Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first of September was crisp as an apple, and as the little family bobbed across the rumbling1 road toward the great sooty station, the fumes2 of car exhausts and the breath of pedestrians3 sparkled like cobwebs in the cold air. Two large cages tattled on top of the laden4 trolleys5 the parents were pushing; the owls7 inside them hooted9 indignantly, and the redheaded girl trailed fearfully behind here brothers, clutching her father’s arm.
“It won’t be long, and you’ll be going too,” Harry10 told her.
“Two years,” sniffed11 Lily. “I want to go now!”
The commuters stared curiously12 at the owls as the family wove its way toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Albus’s voice drifted back to Harry over the surrounding clamor; his sons had resumed the argument they had started in the car.
“I won’t! I won’t be a Slytherin!”
“James, give it a rest!” said Ginny.
“I only said he might be,” said James, grinning at his younger brother. “There’s nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slytherin”
But James caught his mother’s eye and fell silent. The five Potters approached the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over his shoulder at his younger brother, James took the trolley6 from his mother and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.
“You’ll write to me, won’t you?” Albus asked his parents immediately, capitalizing on the momentary13 absence of his brother.
“Every day, if you want us to,” said Ginny.
“Not every day,” said Albus quickly, “James says most people only get letters from home about once a month.”
“We wrote to James three times a week last year,” said Ginny.
“And you don’t want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts,” Harry put in. “He likes a laugh, your brother.”
Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forward, gathering14 speed. As they reached the barrier, Albus winced15, but no collision came. Instead, the family emerged onto platform nine and three-quarters, which was obscured by thick white steam that was pouring from the scarlet16 Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures were swarming17 through the mist, into which James had already disappeared.
“Where are they?” asked Albus anxiously, peering at the hazy18 forms they passed as they made their way down the platform.
“We’ll find them,” said Ginny reassuringly19.
But the vapor20 was dense21, and it was difficult to make out anybody’s faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnaturally22 loud, Harry thought he head Percy discoursing23 loudly on broomstick regulations, and was quite glad of the excuse not to stop and say hello….
“I think that’s them, Al,” said Ginny suddenly.
A group of four people emerged from the mist, standing24 alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Harry, Ginny, Lily, and Albus had drawn25 right up to them.
“Hi,” said Albus, sounding immensely relieved.
Rose, who was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him.
“Parked all right, then?” Ron asked Harry. “I did. Hermione didn’t believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I’d have to Confound the examiner.”
“No, I didn’t,” said Hermione, “I had complete faith in you.”
“As a matter of fact, I did Confund him,” Ron whispered to Harry, as together they lifted Albus’s trunk and owl8 onto the train. “I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let’s face it, I can use a Supersensory Charm for that.”
Back on the platform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose’s younger brother, having an animated26 discussion about which House they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts.
“If you’re not in Gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you,” said Ron, “but no pressure.”
“Ron!”
Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn.
“He doesn’t mean it,” said Hermione and Ginny, but Ron was no longer paying attention. Catching27 Harry’s eye, he nodded covertly28 to a point some fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people stood in sharp relief against the shifting mist.
“Look who it is.”
Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding29 somewhat, which emphasized the pointed30 chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly31, and turned away again.
“So that’s little Scorpius,” said Ron under his breath. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother’s brains.”
“Ron, for heaven’s sake,” said Hermione, half stern, half amused. “Don’t try to turn them against each other before they’ve even started school!”
“You’re right, sorry,” said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, “Don’t get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood.”
“Hey!”
James had reappeared; he had divested32 himself of his trunk, owl, and trolley, and was evidently bursting with news.
“Teddy’s back there,” he said breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. “Just seen him! And guess what he’s doing? Snogging Victoire!”
He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction.
“Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked teddy what he was doing –”
“You interrupted them?” said Ginny. “You are so like Ron –”
“– and he said he’d come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He’s snogging her!” James added as though worried he had not made himself clear.
“Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!” whispered Lily ecstatically. “Teddy would really be part of the family then!”
“He already comes round for dinner about four times a week,” said Harry “Why don’t we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?”
