The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.
　　她的表情是那樣地嚴肅，不禁使哈利感到要通過她的課可能很難。大門立刻打開了，門口站著一個身著翡翠綠長袍的黑頭發(fā)的高個子女魔法師。
“The firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” said Hagrid.
　　"麥康娜教授，一年級新生都在這兒了。"哈格力報告說。
“Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.”
　"謝謝你，哈格力，我會帶他們進去的。"
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys’ house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
　　她把大門完全推開。里面的入口大廳大得驚人，甚至可以裝下杜斯利家的整幢房子。火把將石墻照得通明，房頂高得難以想象，正面美麗的大理石樓梯通往樓上。
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
　　孩子們跟著麥康娜教授走過一段插滿彩旗的地板。哈利可以聽到從右邊入口傳來成百上千個喧鬧的聲音——學(xué)校的其他學(xué)生也已經(jīng)到了。——但麥康娜教授卻把新生都帶到遠離大廳的一間小空房子里。他們?nèi)�都擠了進來，站得密密麻麻，緊張地四處張望。

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said Professor McGonagall. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
　　"歡迎你們到霍格瓦徹來。"麥康娜教授高聲說道，"開學(xué)晚宴很快就要開始了。但在此之前，你們先會被分配到各自的學(xué)院，分配儀式十分重要，因為既然你們到這兒來了，你們的學(xué)院就是你們在霍格瓦徹的家。你們要跟學(xué)院里的其他同學(xué)一起上課、一起居住、一起游戲。"
“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
    "這四所學(xué)院分別叫做格林芬頓、海夫巴夫、衛(wèi)文卡羅和史林德林。每所學(xué)院都有它光榮而悠久的歷史，都曾培養(yǎng)出才華橫溢的魔法師。你們在霍格瓦徹期間，如果遵守紀律就會給你們加分，如果違反規(guī)矩就會被扣分。每年年底，得分最高的那所學(xué)院里的孩子就會被授予一項無上的榮譽——"豪斯杯"。我希望你們都能為自己的學(xué)院爭光。