A Tale of Two Cities — Page 3
As to the latter, when every posting-house and ale-house could produce somebody in "the Captain's" pay, ranging from the landlord to the lowest stable non-descript, it was the likeliest thing upon the cards.
En cuanto a lo último, cuando cada casa de postas y taberna podía presentar a alguien en el pago de "el Capitán", desde el posadero hasta el mozo de cuadra más insignificante, era lo más probable de todo.
So the guard of the Dover mail thought to himself, that Friday night in November, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, lumbering up Shooter's Hill, as he stood on his own particular perch behind the mail, beating his feet, and keeping an eye and a hand on the arm-chest before him, where a loaded blunderbuss lay at the top of six or eight loaded horse-pistols, deposited on a substratum of cutlass.
Así pensaba para sí el guardia del correo de Dover aquella noche del viernes de noviembre de mil setecientos setenta y cinco, mientras el carruaje subía pesadamente la colina de Shooter's, de pie en su propio lugar detrás del correo, golpeando los pies para calentarse y manteniendo un ojo y una mano sobre el cofre de armas que tenía delante, donde una trabuco cargado descansaba encima de seis u ocho pistolas de arzón cargadas, depositadas sobre una base de sables.
The Dover mail was in its usual genial position that the guard suspected the passengers, the passengers suspected one another and the guard, they all suspected everybody else, and the coachman was sure of nothing but the horses; as to which cattle he could with a clear conscience have taken his oath on the two Testaments that they were not fit for the journey.
El correo de Dover se encontraba en su habitual y cordial situación: el guardia sospechaba de los pasajeros, los pasajeros sospechaban unos de otros y del guardia, todos sospechaban de los demás, y el cochero no estaba seguro de nada salvo de los caballos; sobre los cuales podría haber jurado en los dos Testamentos con la conciencia tranquila de que no estaban en condiciones para el viaje.
"Wo-ho!" said the coachman. "So, then! One more pull and you're at the top and be damned to you, for I have had trouble enough to get you to it!--Joe!"
«¡Wooo!», dijo el cochero. «¡Vamos! Un tirón más y estaréis en lo alto, ¡y que os lleve el diablo, que bastante me ha costado llevaros hasta aquí! ¡Joe!»
"Halloa!" the guard replied.
«¡Hola!», respondió el guardia.
"What o'clock do you make it, Joe?"
«¿Qué hora tienes, Joe?»
"Ten minutes, good, past eleven."
«Las once y diez, bien pasadas.»
"My blood!" ejaculated the vexed coachman, "and not atop of Shooter's yet! Tst! Yah! Get on with you!
«¡Maldita sea!», exclamó el irritado cochero, «¡y todavía sin llegar a lo alto de Shooter's! ¡Tss! ¡Yah! ¡Adelante!
Vocabulary
- cuanto
- Used in phrases meaning 'as for' or 'as soon as'
- último
- Adjective meaning 'last' or 'most recent'
- cuando
- Conjunction meaning 'when', introducing time clauses
- cada
- Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every'
- casa
- Noun meaning 'house' or 'home'
- taberna
- Noun meaning 'tavern' or 'inn', a place serving drinks
- podía
- Imperfect form of 'poder', meaning 'could' or 'was able to'
- presentar
- Verb meaning 'to present' or 'to introduce someone'
- alguien
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'someone' or 'somebody'
- pago
- Noun meaning 'payment' or verb form 'I pay'
- Capitán
- Noun meaning 'captain', a military or naval rank
- desde
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'since' a point in time
- hasta
- Preposition meaning 'until', 'up to', or 'as far as'
- mozo
- Noun meaning 'young man', 'servant', or 'stable boy'
- cuadra
- Noun meaning 'stable' where horses are kept
- más
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'most', indicating greater degree
- insignificante
- Adjective meaning 'insignificant' or 'unimportant', trivial
- era
- Imperfect form of 'ser', meaning 'was' or 'used to be'
- probable
- Adjective meaning 'probable' or 'likely' to happen
- todo
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'every', or 'everything'
- Así
- Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'
- pensaba
- Imperfect form of 'pensar', meaning 'was thinking' or 'thought'
- para
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'in order to', or 'toward'
- sí
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', or 'itself'
- guardia
- Noun meaning 'guard' or 'watchman', a protective person
- correo
- Noun meaning 'mail' or 'post', also a mail coach
- aquella
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that', referring to distant thing
- noche
- Noun meaning 'night', the dark period after sunset
- viernes
- Noun meaning 'Friday', the fifth day of the week
- noviembre
- Noun meaning 'November', the eleventh month of the year
- mil
- Number meaning 'one thousand', used in counting
- setecientos
- Number meaning 'seven hundred', used in counting large numbers
- setenta
- Number meaning 'seventy', the number between sixty and eighty
- cinco
- Number meaning 'five', the fifth cardinal number
- mientras
- Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'as long as'
- carruaje
- Noun meaning 'carriage', a horse-drawn passenger vehicle
- subía
- Imperfect form of 'subir', meaning 'was climbing' or 'going up'
- pesadamente
- Adverb meaning 'heavily' or 'laboriously', with great effort
- colina
- Noun meaning 'hill', a raised landform smaller than a mountain
- pie
- Noun meaning 'foot', the lower extremity of the leg
- propio
- Adjective meaning 'own', emphasizing personal possession or identity
- lugar
- Noun meaning 'place', 'location', or 'spot'
- detrás
- Adverb meaning 'behind' or 'at the back of something'
- golpeando
- Gerund of 'golpear', meaning 'hitting' or 'striking' repeatedly
- pies
- Plural noun meaning 'feet', the lower extremities of the legs
