That mystical 就 again

Question

Here is a sentence:

厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳

Below are my translation variants. Bold letters should be a 'jiu' english analog here.

1. The mirror on top of the kitchen's fireplace scared Harry the most.
2. Even a (simple) mirror on top of the kitchen's fireplace was enought to scare Harry.
3. The mirror on top of the kitchen's fireplace scared the hell otta Harry.

What does it mean with 就 and what about without it? I know it should emphasis something, but my russian brain just can't get hold of it.

One more example of the same construction:

Context (paragraph before target):

他父母留给他的一点可怜的财产，存在古灵阁的地下金库里。当然，他的钱只能在魔法世界里使用，你不能在麻瓜的商店里用加隆、西可和纳特买东西。哈利从没向德思礼一家提起他在古灵阁的存款，他认为他们虽然惧怕与魔法有关的一切，但这种恐惧大概不会扩展到一大堆金币上面。

THE GAP HERE!!! I mean J.K. started the target sentence from a NEW LINE!!!

到了下星期三，韦斯莱夫人一大早就把他们叫醒了。他们每人匆匆吃了五六块咸肉三明治，然后穿好外套。韦斯莱夫人从厨房壁炉架上端起一只花盆，朝里面看着

so you see... it's given (in the book) WITHOUT any context as far as I understand the word context :)!!!

Answer 1

Relating to your first sentence: 韦斯莱家却充满了神奇和意外。厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳。

This 就 is the 12th meaning of 就 as an adverb in 《现代汉语词典》:

表示事实正是如此：那就是他的家 ㄧ这人就是他哥哥ㄧ幼儿园就在这个胡同里。

It's meaning 12e in 《现代汉语规范词典》

表示事实如此。 这儿就是我的家 | 车站就前面。

It expresses that the facts or the situation are really like this. It can be seen as an illustration of or a proof for the previous sentence.

Relating to your second sentence: 到了下星期三，韦斯莱夫人一大早就把他们叫醒了

This pattern of 就 is explained here: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/1906/540 I'm not going to copy the answer I gave there :-)

Answer 2

I am going to stick with your first example.

The use of 就 is reliant on the phrase or sentence that precedes the current one.

The sentence: "韦斯莱家却充满了神奇和意外" introduces the premise of the situation. The fact that the house of the Wesleys is full of mysteries and surprises primes the reader for what comes next.

The fact that Harry's startled by a mere mirror is the result of this premise. So the use of 就 here is to emphasize on how easily he's prone to be startled in a house like this. It's the result of the premise that leads up to this.

Therefore, the sentence: "厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳" without any context sounds very strange as the reader/listener expects a condition to precede it, whereas if you remove the use of 就, it becomes a simple statement that expresses a fact without any antecedent.

Answer 3

In the second sentence, 就 is a kind of emphasis. The first is a little bit more complex. The meaning is, not to say more, only 厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子 has already scared 哈利. So, 2. in your question is the best in the 3 to explain the meaning of 就.

Answer 4

I'll stick with the first sentence. If the context was not given

厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳

means "Even a (simple) mirror on top of the kitchen's fireplace was enough to scare Harry", which implies that Harry is so easy to be scared.

However, if the context was set:

韦斯莱家却充满了神奇和意外

就 in the same sentence actually suggests an example. So,

韦斯莱家却充满了神奇和意外，厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳

means

韦斯莱家却充满了神奇和意外，（比如）厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳

I guess the author will add more details about how the mirror actually scared Harry after that.