From Rags to Riches　JK罗琳－－ 从无到有的魔法奇

From Rags to RichesJK·罗琳－－ 从无到有的魔法奇迹

The Harry Potter fantasy series has transported children and adults all over the world on an exciting journey full of wizards, witches, dragons, and other magical creatures. The author of these award-winning books is Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name JK Rowling. Born in England in July 1965, she studied French and classics at Exeter University. Later, she worked as a researcher and secretary, among other jobs. She even spent time teaching English in Portugal. Rowling said that at that point in her life, she was quite poor. It wasn't until the first Harry Potter book was published that she came into some money.
The idea for the character of Harry Potter came to Rowling while on a delayed train to London. There, she spent four hours dreaming up the story behind the boy who didn't know he was a wizard before getting down to writing it. Eventually, the first book was published, with another six to follow. With over 400 million copies of her best-selling series sold, Rowling has been named the Most Influential Woman in Britain. She is also the 12th richest woman in the United Kingdom. What's more, Rowling actively supports charities that relate to her own childhood.


《哈利波特》

奇幻小说系列把全世界的小朋友和大人送往一趟充满男巫、女巫、喷火龙还有其它魔法生物的惊奇旅程。这些获奖小说的作者是乔安·罗琳，较为人所熟知的是她的笔名 JK·罗琳。罗琳於 1965 年七月在英国出生，她在艾希特大学攻读法语和古典文学。之後，她担任过研究员、秘书，还有其他工作。她甚至还在葡萄牙教过英文。罗琳说在她人生的那个阶段，她非常穷困。直到第一本《哈利波特》小说出版之後，她才赚到了一些钱。
在一班前往伦敦的误点火车上，哈利波特这个角色的灵感便进入罗琳脑中。开始动笔之前，她在火车上花了四个小时，来构想出一位不知道自己是巫师的小男孩背後的故事。终於，第一本书出版了，接下来的其它六本小说也相继问世。罗琳的畅销小说系列卖出四亿多本，而她也被选为英国最具影响力的女性。罗琳也是英国最富有的女性，排名第十二位。另外，罗琳也积极资助与她童年经验相关的慈善机构。（编按：罗琳每年在公益活动上投入大笔金额，而且成立慈善信托来帮助儿童、单亲家庭，并资助多发性硬化症研究，因为她的母亲即因罹患多发性硬化症而过世。）

1. transport vt. 运送，运输
   We need your help to transport the goods to the market this weekend.
   这个周末我们需要你的帮忙来把货物运送到市场去。
2. work as...担任……
   Taylor works as a journalist at a news agency.
   泰勒在一家通讯社当记者。
3. come into...得到……；继承（财产）
   Sherry came into a large inheritance after her parents passed away.
   雪莉的父母过世之後，她得到了大笔遗产。
4. dream up... / dream...up（凭空）想出……
   Roger dreamed up a creative slogan to promote the product.
   罗杰想出一个有创意的标语来推销产品。
5. get down to N/V-ing开始做……
   You had better stop complaining and get down to work.
   你最好别再抱怨开始干活了。
6. name vt. 选定，选中
   Brad was named the best actor at the award ceremony.
   在颁奖典礼上布莱德被选为最佳男演员。
7. influential a. 有影响力的
   Television is a very influential medium and affects many people around the world.
   电视是很有影响力的媒介，会影响世界上的许多人。
8. relate to...和……有关，涉及……
   The movie touched many people because it related to a difficult time in history.
   这部电影感动了许多人，因为它和历史上某一段艰困的时期有关

1. series n. 系列
2. award-winning a. 获奖的
3. best-selling a. 畅销的

It is / was not until...+ that 子句直到……才……

本文 "It wasn't until the first Harry Potter book was published that..." 中用到了 "It is / was not until... + that 子句" 的句型，意思是『直到……才……』，是由 it is / was 所引导的强势句构，until 之後可接名词或子句。

It is not until you learn how to swim that you will understand how much fun it can be.
（你要学会游泳後才会知道游泳到底有多好玩。）

It was not until Sophie attended college that she started wearing her hair long.
（苏菲直到上大学才开始留长发。）