A Tale of Two Cities — Page 1
The Mail
郵便馬車
It was the Dover road that lay, on a Friday night late in November, before the first of the persons with whom this history has business.
十一月も終わりに近いある金曜日の夜、ドーバーへの道が、この物語に関わりのある最初の人物の前に延びていた。
The Dover road lay, as to him, beyond the Dover mail, as it lumbered up Shooter's Hill.
彼にとってドーバーへの道は、郵便馬車がシューターズ・ヒルをのろのろと登る、そのかなたにあった。
He walked up hill in the mire by the side of the mail, as the rest of the passengers did; not because they had the least relish for walking exercise, under the circumstances, but because the hill, and the harness, and the mud, and the mail, were all so heavy, that the horses had three times already come to a stop, besides once drawing the coach across the road, with the mutinous intent of taking it back to Blackheath.
彼は他の乗客たちと同様に、郵便馬車のわきをぬかるみの中で歩いて坂を登った。それはこのような状況で徒歩の運動を楽しんでいたからではなく、坂も、馬具も、泥も、馬車もすべてがあまりにも重く、馬たちはすでに三度も立ち止まり、さらに一度は馬車を道の横断方向に引いてブラックヒースへ引き返そうという反抗的な意図を見せたからであった。
Reins and whip and coachman and guard, however, in combination, had read that article of war which forbade a purpose otherwise strongly in favour of the argument, that some brute animals are endued with Reason; and the team had capitulated and returned to their duty.
しかしながら、手綱と鞭と御者と護衛が一体となって、その目的を禁じる戦時規則を読み上げた――その目的とは、一部の獣にも理性が備わっているという論拠を強く支持するものであったが――馬たちは降参して職務に戻った。
With drooping heads and tremulous tails, they mashed their way through the thick mud, floundering and stumbling between whiles, as if they were falling to pieces at the larger joints.
頭を垂れ、尻尾をふるわせながら、馬たちは厚い泥の中をかき分けて進み、時折もがき、よろめいた。まるで大きな関節のところからばらばらに崩れ落ちそうなようであった。
As often as the driver rested them and brought them to a stand, with a wary "Wo-ho! so-ho-then!" the near leader violently shook his head and everything upon it--like an unusually emphatic horse, denying that the coach could be got up the hill.
御者が用心深く「ウォーホー！ソーホー！」と声をかけて馬たちを休ませ、立ち止まらせるたびに、先頭に近い馬は頭とその上のすべてのものを激しく振った――まるで、馬車が坂を上れるはずがないと否定する、ことさら力強い馬のように。
Vocabulary
- 郵便馬車
- yūbin basha — Mail coach; horse-drawn carriage carrying postal deliveries.
- 十一月
- jūichigatsu — November; the eleventh month of the year.
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; particle indicating inclusion or emphasis.
- 終わり
- owari — End; conclusion; the final part of something.
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, location, time, or purpose.
- 近い
- chikai — Near; close; not far in distance or time.
- ある
- aru — To exist; to be; to have (inanimate things).
- 金曜日
- kin'yōbi — Friday; the sixth day of the week.
- の
- no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns.
- 夜
- yoru — Night; evening; the dark hours after sunset.
- へ
- e — Particle indicating direction or destination toward something.
- 道
- michi — Road; path; way; route from one place to another.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle; also indicates contrast or emphasis.
- この
- kono — This; referring to something near the speaker.
- 物語
- monogatari — Story; tale; narrative; fictional or historical account.
- 関わり
- kakawari — Connection; involvement; relationship with something or someone.
- 最初
- saisho — First; the beginning; the very start of something.
- 人物
- jinbutsu — Person; character; figure in a story or history.
- 前
- mae — Before; in front of; prior in time or space.
- 延び
- nobi — Extension; stretching forward; proceeding ahead along a path.
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting sequential or concurrent actions.
- い
- i — Auxiliary verb stem indicating ongoing or resultant state.
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary; indicates completed action or state.
