Cranford — Page 8
True, it was to discover the cause of a smoking chimney, before the fire was lighted; but still Captain Brown walked upstairs, nothing daunted, spoke in a voice too large for the room, and joked quite in the way of a tame man about the house.
È vero, si trattava di scoprire la causa di un camino che fumava, prima che il fuoco fosse acceso; ma il Capitano Brown salì comunque le scale, per nulla intimidito, parlò con una voce troppo grande per la stanza, e scherzò proprio come farebbe un uomo di casa avvezzo all'ambiente domestico.
He had been blind to all the small slights, and omissions of trivial ceremonies, with which he had been received.
Era rimasto cieco a tutti i piccoli affronti e alle omissioni di banali formalità con cui era stato accolto.
He had been friendly, though the Cranford ladies had been cool; he had answered small sarcastic compliments in good faith; and with his manly frankness had overpowered all the shrinking which met him as a man who was not ashamed to be poor.
Era stato cordiale, sebbene le signore di Cranford fossero state fredde; aveva risposto in buona fede ai piccoli complimenti sarcastici; e con la sua schiettezza virile aveva sopraffatto tutto il ritegno con cui veniva accolto in quanto uomo che non si vergognava di essere povero.
And, at last, his excellent masculine common sense, and his facility in devising expedients to overcome domestic dilemmas, had gained him an extraordinary place as authority among the Cranford ladies.
E, alla fine, il suo eccellente buon senso maschile e la sua facilità nell'escogitare espedienti per superare i dilemmi domestici gli avevano guadagnato un posto straordinario come figura autorevole tra le signore di Cranford.
He himself went on in his course, as unaware of his popularity as he had been of the reverse; and I am sure he was startled one day when he found his advice so highly esteemed as to make some counsel which he had given in jest to be taken in sober, serious earnest.
Egli stesso continuò per la sua strada, ignaro della propria popolarità quanto lo era stato dell'impopolarità precedente; e sono certa che rimase sorpreso un giorno quando scoprì che il suo parere era tenuto in così alta considerazione da far sì che un consiglio dato per scherzo venisse preso con sobria e seria serietà.
It was on this subject: An old lady had an Alderney cow, which she looked upon as a daughter.
Era su questo argomento: una vecchia signora aveva una mucca di razza Alderney, che considerava come una figlia.
You could not pay the short quarter of an hour call without being told of the wonderful milk or wonderful intelligence of this animal.
Non si poteva fare nemmeno una breve visita di un quarto d'ora senza essere informati del meraviglioso latte o della meravigliosa intelligenza di questo animale.
Vocabulary
- vero
- vero — True; real; used to confirm a statement
- si
- si — Reflexive pronoun; oneself; also 'one' impersonally
- trattava
- trattava — It was about; it concerned; imperfect of 'trattare'
- scoprire
- scoprire — To discover; to find out; to uncover something
- causa
- causa — Cause; reason; the origin of something
- camino
- camino — Fireplace; chimney; a structure for burning fuel
- fumava
- fumava — Was smoking; was emitting smoke; imperfect of 'fumare'
- prima
- prima — Before; first; earlier in time
- fuoco
- fuoco — Fire; flame; a burning combustion
- fosse
- fosse — Subjunctive imperfect of 'essere'; were; had been
- acceso
- acceso — Lit; turned on; past participle of 'accendere'
- Capitano
- capitano — Captain; a military or naval officer of rank
- salì
- salì — He climbed; he went up; past of 'salire'
- comunque
- comunque — Anyway; nevertheless; regardless of the circumstances
- scale
- scale — Stairs; staircase; steps leading between floors
- nulla
- nulla — Nothing; not at all; used in negative expressions
- intimidito
- intimidito — Intimidated; frightened; made to feel fearful
- voce
- voce — Voice; the sound produced when speaking or singing
- troppo
- troppo — Too much; excessively; more than appropriate
- grande
- grande — Large; big; great; of considerable size
- stanza
- stanza — Room; a chamber or space within a building
- scherzò
- scherzò — He joked; he made jokes; past of 'scherzare'
- proprio
- proprio — Just; exactly; one's own; truly
- farebbe
- farebbe — Would do; conditional of 'fare'
- uomo
- uomo — Man; an adult male human being
- casa
- casa — House; home; a dwelling place
- avvezzo
- avvezzo — Accustomed; used to; habituated to something
- ambiente
- ambiente — Environment; setting; surrounding atmosphere or space
- domestico
- domestico — Domestic; relating to the home or household
- rimasto
- rimasto — Remained; stayed; past participle of 'rimanere'
- cieco
- cieco — Blind; unable to see; figuratively unaware
- tutti
- tutti — All; every; everyone; the entirety of something
- piccoli
- piccoli — Small; little; minor; of limited size or importance
- affronti
- affronti — Affronts; insults; offensive or disrespectful acts
- omissioni
- omissioni — Omissions; things left out; failures to act
- banali
- banali — Banal; trivial; ordinary and unoriginal
- formalità
- formalità — Formalities; conventional social courtesies and procedures
- cui
- cui — Relative pronoun meaning 'which', 'whom', or 'whose'
- accolto
- accolto — Welcomed; received; past participle of 'accogliere'
- cordiale
- cordiale — Cordial; warm; friendly in a genuine manner
- sebbene
- sebbene — Although; even though; conjunction of concession
- signore
- signore — Ladies; gentlewomen; plural of 'signora'
