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Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Author: J.K. Rowling

What is it about?

Like all other Harry Potter books in the series, this one does not disappoint readers.

What’s more, it adds more maturity and a darker nature to the story and more twists

and turns, too.

Harry continued his adventures and discovered a potion book which belonged to the

Half-Blood Prince. He then excelled in Potions with the help of the Prince’s notes. In

this sequel, Harry showed his maturity and responsibility. He demonstrated courage,

endurance and conviction. Besides, the importance of friendship and self-sacrifice

had become obvious and significant.

What is it about?

1 enthralling 吸引人的      2 vulnerability 脆弱之處    3 immobilizes 使不能動 

4 brutal 殘暴的

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What is the reflection?

The cultural and literary phenomenon,‘Harry Potter’, has revolutionized reading. Like millions of fans around the world, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ever since I read the previous book in the enthralling 1 series. The book had lived up to my expectation and did not disappoint me.

In this novel, Harry’s adventures continue in his sixth school year. He discovers a Potions book belonging to someone named The Half-Blood Prince. He then excels in Potions with aid from the Prince’s notes. During the term, Dumbledore schedules meetings with Harry to familiarize him with Voldemort’s history and character, and thereby finds what may be his only vulnerability 2 — to eliminate his remaining divided soul.

Eventually Harry and Dumbledore leave Hogwarts to obtain Voldemort’s mother’s locket, in which a part of his soul is hidden. They overcome a variety of challenges, traps and obstacles to find the basin where the locket is concealed beneath a noxious potion. Dumbledore perseveres in drinking the entire potion even though it drains his energy and intoxicates him. Harry and Dumbledore then seize the locket and return to Hogwarts immediately.

Dumbledore immobilizes 3 Harry and hides him under his cloak of invisibility. The next second, Draco scurries in and disarms Dumbledore. Meanwhile Snape erupts into the place and kills Dumbledore; hence the spell on Harry is broken. Harry chases after Snape, determined to avenge the brutal 4 murder of his headmaster. Snape declares his own identity as the Half-Blood Prince and escapes. Harry is devastated,

Fiction: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Key Features of Stories

情節 (plot)「哈利波特」之所以風靡全球，主要是因為故事情節吸引、劇情緊湊、佈局層次分明等。在這裏，學生以challenges，traps及obstac les 來顯示情節的緊湊。

Key Features of Stories

角色 (character)扼要地把故事中的主角及配 角 的 關 係 描 繪 出 來 ，有助讀者更容易掌握故事大綱。

短片 1

5 inconceivable 難以想像的    6 sequel 續集 

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Dumbledore’s death is inconceivable 5.

Later, Harry realizes that the locket is fake. Harry, Ron and Hermione vow to finish the work Harry and Dumbledore have started — killing Voldemort by destroying all his remaining souls that are scattered around the world.

In this sequel 6, we can see Harry maturing into a responsible young man. Although it is his unfortunate responsibility to destroy the evil Lord Voldemort, he has never shied away from his destiny and no longer blames it. He also demonstrates courage, endurance and conviction. He feels responsible for the protection of his loved ones and subconsciously blames himself for the death of his parents, godfather and Dumbledore, who died to protect him.

Harry’s unfortunate situation is sympathetic, yet his braveness is greatly admired. Not only does he choose to work through his problems rather than seek ways around them, he faces his fate and fears responsibly and stands calm even in circumstances beyond his control. Despite the fantastical events and settings of Harry’s adventures, they are reflections of daily life circumstances nonetheless. Teenagers easily feel for the characters and find inspirations in them as they may encounter similar growing-up dilemmas such as friendship problems.

The importance of friendship has been the major theme of the story since the first book of the series. Different from the classical heroic stories like superman, the Harry Potter story never portrays Harry as the save-the-world-alone hero. Although Harry is like most teenagers who often overestimate their individual capability, over and over again, he is forced to rely on the help and support of his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. After all, all humans are not made to live alone. We need each other’s support; family relationships and friendships make up the

What is the reflection?

