编者按/精读指导(B)： Lesson 2 – Lesson 4 是三课（也是三页）有关母爱的内容。德拉科·马尔福的母亲纳西莎（Narcissa）面对伏地魔（Voldemort）最为惩罚她丈夫夺取预言杯失败而给她儿子马尔福布置杀害邓布利多这项难以完成的任务，去向斯内普(Snape)教授求助。为了让斯内普帮助自己的儿子，一向自尊、高傲的Narcissa抓住Snape的长袍前襟，眼泪落到了Snape胸前的衣服上苦苦哀求Snape帮助她的儿子（Lesson 2）。Lesson 3选自英文版 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince第30页[第2章 Spinner’s End]，Narcissa瘫倒Snape的脚下，She crumpled, falling at his feet, sobbing and moaning on the floor, 哭泣着哀求Snape，但是本课是通过Narcissa的妹妹、Voldemort 的铁杆支持者Bellatrix（贝拉特里克斯）的冷酷无情的话语来衬托Narcissa的伟大母爱。面对妹妹展示出的母爱，Bellatrix竟然说说出这样残忍的话：你应该感到自豪，要是我有儿子，我早就对他们不报希望，或者去他们断绝关系，我会很高兴让他们去为Dark Lord服务 （‘You should be proud!’ said Bellatrix ruthlessly. ‘If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the services of the Dark Lord!’）。这个时候伟大的Snape教授展示了大慈悲心，把Narcissa扶起来，答应他会试着去帮助马尔福，听到这样的承诺，伟大的母亲Narcissa把手中的酒杯扔出，从沙发上起来，跪在Snape教授的脚前，用她的双手抓住Snape普的一只手，用嘴唇亲吻（She flung away her glass, it skidded across the table as she slid off the sofa into a kneeling position at Snape’s feet, seized his hand in both of hers, and pressed her lips to it），请求Snape发下牢不可破的誓言。
本课学习中，我们需要重点掌握下面两个单词、固定短语使用：in the event that, press。
in the event of sth | in the event that sth happens ‘如果···发生；万一；倘若’： “You see, in the unlikely event that Draco succeeds, I shall be able to remain at Hogwarts a little longer, fulfilling my useful role as spy”，在本课中固定用语加入了unlikely ‘不大可能发生的’。
press [pres] v: to push sth closely and firmly against sth; to be pushed in this way. ([被]压; 挤，推; 施加压力) ，在本课的语境中，press表示把嘴唇贴在斯内普受伤的动词‘贴’，这个用法需要注意： “She flung away her glass, …… seized his hand in both of hers, and pressed her lips to it” ，其实在《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》（第9版）中已经给出类似的例句：She pressed her lips together。
first. You see, in the unlikely event that Draco succeeds, I shall be able
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 30
[Sunday, March 6, 2022]
unlikely [ʌnˈlaɪkli] adj: (不大可能发生的) [2014f: 30]
in the event of sth | in the event that sth happens: if sth happen. (如果···发生；万一；倘若) [2014f: 30]
succeed [səkˈsiːd] v: (达到目的; 实现目标; 办到; 做成) [2014f: 29]
fulfil [fʊlˈfɪl] v: ~ sth (formal) (履行；执行；符合；具备) [2014f: 30]
spy [spaɪ] n: (间谍；密探) [2014f: 30]
matter [ˈmætə(r)] v: (not used in the progressive tenses) to be important or have an important effect on sb/sth. (事关紧要；要紧；有重大影响). [2014e: 490; 2014f: 30; 2014g: 401]
prophecy [ˈprɒfəsi] n: (预言) [2014e: 737; 2014f: 29]
Narcissa n: (纳西莎；一个纯血统巫师，卢修斯·马尔福的妻子，德拉科·马尔福的母亲) [2014f: 18]
forgive [fəˈɡɪv] v: (原谅; 宽恕) [2014f: 30]
crumple [ˈkrʌmpl] v: ~ (up) to fall down in an uncontrolled way because you are injured, unconscious drunk, etc. ([因受伤、失去知觉、喝醉而] 瘫倒；滑落) SYN: collapse. [2014a: 90; 2014f: 30; 2014g: 487]
sob [sɒb] v: to cry noisily, taking sudden, sharp breaths. (抽噎; 啜泣; 呜咽). [2014c: 219; 2014e: 107; 2014f: 30]
moan [məʊn] v: (呻吟) SYN: groan. [2014f: 30]
ruthless [ˈruːθləs] adj: (残酷无情的；残忍的) [2014d: 444]
ruthlessly [ˈruːθləsli] adv: [2014f: 30]
give sb up (also give up on sb): (对某人的到来[或康复、能否找到等]不再抱有希望) [2014f: 30]
give sb up: to stop having a relationship with sb. (与某人断绝关系；不再与某人交往)
despair [dɪˈspeə(r)] n: (绝望) [2014f: 30]
clutch [klʌtʃ] v: to hold sb /sth tightly. (紧握；抱紧；抓紧) SYN: grip. [2014a: 41; 2014e: 321; 2014f: 29; 2014g: 11]
blonde [blɒnd] adj: (also blond) (of hair) pale gold in colour. (金黄色的) [7B: 52-3; 2014e: 170; 2014f: 30]
stoop [stuːp] v: ~ (down) to bend your body forwards and downwards. (俯身；弯腰). [2014a: 50; 2014f: 30; Minford 2015: 50]
seize [siːz] v: to take sb/sth in your hand suddenly and using force. (抓住; 捉住; 夺) SYN: grab. [2014a: 44; 2014f: 30]
lift [lɪft] v: ([被]提起，举起，抬高，吊起) [9A: 51; 2014b: 218; 2014f: 30]
steer [stɪə(r)] v: ~ sth adv./prep. (操纵; 控制; 引导) [2014d: 256; 2014f: 30]
pour [pɔː(r)] v: (倒，斟[饮料]) [2014f: 30]
force [fɔːs] v: (强迫，迫使[某人做某事]) SYN: compel. [2014e: 30]
quieten [ˈkwaɪətn] v: ~ (sb/sth) (down) (BrE) ([使]安静下来，平静些) [2014f: 30]
slop [slɒp] v: adv./prep. (of a liquid) to move around in a container, often so that some liquid comes out over the edge. (晃荡; [常指]溢出，溅出) [Rowling 2017a: 19; 2014f: 30]
shaky [ˈʃeɪki] adj: (颤抖的；颤巍巍的) SYN: unsteady. [2014f: 30]
huge [hjuːdʒ] adj: (巨大的；极多的；程度高的) SYN: enormous, vast. [2014f: 30]
fling [flɪŋ] v (flung, flung [flʌŋ]): ~ sb/sth adv/prep. to throw sb/sth somewhere with force, especially because you are angry. ([尤指生气地)扔，掷，抛，丢) SYN: hurl. [2014a: 217; 2014b: 274; 2014f: 30]
skid [skɪd] v: (usually of a vehicle) to slide sideways or forwards in an uncontrolled way. (侧滑; 打滑; 滑行). [2014a: 50; 2014d: 470; 2014f: 30; 2014g: 153]
slide [slaɪd] v (slid, slid [slɪd]): to move easily over a smooth or wet surface; to make sth move in this way. ([使]滑行，滑动). [2014a: 30; 2014c: 299; 2014d: 470; 2014e: 235; 2014f: 30]
kneel [niːl] v: (跪; 跪着; 跪下) [2014f: 30; Minford 2015: 439]