- fossero
- fossero — Were; subjunctive imperfect plural of 'essere'
- fredde
- fredde — Cold; aloof; unfriendly; feminine plural of 'freddo'
- risposto
- risposto — Replied; answered; past participle of 'rispondere'
- buona
- buona — Good; positive; feminine form of 'buono'
- fede
- fede — Faith; good faith; sincere honest intent
- complimenti
- complimenti — Compliments; flattering remarks; polite expressions of praise
- sarcastici
- sarcastici — Sarcastic; mocking; using irony to mock someone
- schiettezza
- schiettezza — Frankness; straightforwardness; honest and direct manner
- virile
- virile — Manly; virile; having qualities associated with men
- sopraffatto
- sopraffatto — Overwhelmed; overpowered; past participle of 'sopraffare'
- tutto
- tutto — All; everything; every bit of something
- ritegno
- ritegno — Restraint; reserve; self-control in social behavior
- veniva
- veniva — Was coming; came; imperfect of 'venire'
- quanto
- quanto — How much; as much as; to what extent
- vergognava
- vergognava — Was ashamed; felt shame; imperfect of 'vergognarsi'
- povero
- povero — Poor; lacking money or resources; impoverished
- fine
- fine — End; conclusion; eventually; in the end
- eccellente
- eccellente — Excellent; outstanding; of very high quality
- senso
- senso — Sense; meaning; good judgment or common sense
- maschile
- maschile — Masculine; male; relating to men or masculinity
- facilità
- facilità — Ease; facility; natural ability to do something effortlessly
- escogitare
- escogitare — To devise; to think up; to invent a solution
- espedienti
- espedienti — Expedients; clever solutions; practical workarounds
- superare
- superare — To overcome; to surpass; to get past a difficulty
- dilemmi
- dilemmi — Dilemmas; difficult situations requiring a choice
- domestici
- domestici — Domestic; household; relating to home life
- guadagnato
- guadagnato — Earned; gained; past participle of 'guadagnare'
- posto
- posto — Place; position; spot; a particular location
- straordinario
- straordinario — Extraordinary; remarkable; beyond what is ordinary
- figura
- figura — Figure; role; position; how one appears to others
- autorevole
- autorevole — Authoritative; commanding respect and trust
- tra
- tra — Among; between; preposition indicating position
- Egli
- egli — He; formal subject pronoun for masculine singular
- stesso
- stesso — Himself; same; used for emphasis or reflexivity
- continuò
- continuò — He continued; went on; past of 'continuare'
- strada
- strada — Street; road; path; a route for traveling
- ignaro
- ignaro — Unaware; ignorant of; not knowing something
- propria
- propria — Own; one's own; feminine form of 'proprio'
- popolarità
- popolarità — Popularity; being well-liked or widely admired
- impopolarità
- impopolarità — Unpopularity; being disliked or poorly regarded by others
- precedente
- precedente — Previous; preceding; the one that came before
- certa
- certa — Certain; sure; confident about something
- rimase
- rimase — He remained; he stayed; past of 'rimanere'
- sorpreso
- sorpreso — Surprised; astonished; past participle of 'sorprendere'
- giorno
- giorno — Day; a period of twenty-four hours
- quando
- quando — When; at the time that something occurs
- scoprì
- scoprì — He discovered; he found out; past of 'scoprire'
- parere
- parere — Opinion; view; also infinitive meaning 'to seem'
- tenuto
- tenuto — Held; kept; past participle of 'tenere'
- così
- così — So; thus; in this way; to such a degree
- alta
- alta — High; tall; elevated; feminine form of 'alto'
- considerazione
- considerazione — Consideration; regard; high esteem for someone
- consiglio
- consiglio — Advice; counsel; a recommendation or suggestion
- dato
- dato — Given; past participle of 'dare'
- scherzo
- scherzo — Joke; jest; a humorous remark or act
- venisse
- venisse — Would come; subjunctive imperfect of 'venire'
- preso
- preso — Taken; past participle of 'prendere'
- sobria
- sobria — Sober; measured; restrained and serious in manner
- seria
- seria — Serious; grave; not joking; feminine of 'serio'
- serietà
- serietà — Seriousness; gravity; the quality of being earnest
- questo
- questo — This; referring to something nearby or just mentioned
- argomento
- argomento — Subject; topic; the matter being discussed
- vecchia
- vecchia — Old woman; old; feminine adjective meaning elderly
- mucca
- mucca — Cow; a female bovine kept for milk
- razza
- razza — Breed; race; a category or type of animal
- considerava
- considerava — Considered; regarded; imperfect of 'considerare'
- figlia
- figlia — Daughter; a female child in relation to parents
- poteva
- poteva — Could; was able to; imperfect of 'potere'
- nemmeno
- nemmeno — Not even; neither; used to emphasize negation
- breve
- breve — Brief; short; of limited duration
- visita
- visita — Visit; a call made to someone's home
- quarto
- quarto — Quarter; one fourth; a quarter of an hour
- ora
- ora — Hour; now; a unit of sixty minutes
- senza
- senza — Without; lacking; in the absence of something
- informati
- informati — Informed; told; past participle of 'informare'
- meraviglioso
- meraviglioso — Wonderful; marvelous; exceptionally impressive or remarkable
- latte
- latte — Milk; the white liquid produced by mammals
- meravigliosa
- meravigliosa — Wonderful; marvelous; feminine form of 'meraviglioso'
- intelligenza
- intelligenza — Intelligence; mental capacity; the ability to understand
- animale
- animale — Animal; a living creature; any non-human organism
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