A Study in Scarlet — Page 3
So alarming did the state of my finances become, that I soon realized that I must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country, or that I must make a complete alteration in my style of living.
Lo stato delle mie finanze divenne così allarmante che mi resi conto ben presto che avrei dovuto o lasciare la metropoli e ritirarmi in qualche luogo di campagna, oppure apportare un cambiamento radicale al mio tenore di vita.
Choosing the latter alternative, I began by making up my mind to leave the hotel, and to take up my quarters in some less pretentious and less expensive domicile.
Scegliendo quest'ultima alternativa, cominciai col decidermi a lasciare l'hotel e a stabilire la mia dimora in qualche posto meno pretenzioso e meno costoso.
On the very day that I had come to this conclusion, I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when some one tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who had been a dresser under me at Barts.
Proprio il giorno in cui ero giunto a questa conclusione, mi trovavo al Criterion Bar, quando qualcuno mi batté sulla spalla, e voltandomi riconobbi il giovane Stamford, che era stato mio assistente al Barts.
The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man.
La vista di un volto amico nel grande deserto di Londra è davvero una cosa piacevole per un uomo solitario.
In old days Stamford had never been a particular crony of mine, but now I hailed him with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn, appeared to be delighted to see me.
Un tempo Stamford non era mai stato un mio intimo amico, ma ora lo salutai con entusiasmo, e lui, a sua volta, sembrava felice di vedermi.
In the exuberance of my joy, I asked him to lunch with me at the Holborn, and we started off together in a hansom.
Nell'esuberanza della mia gioia, lo invitai a pranzare con me all'Holborn, e partimmo insieme su un hansom.
"Whatever have you been doing with yourself, Watson?" he asked in undisguised wonder, as we rattled through the crowded London streets.
«Ma cosa hai fatto di te stesso, Watson?» chiese con stupore palese, mentre sferragliavamo per le affollate strade di Londra.
"You are as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut."
«Sei magro come un chiodo e abbronzato come una noce.»
I gave him a short sketch of my adventures, and had hardly concluded it by the time that we reached our destination.
Gli feci un breve resoconto delle mie avventure, e avevo appena finito quando arrivammo a destinazione.
"Poor devil!
«Povero diavolo!
Vocabulary
- stato
- State, condition; also past participle of 'essere'
- delle
- Contraction of 'di le', meaning 'of the' (feminine plural)
- mie
- My, feminine plural possessive pronoun
- finanze
- Finances, monetary affairs or resources
- divenne
- Became, third person singular past remote of 'divenire'
- così
- So, thus, in this way
- allarmante
- Alarming, causing worry or concern
- resi
- Past remote of 'rendere', I rendered or realized
- conto
- Account; in 'rendersi conto', to realize something
- ben
- Well, quite; shortened form of 'bene'
- presto
- Soon, quickly, early
- avrei
- I would have; conditional of 'avere'
- dovuto
- Had to, been obliged to; past participle of 'dovere'
- lasciare
- To leave, to let go, to abandon
- metropoli
- Metropolis, large bustling city
- ritirarmi
- To withdraw myself, retire to a quieter place
- qualche
- Some, any, a certain; indefinite adjective
- luogo
- Place, location, spot
- campagna
- Countryside, rural area outside the city
- oppure
- Or else, alternatively; stronger disjunctive conjunction
- apportare
- To bring about, to make, to introduce a change
- cambiamento
- Change, alteration, transformation
- radicale
- Radical, drastic, fundamental in nature
- tenore
- Tenor, standard or level of lifestyle
- vita
- Life, lifestyle, way of living
- Scegliendo
- Choosing, by choosing; gerund of 'scegliere'
- ultima
- Last, final; feminine form of 'ultimo'
- alternativa
- Alternative, another available option or choice
- cominciai
- I began, I started; past remote of 'cominciare'
