A Tale of Two Cities — Page 2

English → Spanish CHAPTER I. Level 8/10

Even the Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past (supernaturally deficient in originality) rapped out theirs.

Incluso el fantasma de Cock-lane había sido conjurado hacía apenas una docena de años, tras golpetear sus mensajes, tal como los espíritus de este mismo año recién pasado (sobrenaturalmente deficientes en originalidad) golpetearon los suyos.

Mere messages in the earthly order of events had lately come to the English Crown and People, from a congress of British subjects in America: which, strange to relate, have proved more important to the human race than any communications yet received through any of the chickens of the Cock-lane brood.

Simples mensajes en el orden terrenal de los acontecimientos habían llegado recientemente a la Corona y al Pueblo ingleses, provenientes de un congreso de súbditos británicos en América: los cuales, extraño es decirlo, han resultado ser más importantes para la raza humana que cualquier comunicación recibida hasta entonces a través de cualquiera de los polluelos de la cría de Cock-lane.

France, less favoured on the whole as to matters spiritual than her sister of the shield and trident, rolled with exceeding smoothness down hill, making paper money and spending it.

Francia, menos favorecida en general en cuanto a asuntos espirituales que su hermana del escudo y el tridente, rodaba con extraordinaria suavidad cuesta abajo, fabricando papel moneda y gastándolo.

Under the guidance of her Christian pastors, she entertained herself, besides, with such humane achievements as sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off, his tongue torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive, because he had not kneeled down in the rain to do honour to a dirty procession of monks which passed within his view, at a distance of some fifty or sixty yards.

Bajo la guía de sus pastores cristianos, se entretenía, además, con tan humanitarias hazañas como sentenciar a un joven a que le cortaran las manos, le arrancaran la lengua con tenazas y quemaran su cuerpo vivo, porque no se había arrodillado bajo la lluvia para rendir homenaje a una sucia procesión de monjes que pasó ante su vista, a una distancia de unos cincuenta o sesenta metros.

It is likely enough that, rooted in the woods of France and Norway, there were growing trees, when that sufferer was put to death, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it, terrible in history.

Es bastante probable que, arraigados en los bosques de Francia y Noruega, hubiera árboles creciendo cuando aquel desdichado fue ejecutado, ya marcados por el Leñador, el Destino, para ser talados y aserrados en tablas, con las que fabricar cierto armazón móvil con un saco y un cuchillo en su interior, terrible en la historia.

