Anna Karenina — Page 2
Three days after the quarrel, Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky—Stiva, as he was called in the fashionable world—woke up at his usual hour, that is, at eight o'clock in the morning, not in his wife's bedroom, but on the leather-covered sofa in his study.
Tre giorni dopo la lite, il principe Stepan Arkad'evič Oblonsky—Stiva, come veniva chiamato nel mondo alla moda—si svegliò alla sua ora solita, vale a dire alle otto del mattino, non nella camera da letto di sua moglie, ma sul divano rivestito di cuoio nel suo studio.
He turned over his stout, well-cared-for person on the springy sofa, as though he would sink into a long sleep again; he vigorously embraced the pillow on the other side and buried his face in it; but all at once he jumped up, sat up on the sofa, and opened his eyes.
Girò la sua persona robusta e ben curata sul divano elastico, come se volesse sprofondare di nuovo in un lungo sonno; abbracciò vigorosamente il cuscino dall'altro lato e vi affondò il viso; ma all'improvviso balzò su, si mise a sedere sul divano e aprì gli occhi.
"Yes, yes, how was it now?" he thought, going over his dream.
«Sì, sì, com'era adesso?» pensò, ripercorrendo il suo sogno.
"Now, how was it? To be sure! Alabin was giving a dinner at Darmstadt; no, not Darmstadt, but something American.
«Allora, com'era? Già! Alabin dava un pranzo a Darmstadt; no, non Darmstadt, ma qualcosa di americano.
Yes, but then, Darmstadt was in America.
Sì, ma allora, Darmstadt era in America.
Yes, Alabin was giving a dinner on glass tables, and the tables sang, _Il mio tesoro_—not _Il mio tesoro_ though, but something better, and there were some sort of little decanters on the table, and they were women, too," he remembered.
Sì, Alabin dava un pranzo su tavoli di vetro, e i tavoli cantavano, Il mio tesoro—non Il mio tesoro però, ma qualcosa di meglio, e c'erano delle specie di piccole caraffe sul tavolo, ed erano anche donne,» ricordò.
Stepan Arkadyevitch's eyes twinkled gaily, and he pondered with a smile.
Gli occhi di Stepan Arkad'evič brillarono allegramente, ed egli rimase a riflettere con un sorriso.
"Yes, it was nice, very nice. There was a great deal more that was delightful, only there's no putting it into words, or even expressing it in one's thoughts awake.
«Sì, era bello, molto bello. C'era molto altro ancora di delizioso, solo che non c'è modo di metterlo in parole, né di esprimerlo nei propri pensieri da svegli.
Vocabulary
- giorni
- Days; plural of giorno
- dopo
- After; following in time or order
- lite
- A quarrel or argument between people
- principe
- A prince; male member of royalty
- veniva
- Was coming; imperfect tense of venire
- chiamato
- Called; named; past participle of chiamare
- mondo
- The world; society; the people around us
- moda
- Fashion; style; prevailing trend in society
- svegliò
- Woke up; past tense of svegliarsi
- ora
- Hour; time; now
- solita
- Usual; customary; habitual feminine adjective
- vale
- Is worth; means; is equivalent to
- dire
- To say; to tell; to speak
- otto
- The number eight
- mattino
- Morning; the early part of the day
- camera
- Room; bedroom; enclosed space in a building
- letto
- Bed; furniture used for sleeping
- moglie
- Wife; a married woman in relation to husband
- divano
- A sofa or couch for sitting or lying
- rivestito
- Covered; lined; coated with a material
- cuoio
- Leather; animal hide used for upholstery
- studio
- Study room; office; a private workspace
- Girò
- Turned; rotated; past tense of girare
- persona
- Person; individual; one's body or figure
- robusta
- Sturdy; strong; well-built feminine adjective
- curata
- Well-groomed; cared for; tended with attention
- elastico
- Elastic; supple; flexible in movement
- volesse
- Wanted; wished; imperfect subjunctive of volere
- sprofondare
- To sink deeply into; to plunge down
- nuovo
- New; again; fresh or recent
- lungo
- Long; lengthy in duration or extent
- sonno
- Sleep; drowsiness; the state of sleeping
- abbracciò
- Embraced; hugged; past tense of abbracciare
- vigorosamente
- Vigorously; energetically; with great force
- cuscino
- A pillow or cushion for comfort
- lato
- Side; flank; lateral part of something
- affondò
- Sank; buried; past tense of affondare
- viso
- Face; the front part of the head
- all'improvviso
- Suddenly; all at once; without warning
- balzò
- Leaped; jumped up; past tense of balzare
- mise
- Put; placed; past tense of mettere
- sedere
- To sit; sitting position; to be seated
- aprì
- Opened; past tense of aprire
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio
- adesso
- Now; at this moment; currently
- pensò
- Thought; reflected; past tense of pensare
- ripercorrendo
- Retracing; going back over in one's mind
- sogno
- Dream; a vision experienced while sleeping
- Allora
- Then; at that time; so; well then
- Già
- Already; yes indeed; of course
- dava
- Was giving; was hosting; imperfect of dare
- pranzo
- Lunch; midday meal; a dinner gathering
- qualcosa
- Something; anything; an unspecified thing
- americano
- American; relating to America or its style
- allora
- Then; so; at that time in narrative
- tavoli
- Tables; plural of tavolo
- vetro
- Glass; transparent material used for objects
- cantavano
- Were singing; imperfect tense of cantare
- Il mio tesoro
- My treasure; a term of endearment or aria title
- però
- However; but; yet; expressing contrast
- meglio
- Better; superior; comparative of bene
- c'erano
- There were; imperfect of esserci
- specie
- Kind; type; sort; species
- piccole
- Small; little; feminine plural adjective
- caraffe
- Carafes; small glass decanters for liquid
- tavolo
- A table; flat-surfaced furniture for eating
- anche
- Also; too; even; as well
- donne
- Women; plural of donna
- ricordò
- Remembered; recalled; past tense of ricordare
- brillarono
- Sparkled; shone brightly; past of brillare
- allegramente
- Cheerfully; happily; in a joyful manner
- rimase
- Remained; stayed; past tense of rimanere
- riflettere
- To reflect; to think deeply; to ponder
- sorriso
- A smile; expression of happiness on face
- bello
- Beautiful; handsome; nice; attractive
- molto
- Very; much; a lot; greatly
- C'era
- There was; imperfect of esserci singular
- altro
- Other; another; else; different
- ancora
- Still; yet; again; more
- delizioso
- Delicious; delightful; extremely pleasant
- solo
- Only; alone; just; solitary
- c'è
- There is; present tense of esserci
- modo
- Way; manner; method of doing something
- metterlo
- To put it; infinitive with pronoun attached
- parole
- Words; plural of parola
- né
- Nor; neither; negative correlative conjunction
- esprimerlo
- To express it; infinitive with clitic pronoun
- propri
- Own; one's own; masculine plural adjective
- pensieri
- Thoughts; ideas; plural of pensiero
- svegli
- Awake; alert; wide awake; plural adjective
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