- col
- Contraction of 'con il', meaning 'with the'
- decidermi
- To decide for myself, to make up my mind
- stabilire
- To establish, to set up, to fix firmly
- dimora
- Dwelling, residence, abode, place of living
- posto
- Place, spot, position, seat
- meno
- Less, fewer; comparative adverb
- pretenzioso
- Pretentious, showy, overly grand or ostentatious
- costoso
- Costly, expensive, requiring much money
- Proprio
- Exactly, just, right; also one's own
- giorno
- Day, daytime period of twenty-four hours
- cui
- Whom, which; relative pronoun used after prepositions
- ero
- I was; first person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- giunto
- Arrived, reached; past participle of 'giungere'
- conclusione
- Conclusion, final decision or resolution
- trovavo
- I was finding myself, I found myself; imperfect tense
- quando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- qualcuno
- Someone, somebody; indefinite pronoun
- batté
- Struck, tapped; past remote of 'battere'
- spalla
- Shoulder, the upper part of the arm joint
- voltandomi
- Turning myself around; gerund with reflexive pronoun
- riconobbi
- I recognized; past remote of 'riconoscere'
- giovane
- Young person, youth; adjective meaning young
- assistente
- Assistant, helper, junior colleague in a workplace
- vista
- Sight, view, the act of seeing someone
- volto
- Face, countenance, expression of a person
- amico
- Friend, male companion or acquaintance
- grande
- Great, large, big in size or importance
- deserto
- Desert, wilderness; also deserted or empty place
- davvero
- Really, truly, indeed; emphasizing adverb
- cosa
- Thing, matter, something; very common noun
- piacevole
- Pleasant, agreeable, enjoyable to experience
- uomo
- Man, adult male human being
- solitario
- Solitary, lonely, living or existing alone
- tempo
- Time, period; also weather
- mai
- Never, ever; adverb of frequency
- intimo
- Intimate, close, deeply personal in relationship
- ora
- Now, at this moment; also hour
- salutai
- I greeted, I saluted; past remote of 'salutare'
- entusiasmo
- Enthusiasm, eagerness, lively interest or excitement
- volta
- Turn, time, occasion; 'a sua volta' means in turn
- sembrava
- Seemed, appeared; imperfect of 'sembrare'
- felice
- Happy, pleased, glad, joyful
- vedermi
- To see me; infinitive with first person object pronoun
- esuberanza
- Exuberance, overflowing joy or high spirits
- gioia
- Joy, delight, happiness, strong positive emotion
- invitai
- I invited; past remote of 'invitare'
- pranzare
- To have lunch, to dine at midday
- partimmo
- We departed, we left; past remote of 'partire'
- insieme
- Together, at the same time, jointly
- fatto
- Done, made; past participle of 'fare'
- stesso
- Same, oneself; used for emphasis or reflexivity
- chiese
- Asked, inquired; past remote of 'chiedere'
- stupore
- Amazement, astonishment, stunned surprise
- palese
- Evident, obvious, clearly apparent to others
- mentre
- While, whereas; temporal or contrasting conjunction
- sferragliavamo
- We rattled along noisily; imperfect of 'sferragliare'
- affollate
- Crowded, packed, full of people
- strade
- Streets, roads, paths in a city
- magro
- Thin, lean, skinny in body appearance
- come
- Like, as, how; comparison or question word
- chiodo
- Nail, the metal fastener; also very thin person
- abbronzato
- Tanned, bronzed, darkened by sun exposure
- noce
- Walnut, the dark brown nut or its wood
- feci
- I made, I gave; past remote of 'fare'
- breve
- Brief, short, concise in duration or length
- resoconto
- Account, report, summary of events or experiences
- avventure
- Adventures, exciting or unusual experiences
- appena
- Just, barely, as soon as; adverb of time
- finito
- Finished, ended, completed; past participle of 'finire'
- arrivammo
- We arrived; past remote of 'arrivare'
- destinazione
- Destination, the intended end point of travel
- Povero
- Poor, unfortunate; used in exclamations of pity
- diavolo
- Devil; used in exclamations like 'poor devil'
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →