A Study in Scarlet — Page 8
" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit.
" disse cordialmente, stringendomi la mano con una forza che difficilmente gli avrei attribuito.
"You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."
"Lei è stato in Afghanistan, lo percepisco."
"How on earth did you know that?" I asked in astonishment.
"Come diavolo lo sapeva?" chiesi con stupore.
"Never mind," said he, chuckling to himself.
"Non importa," disse lui, ridacchiando tra sé e sé.
"The question now is about hæmoglobin.
"La questione ora riguarda l'emoglobina.
No doubt you see the significance of this discovery of mine?"
Senza dubbio lei vede il significato di questa mia scoperta?"
"It is interesting, chemically, no doubt," I answered, "but practically——"
"È interessante, chimicamente, senza dubbio," risposi, "ma praticamente——"
"Why, man, it is the most practical medico-legal discovery for years.
"Eppure, amico mio, è la scoperta medico-legale più pratica degli ultimi anni.
Don't you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains.
Non vede che ci fornisce un test infallibile per le macchie di sangue?
Come over here now!"
Venga qui ora!"
He seized me by the coat-sleeve in his eagerness, and drew me over to the table at which he had been working.
Mi afferrò per la manica del cappotto con impazienza, e mi trascinò verso il tavolo al quale aveva lavorato.
"Let us have some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette.
"Prendiamo del sangue fresco," disse, conficcandosi un lungo punteruolo nel dito e aspirando la goccia di sangue risultante in una pipetta chimica.
"Now, I add this small quantity of blood to a litre of water.
"Ora aggiungo questa piccola quantità di sangue a un litro d'acqua.
You perceive that the resulting mixture has the appearance of pure water.
Lei nota che la miscela risultante ha l'aspetto di acqua pura.
The proportion of blood cannot be more than one in a million.
La proporzione di sangue non può essere superiore a uno su un milione.
I have no doubt, however, that we shall be able to obtain the characteristic reaction."
Non ho dubbi, tuttavia, che saremo in grado di ottenere la reazione caratteristica."
As he spoke, he threw into the vessel a few white crystals, and then added some drops of a transparent fluid.
Mentre parlava, gettò nel recipiente alcuni cristalli bianchi, e poi aggiunse alcune gocce di un liquido trasparente.
In an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour, and a brownish dust was precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar.
In un istante il contenuto assunse un colore opaco mogano, e una polvere brunastra si depositò sul fondo del barattolo di vetro.
"Ha!
"Ah!
Vocabulary
- disse
- Said; spoke (past tense of dire)
- cordialmente
- Cordially; warmly and in a friendly manner
- stringendomi
- Squeezing me; grasping me tightly (present participle)
- la
- The (feminine singular article); her, it (feminine object pronoun)
- mano
- Hand; the limb at the end of the arm
- con
- With; used to indicate accompaniment or means
- una
- A, an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- forza
- Force; strength; power or intensity of something
- che
- That; which; who (relative pronoun)
- difficilmente
- Hardly; with difficulty; scarcely or unlikely
- gli
- To him; him (indirect object pronoun)
- avrei
- Would have (conditional past of avere)
- attribuito
- Attributed; assigned or credited to someone
- Lei
- You (formal singular); she (formal pronoun)
- stato
- State; condition or status; been (past participle)
- in
- In; inside or within a place or time
- lo
- It; him (masculine singular object pronoun)
- percepisco
- I perceive; I sense or notice something
- Come
- How; in what way or manner
- diavolo
- Devil; used for emphasis in exclamations
- sapeva
- Knew; understood (imperfect past of sapere)
- chiesi
- Asked; inquired (past tense of chiedere)
- stupore
- Astonishment; surprise or amazement at something
- Non
- Not; negation particle used before verbs
- importa
- Matters; it is important (from importare)
- lui
- Him; he (masculine singular pronoun)
- ridacchiando
- Chuckling; laughing softly or in a subdued way
- tra
- Between; among or in the midst of
- sé
- Self; oneself (reflexive pronoun)
- La
- The (feminine singular article)
- questione
- Question; issue or matter under discussion
- ora
- Now; at the present time
- riguarda
- Concerns; relates to or affects something
- Senza
- Without; in the absence of something
- dubbio
- Doubt; uncertainty or lack of conviction
- lei
- She; her (feminine singular pronoun)
- vede
- See; perceive with the eyes (informal you)
- il
- The (masculine singular article)
- significato
- Meaning; sense or importance of something
- di
- Of; expressing possession or relationship
- questa
- This (feminine singular demonstrative adjective)
- mia
- My (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- scoperta
- Discovery; finding or uncovering something new
- interessante
- Interesting; engaging or holding one's attention
- chimicamente
- Chemically; in relation to chemical composition
- senza
- Without; in the absence of something
- risposi
- Answered; replied (past tense of rispondere)
- ma
- But; yet (conjunction expressing contrast)
- praticamente
- Practically; in a practical or realistic manner
- Eppure
- Yet; nevertheless (conjunction of contrast)
- amico
- Friend; person with whom one has friendship
- mio
- My (masculine singular possessive adjective)
- medico
- Doctor; physician or medical professional
- legale
- Legal; relating to law or the legal system
- più
- More; greater in amount or degree
- pratica
- Practice; actual experience or application
- degli
- Of the; contracted form of di + gli
- ultimi
- Last; most recent or final in time
- anni
- Years; periods of twelve months
- ci
- Us; ourselves (object pronoun)
- fornisce
- Provides; supplies or offers something
- un
- A, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- test
- Test; examination or trial of something
- infallibile
- Infallible; incapable of being wrong
- per
- For; indicating purpose or direction
- le
- The (feminine plural article); her (object)
- macchie
- Stains; marks or spots on a surface
- sangue
- Blood; red fluid circulating in the body
- Venga
- Come; formal imperative of venire
- qui
- Here; in this place or location
- Mi
- Me; myself (object pronoun)
- afferrò
- Grasped; seized or grabbed something firmly
- manica
- Sleeve; part of garment covering the arm
- del
- Of the; contracted form of di + il
- cappotto
- Coat; outer garment worn for warmth
- impazienza
- Impatience; lack of patience or eagerness
- mi
- Me; myself (object pronoun)
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