Cranford — Page 7
It was a word not to be mentioned to ears polite.
Era una palabra que no debía mencionarse a oídos educados.
We had tacitly agreed to ignore that any with whom we associated on terms of visiting equality could ever be prevented by poverty from doing anything that they wished.
Habíamos acordado tácitamente ignorar que cualquiera con quien nos relacionáramos en términos de igualdad social pudiera verse alguna vez impedido por la pobreza de hacer cualquier cosa que deseara.
If we walked to or from a party, it was because the night was _so_ fine, or the air _so_ refreshing, not because sedan-chairs were expensive.
Si íbamos o volvíamos a pie de una reunión, era porque la noche era _tan_ hermosa, o el aire _tan_ reconfortante, no porque las sillas de manos fueran caras.
If we wore prints, instead of summer silks, it was because we preferred a washing material; and so on, till we blinded ourselves to the vulgar fact that we were, all of us, people of very moderate means.
Si llevábamos indianas en lugar de sedas de verano, era porque preferíamos una tela lavable; y así sucesivamente, hasta que nos cegamos ante el vulgar hecho de que éramos, todos nosotros, personas de medios muy modestos.
Of course, then, we did not know what to make of a man who could speak of poverty as if it was not a disgrace.
Por supuesto, entonces no sabíamos qué pensar de un hombre que podía hablar de la pobreza como si no fuera una vergüenza.
Yet, somehow, Captain Brown made himself respected in Cranford, and was called upon, in spite of all resolutions to the contrary.
Sin embargo, de algún modo, el capitán Brown se hizo respetar en Cranford, y se le visitaba a pesar de todas las resoluciones en contrario.
I was surprised to hear his opinions quoted as authority at a visit which I paid to Cranford about a year after he had settled in the town.
Me sorprendió escuchar sus opiniones citadas como autoridad en una visita que hice a Cranford aproximadamente un año después de que se hubiera establecido en la ciudad.
My own friends had been among the bitterest opponents of any proposal to visit the Captain and his daughters, only twelve months before; and now he was even admitted in the tabooed hours before twelve.
Mis propios amigos habían sido de los más acérrimos opositores a cualquier propuesta de visitar al capitán y a sus hijas tan solo doce meses antes; y ahora incluso se le recibía en las vetadas horas antes de las doce.
Vocabulary
- Era
- Past tense of 'ser'; it was, he/she was
- palabra
- A word or term used in speech or writing
- debía
- Past imperfect of deber; should, ought to
- mencionarse
- Reflexive verb; to be mentioned or brought up
- oídos
- Ears; the organs used for hearing sounds
- educados
- Adjective meaning educated, well-mannered, or refined
- Habíamos
- Past perfect auxiliary; we had (done something)
- acordado
- Past participle of acordar; agreed upon mutually
- tácitamente
- Adverb meaning tacitly, silently, or without words
- ignorar
- To ignore, disregard, or be unaware of something
- cualquiera
- Indefinite pronoun meaning anyone, anyone at all
- relacionáramos
- Subjunctive of relacionarse; to associate or connect with
- términos
- Terms, conditions, or expressions used in context
- igualdad
- Equality; the state of being equal socially
- social
- Adjective relating to society or social interactions
- pudiera
- Imperfect subjunctive of poder; could, might be able
- verse
- Reflexive verb; to find oneself or be seen
- alguna
- Indefinite adjective feminine; some, any, at some point
- vez
- Time or occasion; once, a single instance
- impedido
- Past participle of impedir; prevented, hindered, blocked
- pobreza
- Poverty; the state of having very little money
- hacer
- To do or to make something in general
- cosa
- Thing; an object, matter, or abstract concept
- deseara
- Imperfect subjunctive of desear; desired, wished for
- íbamos
- Past imperfect of ir; we were going, we went
- volvíamos
- Past imperfect of volver; we were returning, came back
- pie
- Foot; body part used for walking on ground
- reunión
- A meeting or gathering of people together
- era
- Past imperfect of ser; was, referring to a state
- noche
- Night; the dark period after sunset and before dawn
- hermosa
- Adjective meaning beautiful, lovely, or gorgeous
- aire
- Air; the invisible gas mixture surrounding the earth
- reconfortante
- Adjective meaning comforting, refreshing, or invigorating
- sillas
- Chairs; furniture pieces used for sitting down
- manos
- Hands; body parts at the end of arms
- fueran
