Dracula — Page 12

English → Spanish CHAPTER I Level 7/10

The road was rugged, but still we seemed to fly over it with a feverish haste.

El camino era accidentado, pero aun así parecíamos volar sobre él con una prisa febril.

I could not understand then what the haste meant, but the driver was evidently bent on losing no time in reaching Borgo Prund.

No podía comprender entonces qué significaba tanta prisa, pero el conductor estaba evidentemente empeñado en no perder tiempo para llegar a Borgo Prund.

I was told that this road is in summertime excellent, but that it had not yet been put in order after the winter snows.

Me dijeron que este camino es excelente en verano, pero que aún no había sido arreglado después de las nieves invernales.

In this respect it is different from the general run of roads in the Carpathians, for it is an old tradition that they are not to be kept in too good order.

En este aspecto difiere de la mayoría de los caminos de los Cárpatos, pues es una vieja tradición que no deben mantenerse en demasiado buen estado.

Of old the Hospadars would not repair them, lest the Turk should think that they were preparing to bring in foreign troops, and so hasten the war which was always really at loading point.

Antiguamente los Hóspodar se negaban a repararlos, por temor a que los turcos creyeran que se preparaban para introducir tropas extranjeras, y así precipitar la guerra que siempre estaba realmente a punto de estallar.

Beyond the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land rose mighty slopes of forest up to the lofty steeps of the Carpathians themselves.

Más allá de las ondulantes colinas verdes de la Mittel Land se elevaban imponentes laderas boscosas hasta los escarpados y elevados picos de los propios Cárpatos.

Right and left of us they towered, with the afternoon sun falling full upon them and bringing out all the glorious colours of this beautiful range, deep blue and purple in the shadows of the peaks, green and brown where grass and rock mingled, and an endless perspective of jagged rock and pointed crags, till these were themselves lost in the distance, where the snowy peaks rose grandly.

A derecha e izquierda se erguían imponentes, con el sol de la tarde cayendo de lleno sobre ellos y resaltando todos los gloriosos colores de esta hermosa cordillera, azul intenso y púrpura en las sombras de los picos, verde y marrón donde la hierba y la roca se mezclaban, y una perspectiva interminable de rocas dentadas y riscos puntiagudos, hasta que estos mismos se perdían en la distancia, donde las cimas nevadas se alzaban majestuosamente.

Here and there seemed mighty rifts in the mountains, through which, as the sun began to sink, we saw now and again the white gleam of falling water.

Aquí y allá aparecían enormes grietas en las montañas, a través de las cuales, a medida que el sol comenzaba a ponerse, veíamos de vez en cuando el blanco destello del agua que caía.