- calentarse
- Reflexive verb meaning 'to warm oneself' or 'to heat up'
- manteniendo
- Gerund of 'mantener', meaning 'keeping' or 'maintaining' something
- ojo
- Noun meaning 'eye', the organ used for seeing
- mano
- Noun meaning 'hand', the body part at the end of the arm
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'over', or 'about' something
- cofre
- Noun meaning 'chest' or 'strongbox' for storing valuables
- armas
- Plural noun meaning 'weapons' or 'arms', tools for fighting
- tenía
- Imperfect form of 'tener', meaning 'had' or 'used to have'
- delante
- Adverb meaning 'in front' or 'ahead of' something
- donde
- Adverb meaning 'where', indicating a place or location
- cargado
- Adjective meaning 'loaded' or 'charged', full of ammunition
- descansaba
- Imperfect form of 'descansar', meaning 'was resting' on something
- encima
- Adverb meaning 'on top', 'above', or 'over' something
- seis
- Number meaning 'six', the sixth cardinal number
- u
- Conjunction meaning 'or', used before words starting with 'o'
- ocho
- Number meaning 'eight', the eighth cardinal number
- pistolas
- Plural noun meaning 'pistols', small handheld firearms
- cargadas
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'loaded', full of ammunition
- depositadas
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'deposited' or 'placed' somewhere
- base
- Noun meaning 'base' or 'bottom' of something
- encontraba
- Imperfect form of 'encontrarse', meaning 'was' or 'found himself'
- habitual
- Adjective meaning 'habitual' or 'usual', done regularly
- cordial
- Adjective meaning 'cordial', warm and friendly in manner
- situación
- Noun meaning 'situation' or 'circumstances' someone finds themselves in
- sospechaba
- Imperfect form of 'sospechar', meaning 'suspected' or 'was suspicious'
- pasajeros
- Plural noun meaning 'passengers', people traveling in a vehicle
- sospechaban
- Imperfect form of 'sospechar', meaning 'they suspected' each other
- unos
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'some', used before plural nouns
- otros
- Pronoun meaning 'others', referring to additional people or things
- todos
- Pronoun meaning 'everyone' or 'all', referring to an entire group
- demás
- Adjective meaning 'the rest' or 'the others' in a group
- cochero
- Noun meaning 'coachman', driver of a horse-drawn carriage
- estaba
- Imperfect form of 'estar', meaning 'was' in a state or location
- seguro
- Adjective meaning 'sure', 'safe', or 'certain' about something
- nada
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or adverb meaning 'not at all'
- salvo
- Preposition meaning 'except' or 'save for', indicating exclusion
- caballos
- Plural noun meaning 'horses', large domesticated animals used for riding
- cuales
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'who', referring to previously mentioned
- podría
- Conditional form of 'poder', meaning 'could' or 'would be able'
- haber
- Auxiliary verb meaning 'to have', used in compound verb tenses
- jurado
- Past participle of 'jurar', meaning 'sworn' an oath solemnly
- dos
- Number meaning 'two', the second cardinal number
- Testamentos
- Plural noun meaning 'Testaments', referring to Old and New Testaments
- conciencia
- Noun meaning 'conscience' or 'consciousness', moral awareness
- tranquila
- Adjective meaning 'calm', 'quiet', or 'peaceful' in state
- estaban
- Imperfect form of 'estar', meaning 'they were' in some state
- condiciones
- Plural noun meaning 'conditions', circumstances or terms of something
- viaje
- Noun meaning 'trip' or 'journey', travel from one place to another
- dijo
- Preterite form of 'decir', meaning 'said' at a specific moment
- Vamos
- First person plural of 'ir', meaning 'let's go' or 'come on'
- tirón
- Noun meaning 'pull' or 'tug', a sudden jerking movement
- estaréis
- Future form of 'estar', meaning 'you will be' plural
- alto
- Adjective meaning 'tall' or 'high'; also interjection meaning 'halt'
- os
- Second person plural pronoun meaning 'you' as indirect or direct object
- lleve
- Subjunctive form of 'llevar', meaning 'take' or 'carry away'
- diablo
- Noun meaning 'devil', the supreme evil being in Christian belief
- bastante
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'enough' or 'quite' a lot
- costado
- Past participle of 'costar', meaning 'cost' in terms of effort
- llevaros
- Infinitive 'llevar' with reflexive pronoun 'os', meaning 'to take you'
- aquí
- Adverb meaning 'here', indicating the current location or place
- Hola
- Interjection meaning 'hello' or 'hi', a common greeting
- respondió
- Preterite form of 'responder', meaning 'answered' or 'replied'
- Qué
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what', used to ask about something
- hora
- Noun meaning 'hour' or 'time', used when asking the time
- tienes
- Second person singular of 'tener', meaning 'you have' something
- once
- Number meaning 'eleven', the eleventh cardinal number
- diez
- Number meaning 'ten', the tenth cardinal number
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well' or 'good', indicating a positive manner
- pasadas
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'past' or 'gone by' in time
- Maldita
- Adjective meaning 'cursed' or 'damned', expressing frustration or anger
- sea
- Subjunctive form of 'ser', meaning 'be', used in exclamations
- exclamó
- Preterite form of 'exclamar', meaning 'exclaimed' with strong emotion
- irritado
- Adjective meaning 'irritated' or 'angry', expressing displeasure
- todavía
- Adverb meaning 'still' or 'yet', indicating continuation of a state
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without', indicating absence or lack of something
- llegar
- Infinitive meaning 'to arrive' or 'to reach' a destination
- Adelante
- Adverb meaning 'forward', 'ahead', or 'come in' as an interjection
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →