的追求未曾犹豫过。
astounding在原文中意为： If something is astounding, you are shocked or amazed that it could exist or happen. 令人震惊的
例：The results are quite astounding.
这些结果非常令人震惊。
拓展：震惊的英语表达：
Shocked
Startled
heaven在原文中意为： In some religions, heaven is said to be the place where God lives, where good people go when they die, and where everyone is always happy. It is usually imagined as being high up in the sky. 天堂
例：I believed that when I died I would go to heaven and see God.我相信我死后会进入天堂，见到上帝。
拓展：paradise和heaven的区别
paradise原意为：A place where Adam and Eve dwell(亚当和夏娃居住的地方，即伊甸园)。 浪漫、乐观时用“paradise”
heaven原意为：A place where God and angels dwell(上帝和天使居住的地方)。庄重、严肃时用“heaven”
第二部分："We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."
Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it.
写作分析：
Dab 在原文中意为：If you dab something, you touch it several times using quick, light movements. If you dab a substance onto a surface, you put it there using quick, light movements. 轻擦; 轻敷
例：She arrived weeping, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
她哭着来了，用纸巾轻擦着眼睛。
拓展：dab pat的区别
Dab: 用手在点的范围内轻擦
Pat: 用手掌在面的范围内轻拍
例："Don't you worry about any of this," she said patting me on the knee.
“不要为这事操什么心了，”她说道，轻轻拍了拍我的膝盖。
spectacles在这里指眼镜，值得注意一的是一副眼镜是有两片镜片的，因而spectacles往往用作复数。
拓展：相同类型的词汇还有：
Scissors 剪刀
Binoculars 望远镜
sniff在原文中意为：When you sniff, you breathe in air through your nose hard enough to make a sound, for example, when you are trying not to cry, or in order to show disapproval. 抽鼻子 (用来忍住哭声或表示不赞同)
例：She wiped her face and sniffed loudly.
她擦擦脸，大声地抽着鼻子。
拓展：sniff还可以用作：If you sniff something or sniff at it, you smell it by sniffing. (吸着气) 闻
例：Suddenly, he stopped and sniffed the air.
突然他停下来，嗅了嗅空气中的味道。
examine在原文中意为： If you examine something, you look at it carefully. 仔细检查，这里引申为邓布利多看表看得很仔细
例：He examined her passport and stamped it.
他仔细检查了她的护照，然后在上面盖了章。