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A Tale of Two Cities — Page 4

English → De CHAPTER I. Level 8/10

Daring burglaries by armed men, and highway robberies, took place in the capital itself every night;

Kühne Einbrüche bewaffneter Männer und Straßenräubereien fanden jede Nacht in der Hauptstadt selbst statt;

families were publicly cautioned not to go out of town without removing their furniture to upholsterers' warehouses for security;

Familien wurden öffentlich gewarnt, die Stadt nicht zu verlassen, ohne ihr Mobiliar zur Sicherheit in die Lager von Polsterern zu schaffen;

the highwayman in the dark was a City tradesman in the light, and, being recognised and challenged by his fellow-tradesman whom he stopped in his character of "the Captain," gallantly shot him through the head and rode away;

der Straßenräuber im Dunkeln war bei Tageslicht ein Kaufmann der City, und als er von seinem Händlerkollegen, den er in seiner Eigenschaft als „der Hauptmann" angehalten hatte, erkannt und zur Rede gestellt wurde, schoss er ihn tapfer durch den Kopf und ritt davon;

the mail was waylaid by seven robbers, and the guard shot three dead, and then got shot dead himself by the other four, "in consequence of the failure of his ammunition:" after which the mail was robbed in peace;

die Post wurde von sieben Räubern überfallen, und der Wächter erschoss drei von ihnen, wurde dann aber selbst von den anderen vier erschossen, „infolge des Versagens seiner Munition:" woraufhin die Post in aller Ruhe beraubt wurde;

that magnificent potentate, the Lord Mayor of London, was made to stand and deliver on Turnham Green, by one highwayman, who despoiled the illustrious creature in sight of all his retinue;

jener prächtige Machthaber, der Lord Mayor von London, wurde auf Turnham Green von einem einzigen Straßenräuber zum Anhalten und Herausgeben seines Besitzes gezwungen, der das erlauchte Wesen vor den Augen seines gesamten Gefolges ausraubte;

prisoners in London gaols fought battles with their turnkeys, and the majesty of the law fired blunderbusses in among them, loaded with rounds of shot and ball;

Gefangene in Londoner Gefängnissen lieferten sich Kämpfe mit ihren Gefängniswärtern, und die Majestät des Gesetzes feuerte Donnerbüchsen unter sie, geladen mit Schrot und Kugeln;

thieves snipped off diamond crosses from the necks of noble lords at Court drawing-rooms;

Diebe schnitten bei höfischen Empfängen Diamantkreuze von den Hälsen adeliger Lords;

musketeers went into St. Giles's, to search for contraband goods, and the mob fired on the musketeers, and the musketeers fired on the mob, and nobody thought any of these occurrences much out of the common way.

Musketiere zogen nach St. Giles, um nach Schmuggelware zu suchen, und der Pöbel schoss auf die Musketiere, und die Musketiere schossen auf den Pöbel, und niemand hielt irgendein dieser Ereignisse für besonders außergewöhnlich.