press [pres] v: to push sth closely and firmly against sth; to be pushed in this way. ([被]压; 挤，推; 施加压力) [8B: 5; 2014f: 30]
lip [lɪp] n: (嘴唇) [2014a: 147; 2014e: 402; 2014f: 30]
swear [sweə(r)] v: to make a serious promise to do sth. (郑重承诺；发誓要；表要决心要) SYN: vow. [2014f: 30]
swear [sweə(r)] v: ([尤指在法庭上]发誓，郑重承诺)
unbreakable [ʌnˈbreɪkəbl] adj: (无法打破的; 牢不可破的) SYN: indestructible. OPP: breakable. [2014f: 30]
vow [vaʊ] n: ([尤指宗教的]誓；誓言；誓约) [2014f: 30]
expression [ɪkˈspreʃn] n: (表情; 神色) SYN: look. [9A: 3; 2014b: 226; 2014f: 30]
blank [blæŋk] adj: showing no feeling, understanding or interest. (没表情的; 不理解的; 不感兴趣的；茫然的；空白的) [2014e: 319; 2014f: 30]
unreadable [ʌnˈriːdəbl] adj: ([面部表情]揣摩不透的，难以捉摸的) [2014f: 30]
let sth out to give a cry, etc. (发出[叫声等]) OPP: hold in. [2014a: 16; 2014d: 326; 2014e: 347; 2014f: 30]
crackle [ˈkrækl] n: a series of sharp sounds. ([一连串的)爆裂声，噼啪声) [2014f: 30]
triumphant [traɪˈʌmfənt] adj: showing great satisfaction or joy about a victory or success. (欢欣鼓舞的; 扬扬得意的; 耀武扬威的) [2014b: 134; 2014e: 496; 2014f: 30]
laughter [ˈlɑːftə(r)] n: the act or sound of laughing. (笑; 笑声) [2014e: 17; 2014f: 30; Minford 2015: 355]
slither [ˈslɪðə(r)] v: adv./prep. to move somewhere in a smooth, controlled way, often close to the ground. SYN: glide. (滑行; 蛇行; 爬行). [2014a: 28; 2014b: 205; 2014c: 143; 2014d: 10; 2014f: 30]
Lesson 3 [2014f: 30] 作业：
1. 讨论give sb up 在句子精确含义：If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the services of the Dark Lord!
2. 背诵本课中描写母爱的句子
3. 坚持每天掌握1到2个生词，风雨无阻，天天坚持。
《哈利波特》精读系类之编者按/精读指导(A)：成人英语学习应该有更多的主动性，在高中英语的基础上，应该尽快进入英语原著和英文报纸的阅读，这样才能尽快的提升英语水平。因为英语原著和英语报纸，不同于中学的考试，其中的内容都是英语的实际应用。我会和朋友们一起分享英语原著《哈利波特》7册的内容和中国日报(China Daily)上面的英文报道。我们本着共享的理念，以“雅思6.5及之上的考生英语阅读水平”来编辑《哈利波特英语词典》，其中也会收录中学英语课本的一些单词。用《哈利波特英语词典》里面收录的单词来为《中国日报》等阅读文章做单词表。我们会认真精讲7册《哈利波特》中每一页，制出相对对应的单词表。
关于英语学习方法，请大家参考我在2022年2月28日所写的“英语学习方法论（一）”。这篇文章是基于我们近期《哈利波特与凤凰社》泛读和精读43课，以及《中国日报》泛读和153篇精读文章所写。
就我们初级英语课程而言，我们目前有两个工作目标：一是编写《哈利波特英语词典》，单词收录量为2到3万；二是编写《博雅英语阅读文库·中国日报1000篇》。我们有三级英语课程，初级英语课程为《哈利波特》7册的内容和中国日报(China Daily) 、《乔布斯传》、《马斯克传》等英语原著，以训练学生流畅地阅读英语小说、英语报刊杂志和按照英语习惯顺畅地写作为目标；中级英语课程为英语学术训练，能流畅地阅读英语学术著作，如 A New History of Western Philosophy，并能够书写规范的学术论文；高级英语课程是以了解通过英语来学习文化，学习莎士比亚等英美名家著作、英文版的《圣经》、《易经》等等，目的是更加深入地了解英语背后的文明和中华文明等，让英语学习不仅仅止于语言，要上升到文明的角度来学习英语和用英语来学习。我们认可这样的理念“语言和宗教是定义一个文明的核心标志”。我们的课程有三个立足点，一、高中毕业的英语水平；二、有学习的主动性；三、雅思最低成绩6.5。
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