← Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 3

English → Spanish CHAPTER III. Level 4/10

"In that case," said the Dodo solemnly, rising to its feet, "I move that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies—"

"En ese caso", dijo el Dodo solemnemente, levantándose, "propongo que se levante la sesión, para la adopción inmediata de remedios más enérgicos—"

"Speak English!" said the Eaglet.

"¡Habla en cristiano!", dijo el Aguilucho.

"I don't know the meaning of half those long words, and, what's more, I don't believe you do either!"

"No sé el significado de la mitad de esas palabras largas, y, además, ¡no creo que tú tampoco lo sepas!"

And the Eaglet bent down its head to hide a smile: some of the other birds tittered audibly.

Y el Aguilucho bajó la cabeza para ocultar una sonrisa: algunas de las otras aves se rieron disimuladamente.

"What I was going to say," said the Dodo in an offended tone, "was, that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race."

"Lo que iba a decir", dijo el Dodo en tono ofendido, "era que lo mejor para secarnos sería una carrera del comité."

"What _is_ a Caucus-race?" said Alice; not that she wanted much to know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that _somebody_ ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.

"¿Qué es una carrera del comité?", dijo Alicia; no es que tuviera muchas ganas de saberlo, pero el Dodo había hecho una pausa como si pensara que alguien debía hablar, y nadie más parecía dispuesto a decir nada.

"Why," said the Dodo, "the best way to explain it is to do it."

"Bueno", dijo el Dodo, "la mejor manera de explicarlo es hacerlo."

(And, as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I will tell you how the Dodo managed it.)

(Y, como quizás te gustaría probar la cosa tú mismo, algún día de invierno, te contaré cómo lo hizo el Dodo.)

First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, ("the exact shape doesn't matter," it said,) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there.

Primero trazó una pista de carreras, en una especie de círculo, ("la forma exacta no importa", dijo,) y luego todos los del grupo fueron colocados a lo largo del recorrido, aquí y allá.

There was no "One, two, three, and away," but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over.

No hubo "Uno, dos, tres, ¡ya!", sino que empezaron a correr cuando quisieron, y pararon cuando quisieron, de modo que no era fácil saber cuándo terminaba la carrera.