Vocabulary

camino: A road, path, or route traveled on.
era: Past tense 'was/were'; imperfect form of ser.
accidentado: Rough, uneven, or rugged terrain or surface.
pero: Conjunction meaning 'but,' introducing contrast.
aun: Even; used for emphasis without accent mark.
así: Adverb meaning 'so,' 'thus,' or 'this way.'
parecíamos: We seemed or appeared to be doing something.
volar: To fly; to move swiftly through the air.
sobre: Preposition meaning 'over,' 'above,' or 'about.'
él: Third-person singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it.'
con: Preposition meaning 'with,' showing accompaniment.
prisa: Hurry or haste; urgency to do something quickly.
febril: Feverish; intense and frenzied in character.
podía: Could; imperfect tense of poder, meaning ability.
comprender: To understand or comprehend something fully.
entonces: Adverb meaning 'then' or 'at that time.'
qué: Interrogative or exclamatory word meaning 'what.'
significaba: It meant; imperfect tense of significar.
tanta: So much; feminine form of tanto indicating quantity.
conductor: Driver; person who operates a vehicle.
estaba: Was; imperfect tense of estar indicating state.
evidentemente: Evidently or obviously; clearly apparent to observers.
empeñado: Determined or intent on doing something persistently.
perder: To lose or waste something, such as time.
tiempo: Time; also weather depending on context.
para: Preposition meaning 'for,' 'in order to.'
llegar: To arrive or reach a destination.
dijeron: They told or said; preterite tense of decir.
este: Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this.'
excelente: Excellent; of very high quality or standard.
verano: Summer; the warmest season of the year.
aún: Still or yet; adverb indicating continuation.
había: Had; imperfect form of haber used as auxiliary.
sido: Been; past participle of ser used in compounds.
arreglado: Fixed, repaired, or arranged; past participle of arreglar.
después: After or afterward; indicating something follows in time.
nieves: Snows; plural of nieve referring to snowfall.
invernales: Winter-related; adjective describing things of winter.
aspecto: Aspect, appearance, or look of something.
difiere: Differs; third-person singular of diferir.
mayoría: Majority; the greater part or number of something.
caminos: Roads or paths; plural of camino.
pues: Well, since, or because; discourse connector.
vieja: Old; feminine adjective describing age of something.
tradición: Tradition; a custom passed down through generations.
deben: Must or should; third-person plural of deber.
mantenerse: To be maintained or keep oneself in condition.
demasiado: Too much; excessive in degree or amount.
buen: Good; shortened form of bueno before masculine nouns.
estado: State or condition; also past participle of estar.
Antiguamente: Formerly or in ancient times; long ago.
negaban: They refused; imperfect tense of negarse.
repararlos: To repair them; infinitive with attached pronoun.
por: Preposition meaning 'for,' 'by,' or 'because of.'
temor: Fear or dread; apprehension of something threatening.
turcos: Turks; referring to Turkish people or Ottoman forces.
creyeran: They would believe; imperfect subjunctive of creer.
preparaban: They were preparing; imperfect tense of preparar.
introducir: To introduce or bring in something from outside.
tropas: Troops; military forces or soldiers in groups.
extranjeras: Foreign; feminine plural adjective describing outside origin.
precipitar: To precipitate or hasten the onset of something.
guerra: War; armed conflict between nations or groups.
siempre: Always; at all times without exception.
realmente: Really or truly; used for emphasis or confirmation.
punto: Point or moment; also a period punctuation mark.
estallar: To break out or explode; said of wars or crises.
Más: More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree.
allá: Beyond or over there; indicating distant location.
ondulantes: Undulating or rolling; describing wave-like terrain.
colinas: Hills; small elevated landforms, plural of colina.
verdes: Green; plural adjective describing color of vegetation.
elevaban: They rose or elevated; imperfect tense of elevar.
imponentes: Imposing or impressive; striking in size or appearance.
laderas: Slopes or hillsides; the sides of a mountain.
boscosas: Wooded or forested; covered with trees and woodland.
hasta: Until or up to; indicating a limit or endpoint.
escarpados: Steep or rugged; describing sharp, difficult terrain.
elevados: High or elevated; raised to a great altitude.
picos: Peaks or summits; pointed tops of mountains.
propios: Own or proper; belonging to a specific entity.
derecha: Right; direction or side opposite to the left.
e: Alternative form of 'y' (and) before i/hi sounds.
izquierda: Left; direction or side opposite to the right.
erguían: They stood upright; imperfect tense of erguirse.
sol: Sun; the star at the center of our solar system.
tarde: Afternoon or late; time of day or lateness.
cayendo: Falling; present participle of caer.
lleno: Full; completely filled or saturated with something.
ellos: They; third-person plural pronoun for a group.
resaltando: Highlighting or standing out; present participle of resaltar.
todos: All or every; referring to an entire group.
gloriosos: Glorious; magnificent and worthy of admiration.
colores: Colors; plural of color referring to hues and shades.
esta: This; feminine demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
hermosa: Beautiful; lovely in appearance, feminine form.
cordillera: Mountain range; a chain of connected mountains.
azul: Blue; the color of the sky or ocean.
intenso: Intense; of extreme degree, strength, or vividness.
púrpura: Purple; a color between red and blue.
sombras: Shadows or shades; dark areas caused by blocking light.
verde: Green; the color of leaves and grass.
marrón: Brown; a dark reddish-yellow earthy color.
donde: Where; relative adverb indicating place or location.
hierba: Grass or herb; low-growing green plant covering ground.
roca: Rock; a solid mineral material forming the earth.
mezclaban: They mixed or blended; imperfect tense of mezclar.
perspectiva: Perspective or view; a visual or mental outlook.
interminable: Endless or interminable; seeming to have no end.
rocas: Rocks; plural of roca, solid natural mineral formations.
dentadas: Jagged or toothed; having a serrated irregular edge.
riscos: Crags or cliffs; sharp rocky projections on mountains.
puntiagudos: Pointed or sharp; having a sharp tip or end.
estos: These; masculine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
mismos: Same or themselves; masculine plural of mismo.
perdían: They were lost; imperfect tense of perderse.
distancia: Distance; the space between two points or places.
cimas: Summits or tops; the highest points of mountains.
nevadas: Snow-covered; feminine plural adjective describing snowy peaks.
alzaban: They rose or lifted; imperfect tense of alzarse.
majestuosamente: Majestically; in a grand and impressive manner.
Aquí: Here; adverb indicating the speaker's current location.
aparecían: They appeared; imperfect tense of aparecer.
enormes: Enormous or huge; of very great size or extent.
grietas: Cracks or crevices; narrow openings in rock or earth.
montañas: Mountains; large natural elevations of earth's surface.
través: Through or across; used in 'a través de.'
cuales: Which; relative pronoun used after prepositions.
medida: Measure; used in 'a medida que' meaning 'as.'
comenzaba: Was beginning; imperfect tense of comenzar.
ponerse: To set (sun) or to become; reflexive form of poner.
veíamos: We saw; imperfect tense of ver meaning to see.
vez: Time or instance; used in phrases like 'de vez en cuando.'
cuando: When; conjunction or adverb indicating time.
blanco: White; the lightest color, opposite of black.
destello: Flash or gleam; a brief burst of bright light.
agua: Water; the clear liquid essential for life.
caía: Was falling; imperfect tense of caer.

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