Bleak House — Page 1

English → Spanish CHAPTER I Level 9/10

In Chancery

En el Tribunal de la Cancillería

London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall.

Londres. El trimestre de San Miguel recién concluido, y el Lord Canciller sentado en el salón de Lincoln's Inn.

Implacable November weather.

El implacable tiempo de noviembre.

As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.

Tanto barro en las calles como si las aguas acabaran de retirarse de la faz de la tierra, y no sería de extrañar encontrarse con un Megalosaurio, de unos doce metros de largo, contoneándose como un lagarto elefantino por la colina de Holborn.

Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes—gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun.

El humo descendiendo desde las chimeneas, formando una suave llovizna negra, con copos de hollín tan grandes como copos de nieve bien crecidos —de luto, podría uno imaginar, por la muerte del sol.

Dogs, undistinguishable in mire.

Perros, irreconocibles entre el fango.

Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers.

Caballos, apenas mejor; salpicados hasta las mismas anteojeras.

Foot passengers, jostling one another's umbrellas in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.

Peatones, chocando unos con los paraguas de los otros en un contagio general de mal humor, y perdiendo el equilibrio en las esquinas de las calles, donde decenas de miles de otros peatones han estado resbalando y deslizándose desde que amaneció el día (si es que este día llegó a amanecer alguna vez), añadiendo nuevos depósitos a la costra sobre costra de barro, que se adhería tenazmente al pavimento en esos puntos y se acumulaba a interés compuesto.

Fog everywhere.

Niebla por todas partes.

Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city.

Niebla río arriba, donde fluye entre islotes verdes y praderas; niebla río abajo, donde se extiende contaminada entre las hileras de barcos y las inmundicias ribereñas de una gran ciudad (y sucia).

Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights.

Niebla en los pantanos de Essex, niebla en las alturas de Kent.

Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats.

Niebla colándose en las cocinas de los bergantines carboneros; niebla tendida sobre las vergas y flotando en el aparejo de los grandes buques; niebla posándose sobre las bordas de las barcazas y los botes pequeños.

