英语听力精选进阶版 6068

The fastest-selling book ever up to this week was the sixth Harry¹ Potter book The Half-Blood Prince. However, author J. K. Rowling has broken her own record as the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series is officially the fastest-selling book in the world.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was finally released at midnight in the UK on Friday 20th July. Fans, dressed as characters from the books, lined up outside book shops hours in advance of the book going on sale.

One well-known book store in the UK claimed to have sold 15 copies of the book per second in the early hours of Saturday morning. The book sold 11 million copies in the first 24 hours of its release, breaking the 9 million record set by the sixth Harry Potter book.

Book shops and supermarkets competed with each other by offering big discounts on the book from its recommended retail² price.

Author J. K. Rowling read excerpts³ from the book in a special midnight reading in London at the Natural History Museum. She then went on to sign copies of the book for the rest of the night for the 500-strong crowd who had been specially⁴ invited to the event.

It wasn't just in the UK where the frenzy⁵ to buy the book took place. In Hong Kong book shop staff dressed as wizards. In Australia special "magic" breakfasts were served to customers buying the book. In India customs offices worked on a Friday, which is a holiday there, to ensure people got the book on time.

It's been a whole decade since the first Harry Potter book was released. Since then, 325 million books have been sold and Harry Potter has become a global phenomenon. The latest book is being released in 93 countries.

Author J. K. Rowling hinted in advance that some of the characters do not survive a final meeting with the Dark Lord Voldemort.

But it's not up to BBC Learning English to spoil the plot for you all. Have fun reading the book in your own time. But don't tell us what happens - we haven't read it yet!

GLOSSARY 词汇表

broken her own record 刷新本人创下的纪录

officially 官方的

released 发行

per 每一（本）

competed 竞争

discounts 折扣

recommended retail price 标定零售价

excerpts 节选

Natural History Museum 自然历史博物馆

500-strong 500多 

frenzy 疯狂（抢购）

wizards巫师 

served 提供服务

customs offices 海关部门 

to ensure 保证

on time 准时 

decade 十个年头

a global phenomenon 全球热 

hinted 暗示

to spoil the plot 提前透露故事情节

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 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

4 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

5 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。