The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.
‘But the glass,’ he kept saying, ‘where did the glass go?’
The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong sweet tea while he apologised over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn’t done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon’s car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, ‘Harry was talking to it, weren’t you, Harry?’
Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, ‘Go – cupboard – stay – no meals,’ before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.

Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Bloomsbury. Kindle Edition.

Knowledge Point

• The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.
  ? in shock
  If someone is in shock, they are suffering from a serious physical condition in which their blood is not flowing round their body properly, for example because they have had a bad injury.

• ‘But the glass,’ he kept saying, ‘where did the glass go?’
  ? where did sth go?
  如果想要表達：怎么錢包不見了？就可以用上面的句型。
  where did my purse go?

• The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong sweet tea while he apologised over and over again.
  ? over and over (again)
  happening or done many times

• Piers and Dudley could only gibber.
  ? gibber [verb] (UK ? /?d??b.?r/ US ? /?d??b.?/)
  to speak quickly in a way that cannot be understood, usually when you are very frightened or confused

• As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn’t done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon’s car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.
  ? heel [noun] (UK ? /hi?l/ US ? /hi?l/)
  the rounded back part of boot
  ? snap at sb's heels
  If an animal is snapping at your heels, it is running behind you and trying to bite you.
  ? bite off sb's leg 咬掉某人的腿
  ? squeeze [verb] (UK ? /skwi?z/ US ? /skwi?z/) 【參見圖片】
  to press something firmly, especially from all sides in order to change its shape, reduce its size, or remove liquid from it
  ? 在哈利看來妻熊，那條蛇除了在他們身后調皮地咬了一下外趟畏，什么也沒做裕菠。Dudley告訴他們差點被巨蟒咬掉腿的經過巩掺，Piers發(fā)誓說巨蟒試圖想掐死他。

  
  
  squeeze

• But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, ‘Harry was talking to it, weren’t you, Harry?’
  ? 最糟糕的是卦溢，至少對Harry來說民逼，Piers足夠冷靜之后說：“Harry和它說話了泵殴，對嗎，Harry拼苍？”

• Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, ‘Go – cupboard – stay – no meals,’ before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.
  ? collapse [verb] (UK ? /k??l?ps/ US ? /k??l?ps/)
  If someone collapses, they fall down because of being sick or weak.

知識星球——讀英語原著