Vocabulary

Kühne
Bold or daring persons; audacious individuals
Einbrüche
Burglaries or break-ins into buildings
bewaffneter
Armed; carrying weapons
Männer
Men; adult male persons
Straßenräubereien
Street robberies; acts of mugging in public
fanden
Found; past tense of finden, to find
jede
Every; each individual one
Nacht
Night; the dark period after sunset
Hauptstadt
Capital city; the primary city of a country
selbst
Itself; emphasizing the subject mentioned
statt
Took place; occurred (part of stattfinden)
Familien
Families; groups of related persons living together
wurden
Were; past passive auxiliary verb form
öffentlich
Publicly; in a manner visible to everyone
gewarnt
Warned; past participle of warnen, to warn
Stadt
City; an urban settlement or town
verlassen
To leave; to depart from a place
ohne
Without; lacking something or someone
ihr
Their; possessive pronoun referring to them
Mobiliar
Furniture; movable household furnishings and belongings
Sicherheit
Safety or security; protection from danger
Lager
Storage; a place to store goods safely
Polsterern
Upholsterers; craftsmen who make upholstered furniture
schaffen
To bring or manage; to accomplish a task
Straßenräuber
Highwayman or mugger; one who robs on streets
Dunkeln
In the dark; during darkness or nighttime
war
Was; past tense of sein, to be
Tageslicht
Daylight; the natural light during daytime hours
Kaufmann
Merchant; a person who trades commercially
City
City; commercial district, borrowed English word
als
As or when; conjunction used in comparisons
Händlerkollegen
Fellow merchant; a colleague in the trading business
Eigenschaft
Quality or capacity; a characteristic role or function
Hauptmann
Captain; a military officer of mid-level rank
angehalten
Stopped; past participle of anhalten, to halt
hatte
Had; past tense of haben, to have
erkannt
Recognized; past participle of erkennen, to recognize
Rede
Speech or account; being called to account
gestellt
Placed; past participle of stellen, to place
wurde
Was; past passive auxiliary singular form
schoss
Shot; past tense of schießen, to shoot
tapfer
Bravely; in a courageous or bold manner
durch
Through; preposition indicating passage through something
Kopf
Head; the uppermost part of the human body
ritt
Rode; past tense of reiten, to ride horse
davon
Away; moved off or departed from the scene
Post
Mail coach; vehicle carrying mail and passengers
sieben
Seven; the cardinal number between six and eight
Räubern
Robbers; criminals who steal using force or threat
überfallen
Ambushed; past participle of überfallen, to attack
Wächter
Guard; a person who watches over and protects
erschoss
Shot dead; past tense of erschießen, to shoot
drei
Three; the cardinal number between two and four
dann
Then; afterward or at that point in time
aber
But; a coordinating conjunction showing contrast
anderen
Other; the remaining or different ones mentioned
vier
Four; the cardinal number between three and five
erschossen
Shot dead; past participle of erschießen, to shoot
infolge
As a result of; owing to a particular cause
Versagens
Failure; genitive of Versagen, a breakdown or malfunction
Munition
Ammunition; bullets and other projectiles for firearms
woraufhin
Whereupon; following which, as a consequence
Ruhe
Calm or peace; a state of quiet stillness
beraubt
Robbed; past participle of berauben, to deprive
jener
That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something mentioned
prächtige
Splendid; magnificent or grand in appearance
Machthaber
Ruler; a person who holds authority or power
Lord
Lord; English title of a nobleman or official
Mayor
Mayor; the elected head of a city government
einzigen
Single; only one, used for emphasis
Anhalten
Stopping; the act of bringing to a halt
Herausgeben
Handing over; surrendering possessions to someone
Besitzes
Possessions; genitive of Besitz, property owned
gezwungen
Forced; past participle of zwingen, to compel
erlauchte
Illustrious; of noble or distinguished status
Wesen
Being or creature; an entity or living individual
vor
Before or in front of; preposition of position
Augen
Eyes; the organs of sight, plural of Auge
gesamten
Entire; of the whole group or totality
Gefolges
Entourage; genitive of Gefolge, group of attendants
ausraubte
Robbed; past tense of ausrauben, to plunder completely
Gefangene
Prisoners; persons held captive or under arrest
Gefängnissen
Prisons; institutions where convicted criminals are held
lieferten
Provided or delivered; past tense of liefern
Kämpfe
Fights or battles; plural of Kampf, a struggle
Gefängniswärtern
Prison guards; wardens who oversee incarcerated persons
Majestät
Majesty; a title or concept of royal authority
Gesetzes
Of the law; genitive of Gesetz, a legal rule
feuerte
Fired; past tense of feuern, to shoot a weapon
Donnerbüchsen
Blunderbusses; old wide-barreled firearms for close range
unter
Under or among; preposition indicating position below
geladen
Loaded; past participle of laden, to load
Schrot
Buckshot; small metal pellets used in shotguns
Kugeln
Bullets; projectiles fired from a firearm
Diebe
Thieves; persons who steal from others
schnitten
Cut; past tense of schneiden, to cut something
höfischen
Courtly; relating to a royal court and ceremonies
Empfängen
Receptions; formal gatherings or ceremonial events
Diamantkreuze
Diamond crosses; jeweled cross-shaped ornamental pieces
Hälsen
Necks; plural of Hals, the neck of a person
adeliger
Noble; of aristocratic rank or high social standing
Lords
Lords; English noblemen of high aristocratic rank
Musketiere
Musketeers; soldiers armed with muskets, historical troops
zogen
Marched or moved; past tense of ziehen, to go
nach
To or after; preposition indicating direction or time
Schmuggelware
Contraband; illegally imported or smuggled goods
suchen
To search for; to look for something or someone
Pöbel
Mob; an unruly crowd or rabble of common people
schossen
Fired back; past tense of schießen, to shoot
niemand
Nobody; no person at all, indefinite pronoun
hielt
Held or considered; past tense of halten
irgendein
Any; some unspecified one of several things
dieser
These or this; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
Ereignisse
Events; occurrences or incidents that take place
besonders
Especially or particularly; to a notable degree
außergewöhnlich
Extraordinary; unusual or beyond what is normal
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