德斯禮為什麼困著哈利

熱愛《哈利波特》的小夥伴們，讓我們一起來讀原著小說學英語嘍！

故事簡介

因為白天遇到的怪事，和家門口那隻“陰魂不散”的貓，德思禮先生徹夜難眠。

圖為Dursley一家

原文片段（選自《哈利波特與魔法石》第一章）

He didn‘t say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed。 While Mrs。 Dursley was in the bathroom， Mr。 Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden。 The cat was still there。 It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something。

Was he imagining things？ Could all this have anything to do with the Potters？ If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well， he didn’t think he could bear it。

The Dursleys got into bed。 Mrs。 Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr。 Dursley lay awake， turning it all over in his mind。 His last， comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved， there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs。 Dursley。 The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn‘t see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn’t affect them…

While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden.

Mrs。 Dursley洗澡的時候，Mr。 Dursely躡手躡腳地跑到臥室的窗邊，偷偷確認那隻貓還在不在。

creep（［kriːp］），不及物動詞，指“（通常指為避免注意而）緩慢行進，悄悄移動，潛行”（to move slowly， quietly， and carefully， usually in order to avoid being noticed）。

例：

She turned off the light and crept through the door.

她關上燈，悄悄溜出門。

注意：creep的過去時和過去式變化為crept。

peer（［pɪr］），不及物動詞，指“仔細看，端詳；費力地看”（to look carefully or with difficulty）。

例：

When no one answered the door, she peered through the window to see if anyone was there.

沒有人開門，她就費力地透過窗戶朝裡望去，看是否有人在。

The Dursleys got into bed.

德思禮夫婦上床睡覺了。

這句話中使用的是get into bed，而非我們常見的go to bed。這兩個短語還是有區別的。

get into bed強調的是你躺在床上，蓋好被子，但睡沒睡覺不一定。就像我們睡前會玩手機，這時就可以使用get into bed。

例：

You used to get into my bed and we’d snuggled up.

你總會是爬上我的床，我們抱作一團。

此外，如果get into bed後接上with someone，即get into bed with someone，字面意思是“與某人躺在床上”，作為習語，可以引申為“與……是一夥的”（if one person or group gets into bed with another， they make an agreement to work together）。

例：

I didn’t trust Albert because I heard he’s gotten in bed with the mob.

我不相信阿伯特，因為我聽說他和暴民是一夥兒的。

Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind.

Mrs。 Dursley很快就睡著了，但Mr。 Dursley卻是思來想去地睡不著。

fall asleep，是指“睡著，進入夢鄉”（to start to sleep）。

例：

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

我頭一沾枕頭就睡著了。

fall asleep也可以用來委婉地表達“死，去世”（to die）。

例：

We told the kids the bad news that Pop-Pop fell asleep last night.

我們告訴了孩子們一個不幸的訊息，他們的父親昨晚去世了。

lie awake則是fall asleep的反義詞，即“睡不著覺”（lie without sleeping）。

例：

While the people sleep, I lie awake.

眾人皆睡，我獨醒。

turn over sth的意思是“反覆思考某事”（to ponder or consider something）。

例：

I’ve been turning over their job offer for days, but I still haven’t made a decision.

對於他們提供的工作，我已經考慮好多天了，但還是沒有做決定。

The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind…

Mr。 Dursley很擔心白天發生的怪事與Potter家有關，但轉念一想，Potter夫婦應該知道會知趣地不來找他們麻煩。

在這句話中，我們第一次見到了Mrs。 Dursley的名字。Petunia音譯過來就是“佩妮”，所以Mrs。 Dursley就是佩妮·德思禮。

而petunia（［pəˈtuː。njə］）的本意是“矮牽牛（一種花園植物）”（a garden plant grown for its white， pink， purple， or red bell-shaped flowers）。矮牽牛花也是憤怒和嫉妒的象徵。這從名字上暗示了佩妮和莉莉的姐妹關係。

圖為矮牽牛

在小時候玩遊戲時，J。K。羅琳總是給自己不喜歡的女性角色取名叫佩妮。她認為這個名字可能來自於小時候看過的一個公眾資訊電影，名字叫《喬和佩妮》。

佩妮的孃家姓是伊萬斯。Evans是一個威爾士語或英語姓氏，源於名字Evan。作為威爾士語的名字，“Evan”意為“年輕的戰士”。它也可能是John的變體，意為“上帝是仁慈的”。

圖為少年時的佩妮

He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect them…

如果那些怪事正和Potter家有關，Mr。 Dursley可不想自己和老婆牽扯進去……想著想著，Mr。 Dursley終於困了，翻個身便睡著了。

短語be mixed up （in sth）指“捲入，牽扯進去”（involved or implicated in something negative or troublesome）。

例：

He was mixed up in the conspiracy.

他參與了那次陰謀。

yawn（［jɑːn），不及物動詞，指“打哈欠”（to open the mouth wide and take a lot of air into the lungs and slowly send it out， usually when tired or bored）。

例：

I can't stop yawning - I must be tired.

我一個勁兒打哈欠——肯定是累了。

前面介紹了turn over的及物用法，即“（反覆）仔細思考”。當這個短語不及物時，則是指“翻身”（If you turn over， for example when you are lying in bed， you move your body so that you are lying in a different position。）。

例：

Ann turned over in her bed once more.

安在床上又翻了一下身。