精美英文欣赏:魔法世界的逃离(上)

Harry¹ Potter: Excellent or Evil?

哈利·波特：优秀还是邪恶？

Harry Potter books have spent the past year quite comfortably on bestseller lists nationwide.

哈利·波特系列丛书在过去一年都稳居全国畅销书排行榜。

Controversy² over the series of fantasy fiction books—about a boy who discovers a world of magic—is generated in chatrooms, boardrooms and classrooms alike.

对于这部奇幻系列小说书的争议——关于一个发现很多魔法的男孩——随处可见，诸如聊天室，会议室或者是班级一类的地方。

All this frenzy³ makes one wonder if there has been a recent comingback of witchcraft⁴ among pre-teens.

所有的狂热都让人想知道现实生活中的孩子是不是也有懂得巫术的。

Are we really afraid that the Harry Potter books will inspire some frightful⁵ behavior that Peter Pan, Snow White, or the Grimm's Fairy Tales will not?

我们真的会害怕哈利波特书中描述的那些可怕的行为吗，而这些在《彼特·潘》，《白雪公主》，或者《格林童话》中都是没有的？

Maybe some of the objecting parents have forgotten how much they loved the magical worlds in their childhood.

那些反对孩子看《哈》的家长也许忘记了他们小时候也曾对有魔法世界充满好奇。

Part of what makes these books so popular is what also makes them threatening to some.

这系列的书受欢迎的部分原因是书里有让人畏惧的东西。

The protagonist⁶ finds ways to control his environment as well as escape from it.

主角能够找到控制环境和逃离环境的魔法。

When Harry's aunt begins talking about his deadbeat dad, who has died, her wine glass explodes in her hand, due to Harry's powers.

当哈利的姑妈开始说他落魄的已经去世的父亲时，因为哈利的魔法，震碎了她手中的酒杯。

While this could be seen as a violent act, Harry's reaction was unintentional and Aunt Marge isn't hurt, after all.

尽管这一场景可以视为暴力行为，但是哈利的反应不是有意的，玛吉姑妈毕竟也没有受到伤害。

Besides, this behavior is frowned upon by the Hogwart's (magic) school, so Harry is never pardoned and he does face punishment for it.

此外，这种行为是霍格沃兹的（魔法）学校不允许的，因此哈利没有被赦免，而是要接受惩罚。

The boy is treated so badly by his relatives that we cannot help but take pity on him.

一个男孩遭到他亲戚的虐待，我们禁不住要同情他。

Who can blame Harry for hating the cruel family he is forced to endure?

谁又能责备哈利憎恶他被迫忍受的野蛮的家庭呢？

Most of us can remember all too well how it felt when a sibling⁷, a cousin or a classmate was being favored.

我们多数人能够非常清楚地记得当兄弟，表亲或者一个同学受到表扬时的感受。

a world of 很多；极大的

eg. In a world of wonders, this may be the most exhilarating thing yet.在这样一个奇妙的世界里，这可能是最令人兴奋的事情。

eg. In a world of big data the correlations⁸ surface almost by themselves.在一个”大数据”的世界，相关性几乎是会自己浮现。

1 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。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

4 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

5 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

6 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

7 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

8 correlations   

相互的关系( correlation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One would expect strong and positive correlations between both complexes. 人们往往以为这两个综合体之间有紧密的正相关。
• The correlations are of unequal value. 这些对应联系的价值并不相同。