“Yeah!” said James enthusiastically. “I don’t mind sharing with Al – Teddy could have my room!”
“No,” said Harry firmly, “you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished33.”
He checked the battered34 old watch that had once been Fabian Prewett’s.
“It’s nearly eleven, you’d better get on board.”
“Don’t forget to give Neville our love!” Ginny told James as she hugged him.
“Mum! I can’t give a professor love!”
“But you know Neville–”
James rolled his eyes.
“Outside, yeah, but at school he’s Professor Longbottom, isn’t he? I can’t walk into Herbology and give him love….”
Shaking his head at his mother’s foolishness, he vented35 his feelings by aiming a kick at Albus.
“See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals.”
“I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!” but James merely laughed, permitted his mother to kiss him, gave his father a fleeting36 hug, then leapt onto the rapidly filling train. They saw him wave, then sprint37 away up the corridor to find his friends.
“Thestrals are nothing to worry about,” Harry told Albus. “They’re gentle things, there’s nothing scare about them. Anyway, you won’t be going up to school in the carriages, you’ll be going in the boats.”
Ginny kissed Albus good-bye.
“See you at Christmas.”
“Bye, Al,” said Harry as his son hugged him. “Don’t forget Hagrid’s invited you to tea next Friday. Don’t mess with Peeves38. Don’t duel39 anyone till you’re learned how. And don’t let James wind you up.”
“What if I’m in Slytherin?”
The whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how great and sincere that fear was.
Harry crouched40 down so that Albus’s face was slightly above his own. Alone of Harry’s three children, Albus had inherited Lily’s eyes.
“Albus Severus,” Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, “you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
“But just say–”
“–then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won’t it? It doesn’t matter to us, Al. But if it matter to you, you’ll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account.”
“Really?”
“It did for me,” said Harry.
He had never told any of his children that before, and he saw the wonder in Albus’s face when he said it. But how the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred41 outlines of parents swarming forward for final kisses, last-minute reminders42, Albus jumped into the carriage and Ginny closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned toward Harry.
“Why are they all staring?” demanded Albus as he and Rose craned around to look at the other students.
“Don’t let it worry you,” said Ron. “It’s me, I’m extremely famous.”
