下面這則新聞可能會令《哈》迷傷心萬分，哈里·波特的故事將在《哈利·波特》系列故事第七部中終結(jié)，而且，哈利·波特可能會在故事結(jié)束時死去。據(jù)外電報道，《哈利·波特》小說作者羅琳表示：書中的三名主人公有一人已幸免于難，但另外兩位將會死去。”雖然羅琳沒有說出這兩位將要死去的人究竟是誰，但她隨后的一句——“我從來不想在大結(jié)局時殺死哈利”——令人深思，因為這將暗示，在本書結(jié)束時，廣受大家熱愛的哈利·波特可能會離開人間。

Speaking on Monday evening, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, 40, said she was well on the way to finishing the eagerly-awaited seventh Potter book. "I wrote the final chapter in something like 1990, so I've known exactly how the series is going to end," she told a chat show on Channel 4 television. "The final chapter is hidden away although it's now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve. But I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die," Rowling said. "A price has to be paid, we are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras, do they? They go for the main characters -- well, I do." Asked whether one of the casualties would be Potter himself, Rowling said she had never been tempted to kill off the magician before the finale. At the same time, she added: "I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, 'Well I'm gonna kill them off because that means there can be no non-author written sequels. So it will end with me and after I'm dead and gone they won't be able to bring back the character' ." The author said she did not want to commit herself either way on Potter's fate, telling interviewers Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan: "I don't want the hate mail, apart from anything else." Rowling, who shot to fame from humble roots, also revealed that she still writes in cafes and based the character of Potter's good friend Hermione on a combination of herself and her sister when they were young. As for the future after Potter, Rowling said: "I don't think I'm ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry." The first six books in the series have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide and been translated into 63 languages. The first four have also been made into blockbuster movies. The seventh novel is reportedly due to be published next year at the earliest. (Agencies)

Vocabulary:

chat show:（電視或廣播電臺的）訪談節(jié)目 casualty: 人員傷亡 'Well I'm gonna kill them ... back the character': 這句話道出了“為什么小說作者往往讓成功系列故事主人公死去”的原因：我將殺死他們（小說的主人公），這樣就不會有另外的作者寫續(xù)集了。小說將與我一起終結(jié)，在我死后小說人物不會再回來了。 （英語點津陳蓓編輯）