【明報專訊】After the thrilling battle nineteen years ago, the Smarties meet on Platform 9 3/4 once again. As expected, the Monkey with Big Ears is there to greet them. Their story goes on, and so is the Harry Potter series!

Harry Potter is a series of seven novels by British writer J K Rowling. The novels are about the life of a young wizard called Harry Potter (哈利波特), who fights against Lord Voldemort (佛地魔) with his friends Hermione Granger (妙麗·格蘭傑) and Ron Weasley (榮恩·衛斯理), whom he comes to know at Hogwarts (霍格華茲) School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Based on a new, original story by Rowling, Jack Thorne (a playwright) and John Tiffany (a theatre director), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that is to open on 30 July 2016. The story will come out as a book on 31 July, Harry's birthday. It will be the eighth story of the Harry Potter series. It is about what happens nineteen years after the events described in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The play focuses on Albus Severus Potter, Harry's youngest son.

In March, 2016, J K Rowling posted on Twitter two rejection letters she had received from two publishers who had refused to publish her first crime novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, which she authored under the name of Robert Galbraith. She did so to encourage aspiring writers. "For inspiration, not revenge", she said.

“ Bill: Help! I'm stuck! ”

■Mission 1

Complete J K Rowling's biography with the correct prepositions.

Being the author 1. ________ one of the most popular book series in history, J K Rowling had gone through struggles 2. ________ she wrote the Harry Potter novels. J K Rowling is Joanne Rowling's pen name. K is a letter she took from her mother's name. She was born 3. ________ 1965, and is a single mother 4. ________ three children. She used to write in cafes because she believed taking her children 5. ________ was one of the best ways to make them fall asleep. (Photo A)

■Mission 2

What number does the question mark represent?

(see the picture)

■Mission 3

Divide the box into 4 identical parts so that each part contains an A, a B, and a C.

(see the picture)

■Key words

novel 小說

wizard 巫師

witchcraft 巫術

playwright 劇作家

■English highway﹕-words and collocations

pen name

Pen names are names adopted by writers. A writer uses a pen name because it may sound more distinctive than his real name or because he wants to conceal his identity.

e.g. Bill publishes a book about fighting Eason under a pen name.

■Glossary

cursed (adj) 被詛咒的

play (n) 戲劇

aspiring (adj)渴望從事……的

inspiration (n) 靈感

revenge (n) 報復

struggle (n) 掙扎

adopt (v) 採用

conceal (v) 隱藏