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?
  如果想要表达：怎么钱包不见了？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 ​ /ˈdʒɪb.ər/ US ​ /ˈdʒɪb.ɚ/)
  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 ​ /hiːl/ US ​ /hiːl/)
  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 ​ /skwiːz/ US ​ /skwiːz/) 【参见图片】
  to press something firmly, especially from all sides in order to change its shape, reduce its size, or remove liquid from it
  ⇒ 在哈利看来，那条蛇除了在他们身后调皮地咬了一下外，什么也没做。Dudley告诉他们差点被巨蟒咬掉腿的经过，Piers发誓说巨蟒试图想掐死他。

  
  
  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，至少对Harry来说，Piers足够冷静之后说：“Harry和它说话了，对吗，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.
  ⇒ collapse [verb] (UK ​ /kəˈlæps/ US ​ /kəˈlæps/)
  If someone collapses, they fall down because of being sick or weak.

知识星球——读英语原著