II. The explanation of Harry Potter special points:

1. Diagon Alley – home to many wizarding shops. If you put the two words together, Diagon Alley becomes “Diagonally”. According to Gretchen “Diagon Alley” is actually “diagonal ley”. A ley line is a line connecting ancient sites of Britain and was thought to have magical powers.

2. Hogwarts – British wizarding school. “Hogwart” is a type of lily. It’s also “warthogs” switched around.

3. Nimbus 2000 – Harry’s broomstick. Nimbus – a rain storm, a rain cloud, the cloud shaped which enveloped the gods when they appeared on earth. 1. (Art) A circle or disk or any indication of radiant light around the heads of divinities, saints, and sovereigns, upon medals, pictures, etc.; a halo. Note: “The nimbus is of pagan origin”. “As an attribute of power, the nimbus is often seen attached to the heads of evil spirits”.

2. (Meteor.) A rain cloud; one of the four principal varieties of clouds. The Nimbus “halo” in painting was developed in Christian art in the 400`s. According to Greek myths, a radiant nimbus surrounded the heads of gods and goddesses when they came to earth.

4. Alchemy – science devoted to turning substances (especially lead) into pure gold. Nicholas Flamel’s forte.

5. Philosopher’s Stone – a substance which turns any metal into gold and produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

6. Quidditch – popular wizard sport played on broomsticks. Quidditch is a combination of the three balls used in the game. (Qu)affle + Blu(d)ger + Sn(itch). “Bludgeon” means “to hit, usually with a large, blunt object, like a club”.

III. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

1. collapsed sofa

2. to scramble to one’s feet

3. bunch of keys

4. a handful of coins

5. to yawn loudly

6. best be off

7. to draw up

8. to gleam in the sunlight

9. to unfold a newspaper

10. to pelt someone with questions

11. to blame someone

12. to pant

13. to stick

14. a bustle

15. a halt

16. a hag

17. his head was swimming

18. a pile of books

19. swarthy face

20. to wrinkle one’s nose

21. to throw out one’s chest

22. to melt away

23. to drag

24. to bully someone into doing something

25. to smuggle

26. to hop down

27. to make up for

28. to go out of fashion

29. creepy

30. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes

31. to snap something in half

32. to shuffle one’s feet

33. tape-measure

IV. Meaning of Harry Potter character names:

Professor Quirrell: May be from the word squirrel, for a group of nervous, nut-eating rodents that live in trees. The professor was a scared, shaky man who behaved a lot like one, later an act to cover up his allegiance to Voldemort.

Dedalus Diggle: Daedalus (the more common spelling) was a craftsman and inventor in Greek mythology. He fled Greece and went to the island of Crete. There he built the labyrinth, a maze that held the Minotaur, a monster man with the head of a bull. Daedalus tried to escape King Minos of Crete, so he built wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son, Icarus. They flew like birds into the sky. Icarus flew too closely to the sun and crashed to earth, dying. Diggle may be from dig.