小心不要混淆 rather 和 fairly。雖然兩者的意思都是「頗」，但 fairly 表示既 不 好 也 不 壞 的 意 思 ，如：The rain was fairly heavy. （雨有點大。）

ra ther 則語氣比較強，含不好的意思，如：The rain was rather heavy. （雨實在很大。）這句有傾盆大雨的意思。

Writing Strategies

7 camaraderie 友愛    8 mesmerized 目瞪口呆

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major part of our lives. Although different issues in life may threaten relationships, camaraderie7 overcomes them, like the characters in the book.

Different from the previous books in the series, the theme of self-sacrificing in this book has become rather obvious and significant. Both Harry and Dumbledore are constantly sacrificing their own peace and happiness for the greater good. Even though Harry would love to assume the life of a normal Hogwarts student, he understands that it is his destiny to fight and destroy Voldemort. Harry is perfectly willing to risk his own life to insure the safety of his friends. When Harry leaves with Dumbledore to collect the locket, he leaves his vial of Felix Felicis with his friends to protect them should trouble arise.

Likewise, Dumbledore is constantly willing to lay himself down to protect Harry and Hogwarts. When Harry and Dumbledore reach the basin containing the locket, Dumbledore drinks goblet after goblet of a poisonous potion, insisting that Harry continue to pour it into his protesting mouth, to retrieve and destroy the locket and a piece of Voldemort’s soul. At last, Dumbledore sacrificed his life for the safety of Hogwarts, for protecting Harry and perhaps Malfoy.

The selflessness of Harry and Dumbledore has made them respectable characters among the others. In fact, these qualities in them make them good role models for teenagers and children to follow. In this fast developing materialistic world, people nowadays tend to be more selfish than they were before. Wealth and power are often worth more praise than heroic acts. Moral values and ethics seem to be something that are needed to build a united society.

This book is written with such consummate skill that leaves me mesmerized 8 in awe. The characters are well developed with such

Fiction: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Writing Strategies

學生能加入個人的感想，對哈利的為人、處事態度等有高度評價，更告誡年青人應對社會、朋友及家庭有承擔。財富與權力人人皆愛，但道德觀念對建立一個和諧的社會卻極其重要。

Teacher’s Comments

Although / Even though / Though / Despite / In spite of 都是「雖然」的意思，但用法不一樣。In spite of 或 Despite 與 noun （名詞）或 noun phrase （名詞片語）連用 ， 所 以 這 句 可 改 為 ：In spite of the fact that different issues in life may threaten relationships, camaraderie overcomes them, like the characters in the book.另外，切記 Although 不要與 but 一起使用。

9 sporadic 零星的

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colourful personalities and appear to be realistic and full of feelings. It is written with such detailed descriptions that every facial expression, movement and tone of speech of the characters could be visualized easily, making them real and lively. I seemed to have entered Harry Potter’s world and been caught in the unpredictable and sporadic 9 obstacles that Harry faces.

Although the murder of Dumbledore makes the ending ruthless and chilling, it leaves me in suspense and anticipation for the next book. The Harry Potter series have always been creative and imaginative. This book Harry Potter and the Half–Blood Prince adds maturity and a darker nature to the story with more twists and turns. It also gives a touch on the romantic aspect, which makes it even more entertaining.

Reading this book is a pleasure. It’s highly recommended to all fantasy lovers and teenagers.

Liu Pui Fung, Keefe St. Joseph’s College

Champion, Junior Section23rd Book Report Competition, 2008

brutal 殘暴的   

camaraderie 友愛   

enthralling 吸引人的   

immobilizes 使不能動

inconceivable 難以想像的   

mesmerized 目瞪口呆

Vocabulary Bank

sequel 續集   

sporadic 零星的

vulnerability 脆弱之處   

What is the reflection?