Albus, Rose, Hugo, and Lily laughed. The train began to more, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son’s thin face, already ablaze43 with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement44, watching his son glide45 away from him….
The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry’s hand was still raised in farewell.
“He’ll be alright,” murmured Ginny.
As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead.
“I know he will.”
The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.
秋天好像来得很突然。九月的第一个早晨如同苹果般清新。在清凉的空气中，汽车的尾气和人们的呼吸就像蜘蛛吐丝一样。一家子人正穿过熙熙攘攘的街道向那烟雾缭绕的车站走去。父母二人推着两辆载满了沉重行李的小车，最顶上有两个大笼子，里面的猫头鹰愤怒的叫着，一个红头发的女孩在她的两个哥哥后面拖拖沓沓地走着，抓着她父亲的胳膊。
“要不了多久，你也会去哪儿的。”哈利对她说。
“还要两年呢，”莉莉不满地说，“我现在就要去！”
路人好奇地盯着猫头鹰，看到这一家子人正在第九和第十站台之间徘徊。阿不思又开始再哈利身后嚷嚷着，他的儿子们仍在继续着从一上车就开始的那个话题。
“我不会的！我不会被分到斯莱特林！“
“詹姆，行了！”金妮说。
“我只不过是说他有可能，”詹姆冲着他的弟弟笑了一下，“那也没啥不好的。他有可能会进斯莱特林。”
但詹姆一看到他妈妈的眼睛就立刻闭嘴了。波特一家五个人走到了栏杆旁，詹姆带着点骄傲地看了看他兄弟，然后从妈妈手中接过了手推车，跑了起来。片刻之后，他消失了。
“你们会写信给我的，对吗？”阿不思抓紧了哥哥不在的这一点时间，问他的父母。
“每天都写，如果你想要的话。”金妮说。
“才不要每天，”阿不思快速的说，“詹姆说大部分人大概一个月才收到一封家里的信。”
“去年我们每周给他写三次信呢。”金妮说。
“你不能相信他说的关于霍格沃茨的每件事，”哈利赶紧插话，“你哥哥他喜欢开玩笑。”
他们并排推着手推车向前冲去，速度越来越快。当他们马上撞那堵墙的时候，阿不思有点想要退缩，但是他什么都没撞到，相反的，九又四分之三站台出现在他们一家人的面前，薄雾中的熙熙攘攘的人群有点模糊不清，而詹姆早就消失其中。
“他们在哪？”阿不思焦虑地说，沿着月台摸索着路，凝视着那些模糊不清的人影。
“我们会找到他们的。”金妮安慰道。
哈利似乎听见了珀西用不大自然的声音大声讲述扫帚使用的规则，但是雾太大了，很难看清别人的脸。这真是个不用停下来打招呼的好借口。
“我想他们在那里，阿尔，”金妮突然说。
四个人从薄雾中出现，站在最后一节车厢旁边。当哈利、金妮、莉莉和阿不思走到跟前才真的看清了他们的脸。
“嘿！”阿不思说，听起来他这下总算放心了。
露丝已经穿上了崭新的霍格沃茨校袍，笑逐颜开的看着他。
“车停好了？“罗恩问哈利，“我做到了，赫敏怎么也不相信我能通过麻瓜的驾驶考试，对吧？她认为我对考试官施了混淆咒。”
“不，我没有。”赫敏说，“我对你完全有信心。”
“事实上，我的确对他施了咒。”当他们正把阿不思的行李和猫头鹰抬到车厢上的时候，罗恩小声对哈利说。“我只不过忘了看观后镜，不过确实，我对他用了混淆咒。”
当他们回到月台，发现了莉莉和雨果－－露丝的弟弟，正在起劲地议论着，将来等他们到了霍格沃茨会被分到什么学院。
“如果你不在格兰芬多，我们会剥夺你的继承权。”罗恩说，“但是别给自己太大压力。“
“罗恩！”
莉莉和雨果大笑了起来，但是阿不思和露丝看起来都很紧张。
“他不是那个意思。”赫敏和金妮说道。但是罗恩不再注意他们了，他看到了哈利的目光，注意他正默默的看着在他们大约五十码开外的地方。雾气比刚才淡了一些，有三个身影在里面隐现。
“看，是谁呀。”
德拉科?马尔福站在妻子和儿子旁边，黑色的外套一直扣到咽喉。他稍微有点谢顶了，更显得下巴尖尖。那个小男孩可真像德拉科呀，就像阿不思像哈利一样。德拉科看到了哈利、罗恩、赫敏和金妮正看着他，稍稍点了一下头，就转过了身。
“那就是那个小斯科普斯吧”罗恩屏住呼吸说，“你可要保证每次考试都打败他，露丝。感谢上帝，你继承了你妈妈的脑子。”
“罗恩，看在老天的份上。”赫敏半嗔半笑地说道，“别让他们还没进学校就成了对头。”
“哦，你说得对，对不起。“罗恩说，但是还是不由自主的又加了一句，“尽管如此也别和他走的太近了，露丝，如果你嫁给一个纯血种的，韦斯莱祖先们不会原谅你的。”
“嗨！”
詹姆又回来了，他已经放下了他的箱子、猫头鹰和手推车，看起来似乎带来了什么爆炸新闻。
“泰迪也来到这儿了。”他气喘吁吁的说着，指了指身后的水蒸气。“我刚看到他了！你们猜他在干嘛？他在和维多利亚亲嘴！”
“我们的泰迪！泰迪?卢平！和我们的维多利亚亲嘴！我们的表姐！然后我问泰迪他在干什么——”
“你打断了他们？”金妮说，“你可真像罗恩……”
“他跟我说他就是来送送她！然后让我闪开。他在和她亲嘴呀！”詹姆又加上了一句，好像担心自己说得不够清楚。
“哦，如果他们能结婚那真是太好了！”莉莉心醉地低声说，“那样泰迪就真的成了我们家的一员了！“
“他已经一周来我们家吃四次晚饭了。”哈利说“我们为什么不邀请他和我们一起住呢？”
“耶！”詹姆兴奋地说，“我不介意和阿尔一起住，泰迪可以住我的房间！”
“不。”哈利坚定的说，“除非我想把房子毁了，我才会让你和阿尔住在一起。”
他低头看了看那曾经属于费比安?普威特的已经有点歪了的旧手表。
“马上就11点了，你们最好赶快上火车。”
“别忘了替我们给纳威问好！”当金妮拥抱詹姆的时候叮嘱他。
“老妈，我可不能跟一个教授太亲近了！”
“但是你是认识纳威的——”
