A Tale of Two Cities — Page 5
In the midst of them, the hangman, ever busy and ever worse than useless, was in constant requisition; now, stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals; now, hanging a housebreaker on Saturday who had been taken on Tuesday; now, burning people in the hand at Newgate by the dozen, and now burning pamphlets at the door of Westminster Hall; to-day, taking the life of an atrocious murderer, and to-morrow of a wretched pilferer who had robbed a farmer's boy of sixpence.
No meio de tudo isso, o carrasco, sempre ocupado e sempre mais inútil do que útil, estava em constante requisição; ora, enforcando longas fileiras de criminosos variados; ora, enforcando um ladrão de casas no sábado que havia sido preso na terça-feira; ora, marcando pessoas a ferro em brasa em Newgate às dúzias, e ora queimando panfletos à porta de Westminster Hall; hoje, tirando a vida de um assassino atroz, e amanhã a de um miserável ladráo que havia roubado seis centavos de um rapaz de fazendeiro.
All these things, and a thousand like them, came to pass in and close upon the dear old year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five.
Todas essas coisas, e mil outras semelhantes, aconteceram durante e próximo ao querido e velho ano de mil setecentos e setenta e cinco.
Environed by them, while the Woodman and the Farmer worked unheeded, those two of the large jaws, and those other two of the plain and the fair faces, trod with stir enough, and carried their divine rights with a high hand.
Rodeados por elas, enquanto o Lenhador e o Lavrador trabalhavam despercebidos, aqueles dois de queixos grandes, e aqueles outros dois de rostos simples e belos, caminhavam com agitação suficiente, e exerciam seus direitos divinos com mão firme.
Thus did the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five conduct their Greatnesses, and myriads of small creatures--the creatures of this chronicle among the rest--along the roads that lay before them.
Foi assim que o ano de mil setecentos e setenta e cinco conduziu Suas Grandezas, e miríades de pequenas criaturas — as criaturas desta crônica entre as demais — pelos caminhos que se estendiam diante delas.
Vocabulary
- meio
- MAY-oo — Middle, midst, or means of something
- tudo
- TOO-doo — Everything, all of it
- isso
- EE-soo — That, this; neutral demonstrative pronoun
- carrasco
- kah-HAHS-koo — Executioner, hangman; one who carries out executions
- sempre
- SEM-preh — Always, ever; at all times
- ocupado
- oh-koo-PAH-doo — Busy, occupied; engaged in activity
- mais
- mysh — More, most; indicates greater degree
- inútil
- ee-NOO-teel — Useless, pointless; serving no practical purpose
- útil
- OO-teel — Useful, helpful; serving a practical purpose
- estava
- es-TAH-vah — Was; past imperfect of estar
- constante
- kon-STAN-teh — Constant, continuous; happening without interruption
- requisição
- heh-kee-zee-SOWNG — Requisition, demand; formal request for services
- ora
- OH-rah — Now, well; discourse marker expressing transition
- enforcando
- en-for-KAN-doo — Hanging; executing someone by the neck
- longas
- LON-gahs — Long; feminine plural adjective indicating length
- fileiras
- fee-LAY-rahs — Rows, lines, queues of people
- criminosos
- kree-mee-NOH-zoos — Criminals; people who have committed crimes
- variados
- vah-ree-AH-doos — Various, varied; of different kinds
- ladrão
- lah-DROWNG — Thief, robber; person who steals
- casas
- KAH-zahs — Houses, homes; residential buildings
- sábado
- SAH-bah-doo — Saturday; the seventh day of the week
- havia
- ah-VEE-ah — Had, there was; past imperfect of haver
- sido
- SEE-doo — Been; past participle of ser
- preso
- PREH-zoo — Arrested, imprisoned; held in custody
- terça-feira
- TER-sah FAY-rah — Tuesday; the third day of the week
- marcando
- mar-KAN-doo — Marking, branding; leaving a permanent mark
- pessoas
- peh-SOH-ahs — People, persons; human beings
- ferro
- FEH-hoo — Iron; hard metal used for branding
- brasa
- BRAH-zah — Ember, burning coal; glowing hot piece
- dúzias
- DOO-zee-ahs — Dozens; groups of twelve things
- queimando
- kay-MAN-doo — Burning; setting fire to something
- panfletos
- pan-FLEH-toos — Pamphlets, leaflets; small printed publications
- porta
- POR-tah — Door, gate; entrance to a building
- hoje
- OH-zheh — Today; on this present day
- tirando
