A Tale of Two Cities — Page 2
Whenever the leader made this rattle, the passenger started, as a nervous passenger might, and was disturbed in mind.
Ogni volta che il cavallo di testa faceva quel rumore, il passeggero trasaliva, come potrebbe fare un passeggero nervoso, ed era turbato nell'animo.
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none.
C'era una nebbia fumante in tutte le valli, e aveva vagato nella sua desolazione su per la collina, come uno spirito maligno, cercando riposo e non trovandone.
A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the waves of an unwholesome sea might do.
Una nebbia appiccicosa e intensamente fredda, si faceva strada lentamente attraverso l'aria in ondulazioni che visibilmente si susseguivano e si sovrapponevano l'una all'altra, come potrebbero fare le onde di un mare malsano.
It was dense enough to shut out everything from the light of the coach-lamps but these its own workings, and a few yards of road; and the reek of the labouring horses steamed into it, as if they had made it all.
Era abbastanza densa da escludere tutto dalla luce dei lampioni della carrozza tranne i propri movimenti e qualche metro di strada; e il fetore dei cavalli affaticati vi si diffondeva come vapore, come se fossero stati loro a crearla tutta.
Two other passengers, besides the one, were plodding up the hill by the side of the mail.
Altri due passeggeri, oltre a quello, stavano arrancando su per la collina a lato della diligenza postale.
All three were wrapped to the cheekbones and over the ears, and wore jack-boots.
Tutti e tre erano avvolti fino agli zigomi e sopra le orecchie, e indossavano stivali alti.
Not one of the three could have said, from anything he saw, what either of the other two was like; and each was hidden under almost as many wrappers from the eyes of the mind, as from the eyes of the body, of his two companions.
Nessuno dei tre avrebbe potuto dire, da ciò che vedeva, come fossero gli altri due; e ciascuno era nascosto sotto quasi altrettanti indumenti agli occhi della mente, quanto agli occhi del corpo, dei suoi due compagni.
In those days, travellers were very shy of being confidential on a short notice, for anybody on the road might be a robber or in league with robbers.
In quei tempi, i viaggiatori erano molto restii a confidarsi con così poco preavviso, poiché chiunque si trovasse sulla strada poteva essere un ladro o essere in combutta con i ladri.
Vocabulary
- Ogni
- Every, each; used to indicate all items in a group
- volta
- Time, occasion; instance or turn of something happening
- che
- That, which, who; relative pronoun connecting clauses
- il
- The; definite article for masculine singular nouns
- cavallo
- Horse; four-legged domesticated animal used for riding
- di
- Of, from; preposition indicating possession or origin
- testa
- Head; upper part of body containing brain and face
- faceva
- Made, did; past tense of fare in imperfect form
- quel
- That; demonstrative adjective for masculine singular noun
- rumore
- Noise, sound; audible vibrations or disturbance in air
- passeggero
- Passenger; person traveling in vehicle but not driving
- come
- How, as, like; adverb for manner or comparison
- potrebbe
- Could, might; conditional form of potere verb
- fare
- To do, to make; fundamental Italian verb with many uses
- un
- A, an; indefinite article for masculine singular noun
- nervoso
- Nervous, anxious; state of psychological tension or worry
- ed
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses together
- era
- Was; past tense of essere in imperfect form
- turbato
- Troubled, disturbed; emotionally upset or mentally agitated state
- animo
- Soul, mind, spirit; inner thoughts or emotional disposition
- una
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine singular noun
- nebbia
- Fog, mist; thick water vapor obscuring visibility in air
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or direction inside
- tutte
- All; feminine plural form of tutto meaning every one
- le
- The; definite article for feminine plural nouns
- valli
- Valleys; low areas of land between hills or mountains
- aveva
- Had; past tense of avere in imperfect form
- sua
- His, her, its; possessive adjective for feminine singular
- su
- Up, on; preposition indicating upward direction or location
- per
- For, through; preposition showing purpose or direction
- la
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- collina
- Hill; raised landform smaller than a mountain naturally formed
- uno
- One, a; number one or indefinite article masculine
- spirito
- Spirit, ghost; supernatural being or immaterial essence of person
- cercando
- Seeking, searching; present participle of cercare meaning to look
- riposo
- Rest, repose; state of relaxation or freedom from activity
- non
- Not; adverb negating verbs or making statements negative
- Una
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine singular noun
- fredda
- Cold; low temperature or lacking warmth physically
- si
- Itself, oneself; reflexive pronoun for third person singular
- strada
- Street, road; path or way for travel and transportation
- lentamente
- Slowly, gradually; at a reduced speed or pace
- attraverso
- Through, across; preposition showing passage from one side to other
- aria
- Air; invisible gaseous substance surrounding earth atmosphere
- altra
- Other, another; different or additional feminine singular form
- potrebbero
- Could, might; conditional form of potere third person plural
- onde
- Waves; undulating masses of water moving across surface
- mare
- Sea; large body of saltwater covering earth surface
- Era
- Was; past tense of essere in imperfect form
- abbastanza
- Enough, quite, fairly; sufficient in amount or degree
- densa
- Dense, thick; closely compacted or difficult to penetrate
- da
- From, by; preposition showing origin or agent action
- escludere
- To exclude, shut out; prevent from entering or participating
- tutto
- Everything, all; entire quantity or complete set of things
- luce
- Light; electromagnetic radiation visible to human eye
- carrozza
- Carriage, coach; horse-drawn vehicle for transporting passengers
- tranne
- Except, save; preposition excluding something from group
- propri
- Own; possessive adjective indicating something belongs to self
- movimenti
- Movements, motions; actions of changing position or location
- qualche
- Some, any; indefinite adjective indicating uncertain or unspecified amount
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