哈利波特魔法石英文电子书:哈利波特与魔法石英文原著精读笔记-1.05
哈利波特魔法石英文电子书:哈利波特与魔法石英文原著精读笔记-1.05到底看到了什么不大对劲的迹象呢?A cat reading a map,一只正在读地图的猫。It was……that强调句的三个单词可删掉,没有它们后,句意依然是完整的。As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.It was……that……,强调句型,强调正是这个街角(on the corner of the street),而不是在别的地方,他才注意到第一丝迹象(the first sign),Some
导语德思礼先生开车出门,在路上遇到了一件怪事:一只会读地图、看路牌的猫。但很快,他就把它否定了,认为这只是光线引起的错觉。
原文It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.
For a second Mr. Dursley didn’t realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive but there wasn’t a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.
As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no looking at the sign; cats couldn’t read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind.
As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.
It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.
It was……that……,强调句型,强调正是这个街角(on the corner of the street),而不是在别的地方,他才注意到第一丝迹象(the first sign),Something peculiar,有些事情不太对劲。
It was……that强调句的三个单词可删掉,没有它们后,句意依然是完整的。
到底看到了什么不大对劲的迹象呢?A cat reading a map,一只正在读地图的猫。
For a second Mr. Dursley didn’t realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again.
有那么一秒,德斯里先生都没反应过来,没意识到他到底看到了什么。
Jerked,猛然一动。等反应过来,他猛地一回头,想要再看一看。
There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive but there wasn’t a map in sight.
a tabby cat,带斑点或者条纹比较深色的花猫。有一只花猫,它站在女贞路的街角。
Sight表示视野,In side表示在视野里面,自然你可以看到这个东西。但是there wasn’t a map in sight,也就是在视野中,他看到了那只tabby cat,但根本没有看到那一张地图。这就很神奇了,他之前明明看到一只猫在读地图的。
What could he have been thinking of?
他在想什么呀?德思礼先生在反问自己,刚在想什么不靠谱的呢?
could have been thinking of,或者说could have done这个句型,could have done,作虚拟语气,是指本来能做成的(却没做成),在本句中是另一个意思,是对过去已发生的事进行推测,我刚刚在想什么呀,其实就是我对刚刚产生的想法进行质疑和反问。
It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.
It must have been,跟上句的could have been类似,是对过去事情的推测,但是语气上must比could要强很多,肯定是。肯定是什么呢?
trick往往是让人产生错觉的东西,a trick of the light就是光线引起的错觉。德思礼先生觉得自己被光晃了眼,因此,他很用力地眨了眨眼(blinked),然后再盯着那只猫(stared at the cat),这只猫竟然回瞪他了。
这就有意思了,遇到了一只有灵性的猫——妖猫。
As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road he watched the cat in his mirror.
当德思礼先生驾车开过街角,到开上大路,他依然在后视镜里面观察这只猫。
It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no looking at the sign; cats couldn’t read maps or signs.
这只猫现在在干什么呢?它正在读这个sign。
前面也有个sign,the first sign of something peculiar, 此sign是指一种征兆、迹象,但这只猫正在读的sign,并非是迹象,它有一词多义,而是标牌、指示牌,所以这只猫正在读路牌,这是写着什么的路牌呢?。
That said Privet Drive,That引导的定语从句,在修饰the sign,这是一个写着女真路的路牌,那这只猫正在读它。
不对,德思礼马上把这事实给否定了,它不是在读(looking at the sign),它是在look而已。毕竟,cat不可能read 地图和路牌。
read and look之间的差别,look,人、动物都可以look(看),只是简单的一个动作,但是read 带有一种读懂、辨识的意思,涉及到脑内的理解活动,那猫不可能做到这事,所以猫不是在read。
Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind.
他觉得刚看到的事是不可能的,他就摇了摇头(give himself a little shake),醒醒神,把这只猫抛在脑后(out of his mind),决定不再去想这只猫。
As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.
Town,原意是城镇、城市,但是在书的语境中,德思礼一家住在英格兰,在当地环境中,人们说Town时,基本上是指一个地方——伦敦。
当他开车去伦敦的时候,he thought of nothing except,他什么都没想,除了……。
他现在脑子里只想着一件事:一张很大的钻机(drills)订单(order)。为何要想它?
(that)He was hoping to get that day,省略了that的定语从句,修饰前面a large order of drills,这个钻机大订单,是他想要在那天拿下来的。
这时候,德思礼基本不再想去那只奇怪的猫了,他的心思回到了工作上。
在街角上,他看到了第一个异常的信号—— 一只猫在看地图。一开始,德思礼先生还没弄明白他看到了什么,于是又回过头去。只见一只花斑猫站在女贞路路口,但是没有看见地图。他到底在想些什么?很可能是光线使他产生了错觉吧。德思礼先生眨了眨眼,盯着猫看,猫也瞪着他。当德思礼先生拐过街角继续上路的时候,他从后视镜里看看那只猫。猫这时正在读女贞路的标牌,不,是在看标牌;猫是不会读地图或是读标牌的。德思礼先生定了定神,把猫从脑海里赶走。他开车进城,一路上想的是希望今天他能得到一大批钻机的定单。
a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day
【希望今天他能得到一大批钻机的定单】,这个翻译读起来拗口,实际,该句意思是:他希望今天能拿下钻机的一份大订单。
小结读过哈利波特书或者看过电影的人,都会晓得这是麦格教授变化的Cat,德思礼看到的是实在发生的事情。但是对于德思礼来说,这个世界是不存在怪力乱神之事,仅仅一点点的古怪之事是不会让他相信的,毕竟他可是perfectly normal的人。
生词