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"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.
“这边走。”哈利指着一条石头走廊说道。这是惟一可走的道路。

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon — Norbert had been bad enough...
他们听见，除了他们自己的脚步声，还有水珠顺着墙壁缓缓滴落的声音。这个走廊顺坡而下，这使哈利联想到了古灵阁。他的心猛地跳动了一下，他想起了传说中看守巫师银行金库的那些巨龙。如果他们碰到一条龙，一条完全成年的大龙——诺伯就已经够难对付的了……

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered.
“你能听见什么动静吗？”罗恩小声问。

Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.
哈利侧耳细听。前面似乎传来了轻轻的沙沙声和叮叮当当的声音。

"Do you think it's a ghost?"
“会不会是一个幽灵？”

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."
“我不知道……好像是翅膀扇动的声音。”

"There's light ahead — I can see something moving."
“前面有亮光——我看见有什么东西在动。”

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.
他们来到走廊尽头，面前是一间灯火通明的房间，上面是高高的拱顶形天花板。无数只像宝石一般光彩夺目的小鸟儿，扑扇着翅膀在房间里到处飞来飞去。房间对面有一扇厚重的木门。

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.
“你说，如果我们穿过房间，它们会朝我们发动进攻吗？”罗恩问。

"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."
“有可能。”哈利说，“它们看样子倒并不凶恶，但如果它们一下子全部冲过来，恐怕……管它呢，反正也没有别的办法……我跑过去了。”

He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked.
他深深吸了口气，用手臂挡住面孔，飞快地冲到房间的另一头。他以为随时都会有尖利的嘴巴和爪子来撕扯他，结果却平安无事。他毫发无损地来到那扇门边，拉了拉把手，门是锁着的。

重点讲解

重点讲解

slope downward

倾斜向下

To slope downward

按斜坡下降

There was no apparent slope downward, and distinctly none upward, so far as the casual observer might have seen.

没有什么明显的走下坡路，也没有什么显著的上升，一般的旁观者都能看出这一点。——《嘉莉妹妹》

swoop down

猛扑，俯冲

We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.

我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

Then, they swoop down and catch those birds to eat.

它们猛然扑向这些鸟，然后把它们抓住吃掉。

人物介绍

鲁伯·海格

海格于1940年被霍格沃兹录取。当他还是个学生，就以打开密室并放出怪物的罪名被汤姆·里德尔诬告而遭到驱逐。阿不思·邓布利多——那时霍格沃兹的变形课教师，坚持说服众人安排他作为狩猎场看守。在第二部中，哈利·波特和他的朋友们经过努力替海格洗清了罪名。