- tee-RAN-doo — Taking away, removing; depriving someone of something
- vida
- VEE-dah — Life; the state of being alive
- assassino
- ah-sah-SEE-noo — Murderer, assassin; person who kills another
- atroz
- ah-TROHZ — Atrocious, heinous; extremely cruel or wicked
- amanhã
- ah-mah-NYANG — Tomorrow; the day after today
- miserável
- mee-zeh-RAH-vel — Miserable wretch; pitiable or wretched person
- roubado
- hoh-BAH-doo — Stolen; past participle of roubar
- seis
- saysh — Six; the number 6
- centavos
- sen-TAH-voos — Cents; small monetary units
- rapaz
- hah-PAHZ — Boy, lad; young male person
- fazendeiro
- fah-zen-DAY-roo — Farmer, rancher; owner of a large farm
- Todas
- TOH-dahs — All, every; feminine plural of todo
- essas
- EH-sahs — Those, these; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
- coisas
- KOY-zahs — Things, matters; general objects or affairs
- mil
- meel — Thousand; the number 1000
- outras
- OH-trahs — Other, another; different feminine plural things
- semelhantes
- seh-meh-LYAN-tehs — Similar, alike; resembling one another
- aconteceram
- ah-kon-teh-SEH-rowng — Happened, occurred; took place in the past
- durante
- doo-RAN-teh — During; throughout the course of a period
- próximo
- PROH-see-moo — Next, nearest; closest in time or space
- querido
- keh-REE-doo — Dear, beloved; affectionately regarded
- velho
- VEH-lyoo — Old, aged; having existed for a long time
- ano
- AH-noo — Year; period of twelve months
- setecentos
- seh-teh-SEN-toos — Seven hundred; the number 700
- setenta
- seh-TEN-tah — Seventy; the number 70
- cinco
- SEEN-koo — Five; the number 5
- Rodeados
- hoh-dee-AH-doos — Surrounded, encircled; enclosed on all sides
- por
- por — By, for, through; versatile preposition
- elas
- EH-lahs — They, them; third-person feminine plural pronoun
- enquanto
- en-KWAN-too — While, whereas; at the same time as
- Lenhador
- leh-nyah-DOR — Woodcutter, lumberjack; person who cuts wood
- Lavrador
- lah-vrah-DOR — Farmer, ploughman; person who tills the land
- trabalhavam
- trah-bah-LYAH-vowng — Worked; past imperfect of trabalhar
- despercebidos
- des-per-seh-BEE-doos — Unnoticed, unperceived; not seen or detected
- aqueles
- ah-KEH-lehs — Those; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- dois
- doysh — Two; the number 2
- queixos
- KAY-shoos — Jaws, chins; lower part of the face
- grandes
- GRAN-dehs — Big, great, large; of considerable size
- outros
- OH-troos — Others, other; different masculine plural things
- rostos
- HOHS-toos — Faces; front part of a person's head
- simples
- SEEM-plehs — Simple, plain; uncomplicated, without ornamentation
- belos
- BEH-loos — Beautiful, handsome; pleasing to the senses
- caminhavam
- kah-mee-NYAH-vowng — Walked, traveled; past imperfect of caminhar
- agitação
- ah-zhee-tah-SOWNG — Agitation, turmoil; state of nervous disturbance
- suficiente
- soo-fee-see-EN-teh — Sufficient, enough; adequate for the purpose
- exerciam
- eh-zer-SEE-owng — Exercised, exerted; past imperfect of exercer
- seus
- SEH-oos — His, her, their, your; possessive pronoun
- direitos
- dee-RAY-toos — Rights; entitlements or legal claims
- divinos
- dee-VEE-noos — Divine; of or relating to God or deity
- mão
- mowng — Hand; body part used for grasping
- firme
- FEER-meh — Firm, steady; stable and not wavering
- Foi
- foy — Was, went; past tense of ser or ir
- assim
- ah-SEENG — Thus, so, this way; in this manner
- conduziu
- kon-doo-ZEE-oo — Led, conducted, guided; past tense of conduzir
- Suas
- SOO-ahs — Their, your; feminine plural possessive pronoun
- Grandezas
- gran-DEH-zahs — Greatnesses, Majesties; titles of exalted persons
- miríades
- mee-REE-ah-dehs — Myriads; vast uncountable numbers of things
- pequenas
- peh-KEH-nahs — Small, little; of minimal size
- criaturas
- kree-ah-TOO-rahs — Creatures, beings; living entities
- crônica
- KROH-nee-kah — Chronicle; historical narrative of events
- entre
- EN-treh — Among, between; in the middle of
- demais
- deh-MYSH — Too much, the rest, the others
- caminhos
- kah-MEE-nyoos — Paths, roads, ways; routes to travel
- estendiam
- es-ten-DEE-owng — Extended, stretched out; past imperfect of estender
- diante
- dee-AN-teh — Before, ahead; in front of something
- delas
- DEH-lahs — Of them; contraction of de + elas
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →