Dracula — Page 4
All day long we seemed to dawdle through a country which was full of beauty of every kind.
Durante todo el día parecíamos deambular por un país que estaba lleno de belleza de todo tipo.
Sometimes we saw little towns or castles on the top of steep hills such as we see in old missals; sometimes we ran by rivers and streams which seemed from the wide stony margin on each side of them to be subject to great floods.
A veces veíamos pequeños pueblos o castillos en la cima de empinadas colinas como los que vemos en los antiguos misales; otras veces pasábamos junto a ríos y arroyos que, a juzgar por la amplia orilla pedregosa a cada lado de ellos, parecían estar sujetos a grandes inundaciones.
It takes a lot of water, and running strong, to sweep the outside edge of a river clear.
Se necesita mucha agua, y con gran caudal, para limpiar el borde exterior de un río.
At every station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all sorts of attire.
En cada estación había grupos de personas, a veces multitudes, y con todo tipo de atuendos.
Some of them were just like the peasants at home or those I saw coming through France and Germany, with short jackets and round hats and home-made trousers; but others were very picturesque.
Algunos de ellos eran como los campesinos de casa o los que vi al pasar por Francia y Alemania, con chaquetas cortas, sombreros redondos y pantalones hechos en casa; pero otros eran muy pintorescos.
The women looked pretty, except when you got near them, but they were very clumsy about the waist.
Las mujeres parecían bonitas, excepto cuando uno se acercaba a ellas, pero tenían una cintura muy tosca.
They had all full white sleeves of some kind or other, and most of them had big belts with a lot of strips of something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet, but of course there were petticoats under them.
Todas llevaban mangas blancas anchas de algún tipo, y la mayoría tenía grandes cinturones con un montón de tiras de algo que ondeaban como los vestidos de un ballet, aunque por supuesto llevaban enaguas debajo.
The strangest figures we saw were the Slovaks, who were more barbarian than the rest, with their big cow-boy hats, great baggy dirty-white trousers, white linen shirts, and enormous heavy leather belts, nearly a foot wide, all studded over with brass nails.
Las figuras más extrañas que vimos fueron los eslovacos, que eran más bárbaros que los demás, con sus grandes sombreros de vaquero, enormes pantalones holgados de un blanco sucio, camisas blancas de lino y enormes y pesados cinturones de cuero, de casi un pie de ancho, todos tachonados con clavos de latón.
Vocabulary
- Durante
- Throughout a period of time; while something occurs
- todo
- All, every, or the entirety of something
- día
- A day; a 24-hour period of time
- parecíamos
- We seemed or appeared to be doing something
- deambular
- To wander or roam without a fixed destination
- por
- Through, by, or for; a common preposition
- país
- A country or nation with defined borders
- estaba
- Was; past tense of 'estar' indicating state
- lleno
- Full or filled with something completely
- belleza
- Beauty; the quality of being visually pleasing
- tipo
- Type, kind, or sort of something
- veces
- Times; used in phrases like 'sometimes'
- veíamos
- We used to see or were seeing something
- pequeños
- Small or little in size; plural adjective
- pueblos
- Towns, villages, or small communities of people
- castillos
- Castles; large medieval fortified stone structures
- cima
- Summit, top, or peak of a hill or mountain
- empinadas
- Steep; having a sharp incline or slope
- colinas
- Hills; small elevated landforms in the landscape
- como
- Like, as, or how; used for comparisons
- vemos
- We see; present tense of 'ver'
- antiguos
- Old, ancient, or antique; referring to past times
- otras
- Others; other times or instances, feminine plural
- pasábamos
- We used to pass by or go past something
- junto
- Next to, beside, or together with something
- ríos
- Rivers; large natural streams of flowing water
- arroyos
- Streams or brooks; small flowing bodies of water
- juzgar
- To judge or assess by examining evidence or appearance
- amplia
- Wide, broad, or ample in space or extent
- orilla
- Shore, bank, or edge of a river or water
- pedregosa
- Rocky or stony; covered with many rocks or pebbles
- cada
- Each or every; referring to individual items separately
- lado
- Side; the lateral area or direction of something
- ellos
- They; third person plural masculine pronoun
- parecían
- They seemed or appeared to be in some state
- estar
- To be; indicates state or condition temporarily
- sujetos
- Subject to or held by; constrained or exposed
- grandes
- Large, big, or great in size or importance
- inundaciones
- Floods; overflow of water covering normally dry land
- Se
- Reflexive pronoun 'se'; used in impersonal expressions
- necesita
- Needs or requires something; third person singular
- mucha
- A lot of, much; indicating a large quantity
- agua
- Water; the clear liquid essential for life
- gran
- Great or large; shortened form before a noun
- caudal
- Flow volume or current of water in a river
- para
- For, in order to; indicates purpose or destination
- limpiar
- To clean or wash something thoroughly
- borde
- Edge, border, or rim of something
- exterior
- Outer or external side of something
- río
- River; a large natural stream of flowing water
- estación
- Station or season; can refer to train stops or seasons
- había
- There was or there were; imperfect of 'haber'
- grupos
- Groups; collections of people or things together
- personas
- People or persons; individual human beings
- multitudes
- Crowds or multitudes; large groups of people
- atuendos
- Outfits or attire; clothing and accessories worn together
- Algunos
- Some; an indefinite number of people or things
- eran
- Were; imperfect past tense of 'ser' for they
- campesinos
- Peasants or rural farmers living in the countryside
- casa
- House or home; a residential building or dwelling
- vi
- I saw; preterite first person of 'ver'
- pasar
- To pass, go by, or happen
- Francia
- France; the Western European country and nation
- Alemania
- Germany; the Central European country and nation
- chaquetas
- Jackets; short outer garments worn over clothing
- cortas
- Short in length; feminine plural adjective
- sombreros
- Hats; head coverings of various shapes and styles
- redondos
- Round or circular in shape; plural masculine adjective
- pantalones
- Trousers or pants; lower body garments
- hechos
- Made or done; past participle of 'hacer'
- pero
- But; a conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- otros
- Others; other people or things, masculine plural
- muy
- Very; an intensifying adverb modifying adjectives
- pintorescos
- Picturesque or colorful; visually charming and interesting
- mujeres
- Women; adult female human beings
- bonitas
- Pretty or attractive; feminine plural adjective
- excepto
- Except or excluding; used to indicate an exception
- cuando
- When; a conjunction referring to a time or moment
- uno
- One; a number or indefinite pronoun meaning 'one'
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- acercaba
- Was approaching or getting close to something
- ellas
- They; third person plural feminine pronoun
- tenían
- They had or used to have something
- cintura
- Waist; the narrow middle part of the body
- tosca
- Coarse, rough, or crude in appearance or texture
- Todas
- All; every one of a feminine group
- llevaban
- They wore or carried; imperfect of 'llevar'
- mangas
- Sleeves; the arm portions of a garment
- blancas
- White; feminine plural color adjective
- anchas
- Wide or broad; feminine plural adjective
- algún
- Some or any; an indefinite adjective before nouns
- mayoría
- Majority or most; the greater part of a group
- cinturones
- Belts; bands worn around the waist for fastening
- montón
- A pile, heap, or large amount of something
- tiras
- Strips or straps; narrow lengths of material
- algo
- Something or somewhat; an indefinite pronoun or adverb
- ondeaban
- They waved or fluttered; imperfect of 'ondear'
- vestidos
- Dresses or garments; clothing worn on the body
- aunque
- Although or even though; a concessive conjunction
- supuesto
- Of course or supposed; assumed to be true
- enaguas
- Petticoats or underskirts worn beneath outer garments
- debajo
- Below or underneath something else
- figuras
- Figures or shapes; visual forms or body silhouettes
- más
- More or most; a comparative or superlative adverb
- extrañas
- Strange or odd; unusual in appearance or behavior
- vimos
- We saw; preterite first person plural of 'ver'
- fueron
- They were or they went; preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'
- bárbaros
- Barbarians or savages; people considered uncivilized
- demás
- The rest or the others; remaining people or things
- sus
- Their or his or her; a possessive adjective
- vaquero
- Cowboy; a person who herds cattle on horseback
- enormes
- Enormous or huge; very large in size
- holgados
- Loose-fitting or baggy; not tight on the body
- blanco
- White; a basic color adjective, masculine singular
- sucio
- Dirty or unclean; not clean in appearance
- camisas
- Shirts; garments worn on the upper body
- lino
- Linen; a natural fabric made from flax fibers
- pesados
- Heavy or burdensome; having great weight or mass
- cuero
- Leather; processed animal hide used for goods
- casi
- Almost or nearly; very close to but not quite
- pie
- Foot; the lower extremity of the human leg
- ancho
- Wide or broad; having great width
- todos
- All or everyone; the entirety of a masculine group
- tachonados
- Studded or adorned with metal studs or decorations
- clavos
- Nails or studs; pointed metal fastening devices
- latón
- Brass; a yellow alloy of copper and zinc
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