Vocabulary

Tribunal: Court or tribunal, a judicial body.
Cancillería: Chancellery, the office or court of a chancellor.
Londres: London, the capital city of England.
trimestre: A period of three months; a quarter.
recién: Recently or just completed, very shortly before.
concluido: Concluded or finished; past participle of concluir.
Canciller: Chancellor, a high-ranking government or legal official.
sentado: Seated or sitting; past participle of sentar.
salón: A large hall or formal reception room.
implacable: Relentless, merciless, impossible to appease or stop.
tiempo: Time or weather, depending on context.
noviembre: November, the eleventh month of the year.
Tanto: So much or as much; used for comparisons.
barro: Mud or clay, wet earth found on streets.
calles: Streets or roads in a town or city.
aguas: Waters, plural of agua; referring to bodies of water.
acabaran: Had just finished; past subjunctive of acabar.
retirarse: To withdraw or retreat; reflexive verb.
faz: Face or surface, especially of the earth.
tierra: Earth, land, or ground; soil or the planet.
sería: Would be; conditional form of ser.
extrañar: To be surprising or to miss someone or something.
encontrarse: To find oneself or to encounter something unexpectedly.
doce: Twelve; the cardinal number between eleven and thirteen.
metros: Meters, units of length in the metric system.
largo: Long; describing something of great length or extent.
contoneándose: Swaggering or waddling, moving with an exaggerated sway.
lagarto: Lizard, a reptile with scaly skin and four legs.
elefantino: Elephantine; enormous or resembling an elephant in size.
colina: Hill, a raised area of land smaller than a mountain.
humo: Smoke, the visible gas produced by burning material.
descendiendo: Descending or coming down; present participle of descender.
chimeneas: Chimneys or fireplaces where smoke escapes buildings.
formando: Forming or creating; present participle of formar.
suave: Soft, gentle, or smooth in texture or manner.
llovizna: Drizzle, light fine rain falling gently.
negra: Black; feminine adjective describing dark color.
copos: Flakes, as in snowflakes or flakes of soot.
hollín: Soot, black powder deposited by smoke from burning.
grandes: Large or big; plural adjective describing size.
nieve: Snow, frozen precipitation that falls in white flakes.
crecidos: Grown or fully developed; past participle of crecer.
luto: Mourning or grief, especially shown by wearing black.
podría: Could or might; conditional form of poder.
imaginar: To imagine or picture something in one's mind.
muerte: Death, the end of life; a feminine noun.
sol: Sun, the star at the center of our solar system.
Perros: Dogs, domestic animals commonly kept as pets.
irreconocibles: Unrecognizable; impossible to identify due to change.
entre: Between or among; a preposition indicating position.
fango: Mud or mire, thick wet earth or sediment.
Caballos: Horses, large domesticated animals used for riding.
apenas: Hardly or barely; indicating a very small degree.
mejor: Better; comparative adjective indicating superior quality.
salpicados: Splattered or speckled; covered with drops of liquid.
hasta: Until or up to; a preposition of limit.
mismas: Same; feminine plural pronoun emphasizing identity.
anteojeras: Blinders or blinkers placed on horses' eyes.
Peatones: Pedestrians, people traveling on foot in public.
chocando: Bumping or colliding; present participle of chocar.
paraguas: Umbrellas, handheld devices used for protection from rain.
contagio: Contagion, the spreading of disease or bad mood.
general: General or widespread; affecting everyone or everything.
mal: Bad or evil; an adjective or noun of negativity.
humor: Mood or humor; one's emotional state or disposition.
perdiendo: Losing; present participle of perder.
equilibrio: Balance or equilibrium; stability of the body or mind.
esquinas: Corners or street corners in a city.
donde: Where; a relative or interrogative adverb of place.
decenas: Tens or dozens; groups of approximately ten things.
miles: Thousands; large numbers of people or things.
peatones: Pedestrians, people walking on public streets or paths.
estado: Been; past participle of estar used with haber.
resbalando: Slipping or sliding; present participle of resbalar.
deslizándose: Sliding or gliding; reflexive present participle of deslizar.
amaneció: Dawned; past tense of amanecer, meaning day broke.
día: Day, a 24-hour period or daylight hours.
llegó: Arrived or reached; third person singular preterite of llegar.
amanecer: To dawn or break; also meaning dawn as a noun.
alguna: Some or any; feminine indefinite adjective.
vez: Time or instance; as in 'once' or 'at some point'.
añadiendo: Adding; present participle of añadir.
nuevos: New; masculine plural adjective meaning recently made.
depósitos: Deposits or layers of accumulated material.
costra: Crust or scab; a hardened outer layer of substance.
sobre: On, over, or about; a versatile Spanish preposition.
adhería: Adhered or stuck; imperfect tense of adherir.
tenazmente: Tenaciously or stubbornly; clinging firmly without releasing.
pavimento: Pavement or paved surface of a street or floor.
esos: Those; masculine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
puntos: Points or spots; specific locations or positions.
acumulaba: Accumulated or built up; imperfect tense of acumular.
interés: Interest; curiosity or financial return on investment.
compuesto: Compound or composite; combined from multiple elements.
Niebla: Fog or mist; thick atmospheric moisture reducing visibility.
todas: All or every; feminine plural adjective of totality.
partes: Parts or places; sections or locations of something.
río: River, a large natural flowing body of water.
arriba: Up or upstream; indicating upward or higher direction.
fluye: Flows; third person singular present of fluir.
islotes: Small islands or islets surrounded by water.
verdes: Green; plural adjective describing the color of nature.
praderas: Meadows or prairies; open grassy expanses of land.
niebla: Fog or mist; thick haze reducing atmospheric visibility.
abajo: Below or downstream; indicating a lower direction.
extiende: Extends or spreads; third person singular of extender.
contaminada: Contaminated or polluted; made impure by harmful substances.
hileras: Rows or lines; objects arranged in a sequence.
barcos: Ships or boats; vessels that travel on water.
inmundicias: Filth or refuse; waste matter considered dirty or foul.
ribereñas: Riverside or riparian; relating to the banks of rivers.
gran: Great or large; adjective preceding a noun for emphasis.
ciudad: City or town; a large urban human settlement.
sucia: Dirty or filthy; not clean, covered in grime.
pantanos: Swamps or marshes; wet boggy areas of land.
alturas: Heights or high places; elevated areas of terrain.
colándose: Sneaking or seeping in; filtering through small openings.
cocinas: Kitchens; rooms where food is prepared and cooked.
bergantines: Brigs or brigantines; two-masted sailing ships.
carboneros: Coal ships or coal dealers; those dealing in coal.
tendida: Spread out or laid; past participle of tender.
vergas: Yards or yardarms; horizontal poles on a ship's mast.
flotando: Floating; present participle of flotar, drifting on water.
aparejo: Rigging, the ropes and equipment on a sailing ship.
buques: Ships or vessels; large watercraft for ocean travel.
posándose: Settling or landing on; reflexive present participle of posar.
bordas: Gunwales or sides of a boat at the top edge.
barcazas: Barges; flat-bottomed boats used for river transport.
botes: Small boats or dinghies used on water.
pequeños: Small or little; masculine plural adjective of size.

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