詹姆翻了翻眼睛。
“那是在外面，对呀，但是在学校他是隆巴顿教授，不是吗？我可不能到了霍格沃茨还跟一个教授腻腻歪歪的……”
他摇摇头，为了妈妈的不开窍，然后对准阿不思踢了一脚，发泄自己的不满。
“回头见，阿尔，留神夜骐。”
“我想它们是隐形的？你说它们隐形！”
但是詹姆只是笑了笑，让他妈妈吻了他，给了他爸爸一个短暂的拥抱，就急匆匆的跑上了车。他们看到他挥挥手，就跑向了走廊里他的朋友们了。
“夜骐一点也用不着担心。”哈利告诉阿不思，“它们是很温顺的东西，没什么好害怕的。而且，你不是坐马车去学校，而是乘船。”
金妮吻别了阿不思。
“圣诞节见。”
“再见，阿尔。”哈利拥抱儿子时对他说，“别忘了海格邀请你们下周五去喝茶。别和皮皮鬼打架。在你学会了如何做之前不要和任何人决斗。别总让詹姆把你搞得紧张兮兮的。”
“如果我被分到了斯莱特林怎么办？”
他贴在父亲身边耳语着，哈利知道只有在离别的瞬间阿不思才真正地把害怕表现了出来。
哈利蹲了下来，这样阿不思可以直视他。在哈利的三个孩子中间，只有阿不思继承了莉莉的眼睛。
“阿不思?西弗勒斯。”哈利用除了金妮别人都听不到的声音说，但是金妮装作正在给刚刚上了火车的露丝招手。“我们用了霍格沃茨的两任校长的名字给你起了名字。他们中的一个就是一个斯莱特林，而他大概是我这辈子见过的最勇敢的人。”
“但如果——”
“那么斯莱特林会得到一个非常优秀的学生，不是吗？那没什么关系的。但是如果你真的很介意，你可以自己选择斯莱特林或者格兰芬多。分院帽会考虑你的选择的。”
“真的？”
“它对我就是这么做的”哈利说。
他以前从来没有把这个告诉他的孩子，当阿不思听到时，脸上充满了开心的表情。但这时猩红色的火车就要关门了，家长们涌向前面给孩子们最后一吻，同时做着最后的叮嘱，阿不思跳上车厢，金妮把他身后的门关上了。学生们涌向了离他们最近的车厢，无数张脸，车里的车外的，看起来都转向了哈利。
“为什么他们都这么盯着？”当阿不思和露丝看到四周的情况时疑惑的问道。
“别担心。”罗恩说，“那是因为我，我实在太出名了。”
阿不思、露丝、雨果和莉莉笑了。火车开动了，哈利退到了一边，看到他儿子瘦瘦的小脸正兴奋得发光。哈利一直微笑着挥着手，注视着儿子离开，尽管这看起来有那么点伤感……
最后一缕蒸汽的痕迹消失在秋天的空气中，火车转弯了，哈利的手仍然举在空中挥动着。
“他会没事的！”金妮低声说。
哈利看着她，茫然地低下头，摸了摸额头上闪电形的伤疤。
“我知道他会的。”
十九年来，哈利的伤疤再也没有疼过。一切都很好。
收听单词发音 |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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pedestrians
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| n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 ) | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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trolleys
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| n.（两轮或四轮的）手推车( trolley的名词复数 )；装有脚轮的小台车；电车 | |
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trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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hooted
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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covertly
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| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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sprint
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| n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过 | |
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peeves
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| n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 ) | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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reminders
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| n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信 | |
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ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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