Vocabulary

En
In, on, at (preposition indicating location or time)
ese
That (masculine demonstrative adjective or pronoun)
caso
Case, situation, instance, matter
dijo
Said, told (preterite of decir)
el
The (masculine singular definite article)
solemnemente
Solemnly, seriously, in a solemn manner
levantándose
Standing up, rising, getting up (reflexive gerund)
propongo
I propose, I suggest (first person present)
que
That, which, who (conjunction or relative pronoun)
se
Himself, herself, itself, themselves (reflexive pronoun)
levante
Raise, lift, stand up (present subjunctive)
la
The (feminine singular definite article)
sesión
Session, meeting, sitting
para
For, to, in order to (preposition)
adopción
Adoption, act of adopting
inmediata
Immediate, instant, prompt (feminine adjective)
de
Of, from, about (preposition)
remedios
Remedies, solutions, cures
más
More, most, plus
enérgicos
Energetic, forceful, vigorous (plural masculine adjective)
Habla
Speak, talk (command form or third person)
en
In, on, at (preposition)
cristiano
Christian; plain language, understandable Spanish (colloquial)
No
No, not (negation adverb)
sé
I know (first person present of saber)
significado
Meaning, significance, sense
mitad
Half, middle, halfway point
esas
Those (feminine plural demonstrative adjective)
palabras
Words, terms
largas
Long (feminine plural adjective)
y
And (conjunction)
además
Besides, moreover, in addition, furthermore
creo
I believe, I think (first person present)
tú
You (singular informal subject pronoun)
tampoco
Neither, not either, nor
lo
It, him (masculine direct object pronoun)
sepas
You know (second person present subjunctive of saber)
Y
And (conjunction)
bajó
Lowered, went down (preterite of bajar)
cabeza
Head
ocultar
To hide, to conceal, to cover up
una
A, an, one (feminine indefinite article)
sonrisa
Smile
algunas
Some, a few (feminine plural)
las
The (feminine plural definite article)
otras
Other, others (feminine plural adjective or pronoun)
aves
Birds
rieron
Laughed (third person plural preterite of reír)
disimuladamente
Stealthily, secretly, in a concealed manner
Lo
It, him (masculine direct object pronoun)
iba
Was going, used to go (imperfect of ir)
a
To, at (preposition)
decir
To say, to tell
tono
Tone, manner of speaking, pitch
ofendido
Offended, hurt, insulted (past participle or adjective)
era
Was, used to be (imperfect of ser)
mejor
Better, best
secarnos
To dry ourselves (infinitive with reflexive pronoun)
sería
Would be, it would be (conditional of ser)
carrera
Race, career, course, run
del
Of the, from the (contraction of de + el)
comité
Committee, board, commission
Qué
What, which (interrogative or exclamatory pronoun)
es
Is (third person singular present of ser)
tuviera
Had, might have (imperfect subjunctive of tener)
muchas
Many, much (feminine plural)
ganas
Desire, wish, inclination
saberlo
To know it (infinitive + object pronoun)
pero
But, however
había
There was, there were, had (imperfect of haber)
hecho
Done, made, fact (past participle or noun)
pausa
Pause, break, interruption
como
Like, as, how
si
If, whether
pensara
Thought, might think (imperfect subjunctive of pensar)
alguien
Someone, somebody, anyone
debía
Should, ought to, must (imperfect of deber)
hablar
To speak, to talk
nadie
Nobody, no one, anyone (negative)
parecía
Seemed, appeared (imperfect of parecer)
dispuesto
Willing, disposed, ready, prepared
nada
Nothing, anything (negative)
Bueno
Good, well, okay, all right
manera
Way, manner, mode, fashion
explicarlo
To explain it (infinitive + object pronoun)
hacerlo
To do it, to make it (infinitive + pronoun)
quizás
Maybe, perhaps, possibly
te
You, to you (informal object pronoun)
gustaría
Would like (conditional of gustar)
probar
To try, to taste, to test, to prove
cosa
Thing, matter, stuff
mismo
Same, self, very, itself
algún
Some, any (apocopated form of alguno)
día
Day
invierno
Winter
contaré
I will tell, I will count (future tense)
cómo
How, why (interrogative or exclamatory adverb)
hizo
Did, made (preterite of hacer)
Primero
First, firstly, at first
trazó
Drew, traced, sketched (preterite of trazar)
pista
Track, trail, clue, court, runway
carreras
Races, careers, runs
especie
Species, kind, type, sort
círculo
Circle, ring
forma
Form, shape, way, manner
exacta
Exact, precise, accurate (feminine adjective)
importa
Matters, is important (third person present of importar)
luego
Then, later, afterwards, next
todos
All, everyone, every (masculine plural)
los
The (masculine plural definite article)
grupo
Group, team, set
fueron
Were, went (preterite of ser or ir)
colocados
Placed, positioned, arranged (past participle)
largo
Long, lengthy, along
recorrido
Route, path, journey, tour
aquí
Here, over here
allá
There, over there
hubo
There was, there were (preterite of haber)
Uno
One (number or pronoun)
dos
Two (number)
tres
Three (number)
ya
Already, now, yet, anymore
sino
But, but rather, except
empezaron
Started, began (preterite of empezar)
correr
To run, to race
cuando
When, whenever
quisieron
Wanted, wished (preterite of querer)
pararon
Stopped (preterite of parar)
modo
Way, manner, mode, method
fácil
Easy, simple
saber
To know, to find out, to learn
cuándo
When (interrogative or indirect question adverb)
terminaba
Ended, finished (imperfect of terminar)
← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →