哈利波特与魔法石07-They all leave in the car

　　"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly butpulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. I want youall back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Justpack some clothes. No arguments!"He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing thatno one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched¹ their waythrough the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding towardthe highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father hadhit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to packhis television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.
They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia² didn't dare askwhere they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take asharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake'emoff... shake 'em off," he would mutter³ whenever he did this.
They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley washowling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry,he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'dnever gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.
Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel onthe outskirts⁴ of a big city. Dudley and Harry⁵ shared a room withtwin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayedawake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights ofpassing cars and wondering....
They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toastfor breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the ownerof the hotel came over to their table.
"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an'undred of these at the front desk."She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:
Mr. H. PotterRoom 17Railview HotelCokeworthHarry made a grab⁶ for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked hishand out of the way. The woman stared.
"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing⁷ up quickly andfollowing her from the dining room.
Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petuniasuggested timidly⁸, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem tohear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. Hedrove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around,shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. Thesame thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway acrossa suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage

1 wrenched   

v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
• He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 petunia   

n.矮牵牛花

参考例句：

• Height,breadth and diameter of corolla are the important ornamental characters of petunia.株高、冠幅、花径是矮牵牛的重要观赏性状。
• His favourite flower is petunia.他最喜欢的花是矮牵牛花。

3 mutter   

v.咕哝，含糊，轻声地说话

参考例句：

• I heard a mutter of discontent.我听到有人小声咕哝着表示不满。
• Don't mutter when they are studying.当他们学习时不要轻声低语。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 timidly   

adv.胆小地，羞怯地

参考例句：

• She knocked timidly on the study door and entered. 她小心翼翼地敲了敲书房门然后进去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The child glanced at his angry father timidly. 孩子怯生生地瞟了一眼怒气冲冲的父亲。 来自《简明英汉词典》