A Tale of Two Cities — Page 11
The resemblance was not lessened by the accidental circumstance, that the mature Jerry bit and spat out straw, while the twinkling eyes of the youthful Jerry were as restlessly watchful of him as of everything else in Fleet-street.
La somiglianza non era diminuita dalla circostanza accidentale che il maturo Jerry mordeva e sputava paglia, mentre gli occhi scintillanti del giovane Jerry erano così irrequietamente vigili su di lui come su tutto il resto in Fleet Street.
The head of one of the regular indoor messengers attached to Tellson's establishment was put through the door, and the word was given:
La testa di uno dei corrieri interni ordinari addetti all'esercizio di Tellson fu messa attraverso la porta, e fu pronunciata la parola:
"Porter wanted!"
«Cercasi facchino!»
"Hooray, father! Here's an early job to begin with!"
«Evviva, padre! Ecco un lavoro mattutino con cui cominciare!»
Having thus given his parent God speed, young Jerry seated himself on the stool, entered on his reversionary interest in the straw his father had been chewing, and cogitated.
Avendo così augurato buona fortuna al suo genitore, il giovane Jerry si sedette sullo sgabello, prese possesso del suo interesse di reversione sulla paglia che suo padre aveva masticato, e meditò.
"Al-ways rusty! His fingers is al-ways rusty!" muttered young Jerry.
«Sem-pre arrugginite! Le sue dita sono sem-pre arrugginite!» borbottò il giovane Jerry.
"Where does my father get all that iron rust from? He don't get no iron rust here!
«Da dove prende mio padre tutta quella ruggine di ferro? Non ne prende di ruggine di ferro qui!
Vocabulary
- somiglianza
- Resemblance or similarity between people or things
- diminuita
- Reduced or lessened in degree or amount
- circostanza
- A circumstance or particular condition surrounding an event
- accidentale
- Accidental; happening by chance, not planned
- maturo
- Mature or ripe; fully developed in age or judgment
- mordeva
- Was biting; imperfect tense of 'mordere'
- sputava
- Was spitting; imperfect tense of 'sputare'
- paglia
- Straw; dry stalks of grain used as fodder or material
- mentre
- Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- occhi
- Eyes; the organs of sight
- scintillanti
- Sparkling or glittering; shining with bright flashes
- giovane
- Young person; someone in early stages of life
- così
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'thus'
- irrequietamente
- Restlessly; in an agitated or uneasy manner
- vigili
- Alert or watchful; attentive and on guard
- tutto
- Everything or all; the entirety of something
- resto
- The rest or remainder of something
- testa
- Head; the upper part of the human body
- corrieri
- Couriers; messengers who deliver letters or packages
- interni
- Internal; belonging to the inside of an organization
- ordinari
- Ordinary or regular; not special or unusual
- addetti
- Workers assigned or dedicated to a specific task
- esercizio
- Exercise or business operation; practice of an activity
- fu
- Past absolute of 'essere'; meaning 'was' (completed action)
- messa
- Past participle of 'mettere'; placed or put
- attraverso
- Preposition meaning 'through' or 'across'
- porta
- Door or gate; an entrance to a building or room
- pronunciata
- Pronounced or spoken; uttered clearly
- parola
- Word; a unit of spoken or written language
- Cercasi
- 'Wanted' or 'sought'; used in job advertisements
- facchino
- Porter or carrier; person who carries luggage or loads
- Evviva
- Hurray or hooray; exclamation of joy or celebration
- padre
- Father; male parent
- Ecco
- Here is or there is; used to point something out
- lavoro
- Work or job; employment or task to be done
- mattutino
- Morning; relating to or occurring in the morning
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom'
- cominciare
- To begin or start something
- Avendo
- Gerund of 'avere'; meaning 'having'
- augurato
- Wished; past participle of 'augurare' meaning to wish well
- buona
- Feminine form of 'good'; positive in quality
- fortuna
- Luck or fortune; favorable chance or fate
- genitore
- Parent; a mother or father
- sedette
- Sat down; past absolute of 'sedersi'
- sgabello
- Stool; a seat without a back or armrests
- prese
- Took; past absolute of 'prendere'
- possesso
- Possession; ownership or control of something
- interesse
- Interest; attention, concern, or financial return
- reversione
- Reversion; return of property or rights to original owner
- masticato
- Chewed; past participle of 'masticare'
- meditò
- Meditated or pondered; reflected deeply on something
- arrugginite
- Rusty; covered with rust, corroded by oxidation
- dita
- Fingers; the digits of the hand
- borbottò
- Muttered or grumbled; spoke quietly and unclearly
- dove
- Where; interrogative adverb of place
- prende
- Takes; third person singular present of 'prendere'
- tutta
- Feminine form of 'tutto' meaning 'all' or 'entire'
- quella
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (feminine)
- ruggine
- Rust; reddish-brown corrosion forming on iron or steel
- ferro
- Iron; a common metallic element or material
- ne
- Pronoun meaning 'of it', 'of them', or 'some'
- qui
- Adverb meaning 'here'; in this place
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