Vocabulary

Incluso: Even; including something unexpected or additional
el: The (masculine singular definite article)
fantasma: Ghost; a spirit or apparition of a dead person
de: Of; from; preposition indicating origin or possession
había: Had; third person singular imperfect of haber
sido: Been; past participle of ser, to be
conjurado: Summoned or exorcised; called forth a spirit
hacía: Ago; used to express time elapsed in the past
apenas: Barely; scarcely; just a short time ago
una: A; one (feminine singular indefinite article)
docena: Dozen; a group or set of twelve items
años: Years; plural of año, unit of time
tras: After; behind; following in time or space
golpetear: To knock repeatedly; to tap or rap persistently
sus: His; her; their; possessive adjective third person
mensajes: Messages; communications sent from one party to another
tal: Such; in such a way; like that
como: As; like; in the same way as
los: The (masculine plural definite article)
espíritus: Spirits; supernatural beings or souls of the dead
este: This (masculine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun)
mismo: Same; very; used for emphasis or identity
año: Year; a period of twelve calendar months
recién: Recently; just; newly; a short time before
pasado: Past; last; gone by; previous in time
sobrenaturalmente: Supernaturally; in a manner beyond natural explanation
deficientes: Deficient; lacking; insufficient in quality or quantity
originalidad: Originality; the quality of being new and creative
suyos: Theirs; his; hers; possessive pronoun third person plural
Simples: Simple; plain; ordinary; not complex or elaborate
orden: Order; arrangement; command; organized sequence of things
terrenal: Earthly; worldly; relating to life on earth
acontecimientos: Events; happenings; significant occurrences in the world
habían: Had; third person plural imperfect of haber
llegado: Arrived; reached; past participle of llegar
recientemente: Recently; not long ago; in the near past
la: The (feminine singular definite article)
Corona: Crown; the monarchy or ruling royal institution
Pueblo: People; nation; common folk of a country
ingleses: English; people or things relating to England
provenientes: Coming from; originating; deriving from a source
congreso: Congress; a formal assembly of representatives or delegates
súbditos: Subjects; citizens under authority of a sovereign ruler
británicos: British; relating to Great Britain or its people
América: America; the continent or the United States of America
cuales: Which; that; relative pronoun referring to things or people
extraño: Strange; odd; unusual; foreign or unfamiliar
decirlo: To say it; infinitive with direct object pronoun attached
han: Have; third person plural present of haber
resultado: Resulted; turned out; past participle of resultar
ser: To be; fundamental verb expressing identity or essence
más: More; most; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
importantes: Important; significant; of great consequence or relevance
para: For; in order to; preposition of purpose or destination
raza: Race; breed; humankind or a group of people
humana: Human; relating to people or mankind in general
que: That; which; than; conjunction or relative pronoun
cualquier: Any; whatever; whichever; indefinite adjective of choice
comunicación: Communication; exchange of information between people
recibida: Received; obtained; past participle of recibir
hasta: Until; up to; as far as; preposition of limit
entonces: Then; at that time; in that case
través: Through; across; by means of; via something
cualquiera: Anyone; any; whichever one; indefinite pronoun or adjective
cría: Brood; offspring; raising of young animals or birds
Francia: France; country in Western Europe
menos: Less; fewer; minus; comparative of little or few
favorecida: Favored; privileged; benefited by good fortune
general: General; overall; relating to the whole, not specific
cuanto: As much as; how much; regarding; concerning
asuntos: Affairs; matters; issues; subjects of concern or business
espirituales: Spiritual; relating to the spirit or religion
su: His; her; its; your; their possessive adjective
hermana: Sister; a female sibling or closely related counterpart
del: Of the; contraction of de and el
escudo: Shield; coat of arms; emblem of protection or identity
tridente: Trident; three-pronged spear, symbol of Britannia
rodaba: Was rolling; gliding; imperfect of rodar
con: With; together with; using; preposition of accompaniment
extraordinaria: Extraordinary; remarkable; beyond what is ordinary or expected
suavidad: Smoothness; softness; gentleness; ease of movement
cuesta: Slope; hill; it costs; downhill or uphill incline
abajo: Down; below; downward; lower in position
fabricando: Manufacturing; producing; making; present participle of fabricar
papel: Paper; role; sheet used for writing or currency
moneda: Currency; coin; money used in a country
gastándolo: Spending it; using it up; present participle with pronoun
Bajo: Under; beneath; low; under the guidance of
guía: Guide; guidance; direction provided by a leader
pastores: Shepherds; pastors; religious leaders tending a congregation
cristianos: Christians; followers of the religion of Christianity
se: Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, themselves, itself
entretenía: Entertained itself; amused; imperfect of entretenerse
además: Furthermore; moreover; in addition; besides something else
tan: So; such; as; used before adjectives for emphasis
humanitarias: Humanitarian; relating to concern for human welfare (ironic)
hazañas: Feats; deeds; notable acts or accomplishments
sentenciar: To sentence; to condemn legally; to pass judgment
joven: Young person; youth; someone of a young age
le: Him; her; you; indirect object pronoun third person
cortaran: They cut off; subjunctive of cortar, to cut
las: The (feminine plural definite article)
manos: Hands; the body parts at the end of arms
arrancaran: They rip out; subjunctive of arrancar, to tear away
lengua: Tongue; language; organ used for speech and taste
tenazas: Tongs; pincers; a gripping tool used for pulling
quemaran: They burned; subjunctive of quemar, to burn
cuerpo: Body; the physical form of a person or animal
vivo: Alive; living; vivid; not dead at the time
porque: Because; since; for the reason that
no: No; not; negation word in Spanish
arrodillado: Kneeled; on one's knees; past participle of arrodillarse
lluvia: Rain; precipitation falling from clouds as water drops
rendir: To render; to pay; to yield; to pay homage
homenaje: Homage; tribute; an act of respect or reverence
sucia: Dirty; filthy; unclean; morally or physically impure
procesión: Procession; an ordered ceremonial march or parade
monjes: Monks; men living in a religious community or monastery
pasó: Passed; went by; third person singular preterite of pasar
ante: Before; in front of; in the presence of
vista: View; sight; vision; the act of seeing something
distancia: Distance; the space between two points or objects
unos: Some; about; a few; indefinite plural article
cincuenta: Fifty; the cardinal number between forty-nine and fifty-one
o: Or; conjunction presenting an alternative choice
sesenta: Sixty; the cardinal number between fifty-nine and sixty-one
metros: Meters; units of length in the metric system
Es: Is; third person singular present of ser, to be
bastante: Quite; enough; fairly; rather; sufficiently
probable: Probable; likely; reasonably expected to happen
arraigados: Rooted; established; deeply fixed in the ground
bosques: Forests; woods; large areas densely covered with trees
hubiera: There were; subjunctive imperfect of haber
árboles: Trees; large woody plants with trunk and branches
creciendo: Growing; increasing in size; present participle of crecer
cuando: When; at the time that; conjunction of time
aquel: That; that one (over there); demonstrative adjective
desdichado: Wretched; unfortunate; unhappy person; ill-fated individual
fue: Was; went; third person singular preterite of ser/ir
ejecutado: Executed; put to death; past participle of ejecutar
ya: Already; now; yet; soon; used to indicate time
marcados: Marked; designated; past participle of marcar, to mark
por: By; for; through; because of; preposition of agency
Leñador: Woodcutter; lumberjack; one who cuts down trees
Destino: Destiny; fate; the predetermined course of events
talados: Felled; chopped down; cut down trees past participle
tablas: Planks; boards; flat pieces of sawn wood
fabricar: To make; to manufacture; to build or construct something
cierto: Certain; a certain; sure; definite; a particular one
armazón: Frame; framework; skeleton structure of a device or object
móvil: Mobile; movable; capable of being moved; portable
saco: Bag; sack; a container made of flexible material
cuchillo: Knife; a bladed tool used for cutting
interior: Interior; inside; inner part of something
terrible: Terrible; dreadful; causing great fear or horror
historia: Story; history; a narrative account of events

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