- Imperfect subjunctive of ser/ir; were, might be
- caras
- Expensive or costly; also means faces in context
- llevábamos
- Past imperfect of llevar; we were wearing or carrying
- lugar
- Place, location, or spot where something occurs
- sedas
- Silks; expensive smooth fabrics made from silk
- verano
- Summer; the warmest season of the year
- preferíamos
- Past imperfect of preferir; we preferred one option
- tela
- Fabric or cloth used for making clothing items
- lavable
- Adjective meaning washable, able to be washed easily
- así
- Adverb meaning thus, so, or in this way
- sucesivamente
- Adverb meaning successively or and so on forth
- hasta
- Preposition meaning until, up to, or even
- cegamos
- Past tense of cegar; we blinded ourselves to something
- ante
- Preposition meaning before, in front of, or faced with
- vulgar
- Adjective meaning common, ordinary, crude, or unrefined
- hecho
- Fact or deed; something that is true or done
- éramos
- Past imperfect of ser; we were a certain way
- todos
- Adjective or pronoun meaning all, everyone, every one
- personas
- People; human beings regarded as individuals
- medios
- Means or resources, often referring to financial means
- modestos
- Adjective meaning modest, humble, or of limited means
- supuesto
- Of course; assumed or taken for granted naturally
- entonces
- Adverb meaning then, at that time, or therefore
- sabíamos
- Past imperfect of saber; we knew a fact
- pensar
- To think, consider, or reflect on something mentally
- hombre
- Man; an adult male human being
- podía
- Past imperfect of poder; could, was able to
- hablar
- To speak or talk, expressing ideas verbally
- fuera
- Imperfect subjunctive of ser; were, as if it were
- vergüenza
- Shame or embarrassment felt about an action
- Sin
- Preposition meaning without, lacking something entirely
- embargo
- Used in sin embargo meaning nevertheless or however
- algún
- Indefinite adjective masculine; some, any particular one
- modo
- Mode, way, or manner of doing something
- capitán
- Captain; a military or naval officer of rank
- hizo
- Past tense of hacer; he/she made or did
- respetar
- To respect or earn respect from others around
- visitaba
- Past imperfect of visitar; used to visit regularly
- pesar
- A pesar de means despite or in spite of
- todas
- Feminine plural of todo; all, every one of them
- resoluciones
- Resolutions or decisions made firmly in advance
- contrario
- Contrary, opposite, or against; al contrario means on contrary
- sorprendió
- Past tense of sorprender; it surprised me greatly
- escuchar
- To listen or to hear someone speaking carefully
- opiniones
- Opinions; personal views or judgments on topics
- citadas
- Past participle of citar; quoted or cited as authority
- autoridad
- Authority; power or credibility to influence others
- visita
- A visit; an act of going to see someone
- hice
- Past tense of hacer; I did or I made
- aproximadamente
- Adverb meaning approximately, roughly, or about that amount
- año
- Year; a period of twelve calendar months
- después
- Adverb meaning after, afterward, or later in time
- hubiera
- Past perfect subjunctive of haber; had, might have
- establecido
- Past participle of establecer; established or settled in place
- ciudad
- City; a large populated urban settlement or town
- propios
- Adjective meaning own or one's very own people
- amigos
- Friends; people with whom one has friendly relations
- habían
- Past perfect auxiliary; they had done something previously
- sido
- Past participle of ser; been, having been a state
- más
- Adverb or adjective meaning more or most intensely
- acérrimos
- Superlative adjective meaning staunchest, most fierce or ardent
- opositores
- Opponents or those who actively oppose a proposal
- propuesta
- Proposal or suggestion put forward for consideration
- visitar
- To visit; to go and spend time with someone
- hijas
- Daughters; female children in relation to parents
- tan
- Adverb meaning so or as, used in comparisons
- solo
- Only, alone, or just; referring to a single instance
- doce
- The number twelve in Spanish cardinal numbers
- meses
- Months; plural of mes, divisions of the year
- antes
- Adverb meaning before, previously, or earlier in time
- ahora
- Adverb meaning now, at this present moment
- incluso
- Adverb meaning even, including, or going so far
- recibía
- Past imperfect of recibir; used to receive or welcome
- vetadas
- Past participle of vetar; vetoed, forbidden, or banned
- horas
- Hours; units of time equal to sixty minutes
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