← Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 2

English → It Preface Level 5/10

It was as much as she could do, lying down on one side, to look through into the garden with one eye; but to get through was more hopeless than ever: she sat down and began to cry again.

Era tutto quello che riusciva a fare, sdraiandosi su un fianco, per guardare nel giardino con un occhio solo; ma riuscire a passare era più impossibile che mai: si sedette e ricominciò a piangere.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," said Alice, "a great girl like you," (she might well say this), "to go on crying in this way! Stop this moment, I tell you!"

«Dovresti vergognarti di te stessa,» disse Alice, «una ragazza grande come te,» (e aveva ben ragione di dirlo), «a continuare a piangere in questo modo! Smettila adesso, te lo dico!»

But she went on all the same, shedding gallons of tears, until there was a large pool all round her, about four inches deep and reaching half down the hall.

Ma continuò lo stesso, versando fiumi di lacrime, finché non si formò una grande pozza tutt'intorno a lei, profonda circa dieci centimetri e che arrivava a metà del corridoio.

After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and she hastily dried her eyes to see what was coming.

Dopo un po' sentì in lontananza un leggero scalpiccio di piedi, e si asciugò in fretta gli occhi per vedere cosa stesse arrivando.

It was the White Rabbit returning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves in one hand and a large fan in the other: he came trotting along in a great hurry, muttering to himself as he came, "Oh! the Duchess, the Duchess! Oh! won't she be savage if I've kept her waiting!"

Era il Coniglio Bianco che tornava, splendidamente vestito, con un paio di guanti bianchi di capretto in una mano e un grande ventaglio nell'altra: veniva trotterellando in gran fretta, borbottando tra sé mentre avanzava, «Oh! la Duchessa, la Duchessa! Oh! come sarà furiosa se l'ho fatta aspettare!»

Alice felt so desperate that she was ready to ask help of any one; so, when the Rabbit came near her, she began, in a low, timid voice, "If you please, sir—"

Alice si sentiva così disperata da essere pronta a chiedere aiuto a chiunque; così, quando il Coniglio le si avvicinò, cominciò, con una voce bassa e timida, «Se non le dispiace, signore—»

The Rabbit started violently, dropped the white kid gloves and the fan, and skurried away into the darkness as hard as he could go.

Il Coniglio trasalì violentemente, lasciò cadere i guanti bianchi di capretto e il ventaglio, e scappò via nell'oscurità più veloce che poteva.

Vocabulary

tutto
Everything, all, the whole
quello
That, that one (demonstrative pronoun/adjective)
riusciva
He/she managed, was able to succeed in doing
sdraiandosi
Lying down, stretching oneself out (gerund, reflexive)
fianco
Side, flank of the body
giardino
Garden, outdoor cultivated space
occhio
Eye, the organ of sight
riuscire
To manage, to succeed, to be able to
passare
To pass, to go through, to cross
impossibile
Impossible, not capable of happening
sedette
Sat down (third person singular past, 'sedersi')
ricominciò
Started again, began once more (past tense)
piangere
To cry, to weep, to shed tears
Dovresti
You should, you ought to (conditional of 'dovere')
vergognarti
To be ashamed of yourself (reflexive infinitive)
stessa
Herself, itself, same (feminine emphatic pronoun)
ben
Well, indeed, certainly (adverb, shortened form)
ragione
Reason, right; avere ragione means to be right
dirlo
To say it (infinitive 'dire' with clitic 'lo')
continuare
To continue, to keep doing something
modo
Way, manner, method of doing something
Smettila
Stop it! Quit it! (imperative of 'smettere', reflexive)
adesso
Now, at this moment
stesso
Same, himself; lo stesso means all the same
versando
Pouring, shedding (gerund of 'versare')
fiumi
Rivers; fiumi di lacrime means floods of tears
lacrime
Tears (plural of 'lacrima'), drops from crying
finché
Until, as long as (temporal conjunction)
formò
Formed, created, shaped (third person past)
pozza
Puddle, small pool of liquid on ground
tutt'intorno
All around, surrounding entirely on every side
profonda
Deep, profound (feminine adjective of depth)
circa
About, approximately, around (adverb of approximation)
centimetri
Centimeters (plural unit of metric measurement)
metà
Half, middle point of something
corridoio
Corridor, hallway, passage between rooms
po'
A little, a bit (shortened form of 'poco')
lontananza
Distance, far away; in lontananza means in the distance
leggero
Light, slight, faint, not heavy
scalpiccio
Pattering, shuffling sound of footsteps
piedi
Feet (plural of 'piede'), lower limbs
asciugò
Dried, wiped dry (third person past of 'asciugare')
fretta
Hurry, haste; in fretta means quickly
occhi
Eyes (plural of 'occhio')
stesse
Was (imperfect subjunctive of 'stare', third person)
Coniglio
Rabbit (the White Rabbit character in the story)
tornava
Was returning, came back (imperfect of 'tornare')
splendidamente
Splendidly, magnificently, beautifully dressed
vestito
Dressed, clothed; also a noun meaning suit or dress
paio
Pair, couple of matching items
guanti
Gloves (plural of 'guanto'), hand coverings
capretto
Kid leather, young goat; gloves made from it
ventaglio
Fan, handheld device used for creating a breeze
trotterellando
Trotting along, jogging at a light pace (gerund)
borbottando
Muttering, grumbling under one's breath (gerund)
Himself, herself, oneself (reflexive stressed pronoun)
mentre
While, as, whilst (temporal conjunction)
avanzava
Advanced, moved forward, proceeded (imperfect tense)
Duchessa
Duchess (female noble title, a character in story)
furiosa
Furious, enraged, very angry (feminine adjective)
aspettare
To wait, to wait for someone
disperata
Desperate, hopeless, in despair (feminine adjective)
pronta
Ready, prepared, willing (feminine adjective)
chiedere
To ask, to request, to inquire
aiuto
Help, assistance, aid; also an exclamation 'help!'
chiunque
Anyone, whoever, anybody at all (indefinite pronoun)
avvicinò
Approached, drew near (third person past of 'avvicinarsi')
voce
Voice, the sound produced when speaking
bassa
Low, soft, quiet (feminine adjective of tone/height)
timida
Timid, shy, hesitant (feminine adjective)
dispiace
Sorry, it displeases; mi dispiace means I'm sorry
signore
Sir, mister, gentleman (form of polite address)
trasalì
Startled, gave a start (third person past of 'trasalire')
violentemente
Violently, with great force or shock
lasciò
Let, left, allowed (third person past of 'lasciare')
cadere
To fall, to drop down
scappò
Ran away, escaped, fled (third person past of 'scappare')
via
Away, off; scappò via means ran away
nell'oscurità
Into the darkness (preposition + noun contracted form)
veloce
Fast, quick, swift (adjective of speed)
← Previous Next →

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

Create free account →