- 彼
- kare — He; him; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
- とって
- totte — For; from the perspective of; concerning someone specifically.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle; indicates the sentence's main topic.
- を
- o — Object marker particle; indicates the direct object.
- のろのろ
- noronoro — Slowly; sluggishly; moving at a very slow pace.
- と
- to — Particle indicating manner, quotation, or accompaniment.
- 登る
- noboru — To climb; to go up; to ascend a slope or stairs.
- その
- sono — That; referring to something near the listener.
- かなた
- kanata — Yonder; beyond; far off in the distance.
- あっ
- a' — Oh!; exclamation of surprise or sudden realization.
- 他
- hoka — Other; another; the rest; something or someone else.
- 乗客
- jōkyaku — Passenger; a person riding in a vehicle or vessel.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix indicating a group of people or beings.
- 同様
- dōyō — Same; likewise; in the same manner or condition.
- わき
- waki — Side; beside; the area alongside something.
- ぬかるみ
- nukarumi — Mud; muddy ground; boggy or miry soft earth.
- 中
- naka — Inside; within; in the middle of a place or situation.
- 歩い
- arui — Walked; past conjunctive form of aruku, to walk.
- 坂
- saka — Slope; hill; an inclined stretch of road or ground.
- 登っ
- nobo' — Climbed; conjunctive form of noboru, to go up.
- それ
- sore — That; referring to something previously mentioned or known.
- よう
- yō — Manner; appearance; seeming like; resemblance to something.
- な
- na — Adjectival particle connecting na-adjectives to nouns.
- 状況
- jōkyō — Situation; circumstances; the current state of affairs.
- 徒歩
- toho — On foot; walking; traveling without a vehicle.
- 運動
- undō — Exercise; movement; physical activity or motion.
- 楽しん
- tanoshinde — Enjoying; taking pleasure from an activity or experience.
- から
- kara — Because; from; since; indicating reason or starting point.
- なく
- naku — Without; not having; negative conjunctive form of nai.
- 馬具
- bagu — Horse gear; harness; equipment used on a horse.
- 泥
- doro — Mud; dirt; wet earth clinging to surfaces.
- 馬車
- basha — Carriage; horse-drawn vehicle for transporting passengers.
- すべて
- subete — All; everything; the whole of something without exception.
- あまり
- amari — Too; excessively; so much that it causes a problem.
- 重く
- omoku — Heavily; in a heavy manner; adverbial form of omoi.
- 馬
- uma — Horse; a large domesticated animal used for riding.
- すでに
- sudeni — Already; by now; having occurred before the present moment.
- 三度
- sando — Three times; on three separate occasions.
- 立ち止まり
- tachidomari — Stopping; coming to a halt; pausing while in motion.
- さらに
- sara ni — Furthermore; even more; additionally; to a greater degree.
- 一度
- ichido — Once; one time; on a single occasion.
- 引い
- hii — Pulled; conjunctive form of hiku, to pull or draw.
- 引き返そう
- hikikaesō — Let's turn back; volitional form of hikikaeru, to return.
- いう
- iu — To say; to speak; to express verbally.
- 反抗的
- hankōteki — Defiant; rebellious; showing resistance or opposition to authority.
- 意図
- ito — Intention; purpose; deliberate plan to do something.
- 見せ
- mise — Showed; displayed; conjunctive form of miseru, to show.
- しかし
- shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; introducing a contrasting statement.
- ながら
- nagara — While; even though; simultaneous action or contradiction.
- 手綱
- tazuna — Reins; straps used by a rider to control a horse.
- 鞭
- muchi — Whip; a flexible instrument used to drive horses.
- 御者
- gyosha — Coachman; driver; person who drives a horse-drawn carriage.
- 護衛
- goei — Guard; escort; person providing protection during travel.
- 一体
- ittai — What on earth; altogether; used to express puzzlement.
- なっ
- na' — Became; conjunctive contracted form of naru, to become.
- 目的
- mokuteki — Purpose; goal; objective; the aim of an action.
- 禁じる
- kinjiru — To forbid; to prohibit; to ban an action or thing.
- 戦時
- senji — Wartime; the period during which a war is being fought.
- 規則
- kisoku — Rule; regulation; established guideline governing behavior.
- 読み上げ
- yomiage — Reading aloud; reciting text out loud to others.
- 一部
- ichibu — A part; a portion; a section of a larger whole.
- 獣
- kemono — Beast; animal; a wild or irrational creature.
- 理性
- risei — Reason; rationality; the capacity for logical thinking.
- 備わっ
- sonawa' — Equipped with; endowed with; possessing an inherent quality.
- いる
- iru — To be; to exist; auxiliary indicating ongoing state.
- 論拠
- ronkyo — Argument; grounds; basis or foundation for a position.
- 強く
- tsuyoku — Strongly; powerfully; adverbial form of tsuyoi, strong.
- 支持
- shiji — Support; backing; endorsement of an idea or person.
- する
- suru — To do; to perform; general-purpose action verb.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; person; something with certain qualities.
- 降参
- kōsan — Surrender; giving up; admitting defeat in a struggle.
- し
- shi — Conjunctive form of suru; also lists reasons or actions.
- 職務
- shokumu — Duty; official responsibility; one's assigned job or task.
- 戻っ
- modo' — Returned; went back; conjunctive form of modoru.
- 頭
- atama — Head; the uppermost part of an animal's or person's body.
- 垂れ
- tare — Hanging down; drooping; lowering limply.
- 尻尾
- shippo — Tail; the rear appendage of an animal.
- ふるわせ
- furuWASE — Trembling; shaking; causing something to quiver or shudder.
- 厚い
- atsui — Thick; dense; substantial in depth or layers.
- かき分け
- kakiwake — Pushing aside; parting through a dense obstruction forcefully.
- 進み
- susumi — Advancing; moving forward; progressing along a path.
- 時折
- tokiori — Occasionally; sometimes; from time to time.
- もがき
- mogaki — Struggling; writhing; straining against difficulty with effort.
- よろめい
- yoromei — Staggered; stumbled; swayed unsteadily while moving.
- まるで
- marude — Just like; as if; used before a comparison or simile.
- 大きな
- ōkina — Large; big; great in size or scale.
- 関節
- kansetsu — Joint; the point of connection between bones in the body.
- ところ
- tokoro — Place; point; moment; the spot where something occurs.
- ばらばら
- barabara — Falling apart; scattered; in pieces; completely disorganized.
- 崩れ落ち
- kuzureochi — Crumbling and falling; collapsing downward under weight.
- そう
- sō — It seems; like that; indicating appearance or likelihood.
- 用心深く
- yōjinfukaku — Cautiously; carefully; in a watchful and wary manner.
- 声
- koe — Voice; spoken sound; the vocal utterance of a being.
- かけ
- kake — Calling out; addressing someone; conjunctive of kakeru.
- 休ませ
- yasuMASE — Letting rest; causing someone or something to take a break.
- 立ち止まら
- tachidomara — Stop; negative/causative stem of tachidamaru, to halt.
- せる
- seru — Causative auxiliary; to make or let someone do something.
- たび
- tabi — Each time; whenever; every occasion something happens.
- 先頭
- sentō — Lead; front; the foremost position in a group.
- 上
- ue — Above; on top; upper part of something.
- 激しく
- hageshiku — Violently; intensely; fiercely; in an extreme manner.
- 振っ
- fu' — Shook; waved; conjunctive form of furu, to shake.
- 上れる
- noboreru — Can climb; potential form of noboru, able to ascend.
- はず
- hazu — Should; supposed to; expected outcome based on reasoning.
- ない
- nai — Not; does not exist; negative form of existence or adjective.
- 否定
- hitei — Denial; negation; the act of declaring something untrue.
- ことさら
- kotosara — Especially; deliberately; particularly; with special emphasis.
- 力強い
- chikarazuyoi — Powerful; strong; forceful; full of energy and strength.
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