Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 15
In the morning, however, as soon as it was light, I went upon deck and found all the sailors busy on one side of the vessel, apparently talking to someone in the sea.
Sin embargo, por la mañana, en cuanto hubo luz, subí a cubierta y encontré a todos los marineros ocupados en un lado del barco, aparentemente hablando con alguien en el mar.
It was, in fact, a sledge, like that we had seen before, which had drifted towards us in the night on a large fragment of ice.
Era, de hecho, un trineo, como el que habíamos visto antes, que había derivado hacia nosotros durante la noche sobre un gran fragmento de hielo.
Only one dog remained alive; but there was a human being within it whom the sailors were persuading to enter the vessel.
Solo un perro seguía con vida; pero había un ser humano dentro al que los marineros estaban persuadiendo para que entrara en el barco.
He was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but a European.
No era, como parecía ser el otro viajero, un salvaje habitante de alguna isla desconocida, sino un europeo.
When I appeared on deck the master said, "Here is our captain, and he will not allow you to perish on the open sea."
Cuando aparecí en cubierta, el contramaestre dijo: «Aquí está nuestro capitán, y no permitirá que perezca usted en alta mar».
On perceiving me, the stranger addressed me in English, although with a foreign accent.
Al verme, el desconocido se dirigió a mí en inglés, aunque con acento extranjero.
"Before I come on board your vessel," said he, "will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?"
«Antes de subir a bordo de su barco», dijo él, «¿tendría usted la bondad de informarme adónde se dirige?»
You may conceive my astonishment on hearing such a question addressed to me from a man on the brink of destruction and to whom I should have supposed that my vessel would have been a resource which he would not have exchanged for the most precious wealth the earth can afford.
Puede imaginarse mi asombro al escuchar tal pregunta dirigida a mí por un hombre al borde de la muerte y al que yo habría supuesto que mi barco le habría resultado un recurso que no habría cambiado por la riqueza más preciada que la tierra puede ofrecer.
I replied, however, that we were on a voyage of discovery towards the northern pole.
Sin embargo, respondí que estábamos en un viaje de exploración hacia el polo norte.
Upon hearing this he appeared satisfied and consented to come on board.
Al escuchar esto, pareció satisfecho y consintió en subir a bordo.
Good God!
¡Dios mío!
Vocabulary
- Sin
- Without; used to indicate absence or lack.
- embargo
- However; nevertheless (used in 'sin embargo').
- por
- For; by; through; a versatile preposition.
- mañana
- Morning; also means tomorrow depending on context.
- cuanto
- As soon as; how much; used in expressions.
- hubo
- There was/were; preterite form of haber.
- luz
- Light; illumination from the sun or a source.
- subí
- I went up; climbed; preterite of subir.
- cubierta
- Deck of a ship; also means cover or lid.
- encontré
- I found; I encountered; preterite of encontrar.
- todos
- All; everyone; every single one of them.
- marineros
- Sailors; seamen who work aboard a ship.
- ocupados
- Busy; occupied; engaged in some activity.
- lado
- Side; the lateral part or edge of something.
- barco
- Ship; boat; a vessel for water travel.
- aparentemente
- Apparently; seemingly; by outward appearance.
- hablando
- Speaking; talking; present participle of hablar.
- alguien
- Someone; somebody; an unspecified person.
- mar
- Sea; large body of saltwater.
- Era
- It was; third person imperfect form of ser.
- hecho
- Fact; indeed; also past participle of hacer.
- trineo
- Sled; sleigh; a vehicle that slides on snow.
- como
- Like; as; how; a comparison or manner word.
- habíamos
- We had; first person plural pluperfect of haber.
- visto
- Seen; past participle of ver.
- antes
- Before; previously; earlier in time.
- había
- There was; had; imperfect of haber.
- derivado
- Drifted; derived; moved off course by current.
- hacia
- Toward; in the direction of something.
- durante
- During; throughout a period of time.
- noche
- Night; the dark period after sunset.
- sobre
- On; over; about; a preposition of position.
- gran
- Great; large; big; shortened form of grande.
- fragmento
- Fragment; piece; a broken-off part of something.
- hielo
- Ice; frozen water in solid form.
- Solo
- Only; alone; a single one without others.
- perro
- Dog; a common domestic animal.
- seguía
- Was still; continued; imperfect of seguir.
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive.
- pero
- But; however; a contrastive conjunction.
- ser
- To be; also a noun meaning a being or creature.
- humano
- Human; relating to or being a person.
- dentro
- Inside; within; in the interior of something.
- estaban
- They were; third person plural imperfect of estar.
- persuadiendo
- Persuading; convincing someone to do something.
- para
- For; in order to; a purpose preposition.
- entrara
- Would enter; subjunctive of entrar.
- era
- Was; imperfect of ser indicating past state.
- parecía
- Seemed; appeared; imperfect of parecer.
- otro
- Other; another; a different one.
- viajero
- Traveler; someone who journeys from place to place.
- salvaje
- Wild; savage; uncivilized or untamed person.
- habitante
- Inhabitant; resident; someone who lives somewhere.
- alguna
- Some; any; feminine form of alguno.
- isla
- Island; a land mass surrounded by water.
- desconocida
- Unknown; unfamiliar; not previously known.
- sino
- But rather; but instead; used for contrast.
- europeo
- European; a person from the European continent.
- Cuando
- When; at the time that something happened.
- aparecí
- I appeared; I showed up; preterite of aparecer.
- contramaestre
- Boatswain; officer supervising ship's crew and equipment.
- dijo
- Said; told; preterite of decir.
- Aquí
- Here; in this place or location.
- está
- Is; third person singular present of estar.
- nuestro
- Our; belonging to us; first person plural possessive.
- capitán
- Captain; the commander or leader of a ship.
- permitirá
- Will allow; will permit; future of permitir.
- perezca
- Perish; die; subjunctive present of perecer.
- usted
- You; formal second person singular pronoun.
- alta
- High; tall; open sea in nautical context.
- Al
- Upon; when; contraction of a and el.
- verme
- Seeing me; infinitive ver with me attached.
- desconocido
- Stranger; unknown person; someone unfamiliar.
- dirigió
- Addressed; directed himself; preterite of dirigir.
- inglés
- English; the language or person from England.
- aunque
- Although; even though; a concessive conjunction.
- acento
- Accent; manner of pronunciation indicating origin.
- extranjero
- Foreign; foreigner; person from another country.
- Antes
- Before; prior to; earlier than something else.
- subir
- To go up; to climb; to board a vehicle.
- bordo
- On board; aboard a ship or vessel.
- su
- His; her; your; their; third person possessive.
- tendría
- Would have; conditional of tener.
- bondad
- Kindness; goodness; polite expression of courtesy.
- informarme
- To inform me; infinitive with attached pronoun.
- adónde
- Where to; to what destination; interrogative adverb.
- dirige
- Heads; is headed; third person of dirigir.
- Puede
- Can; is able to; third person of poder.
- imaginarse
- To imagine; to picture in one's mind.
- asombro
- Astonishment; amazement; great surprise.
- escuchar
- To hear; to listen to something or someone.
- tal
- Such; such a; of that kind.
- pregunta
- Question; inquiry; something asked to get information.
- dirigida
- Directed; addressed; aimed at a particular person.
- hombre
- Man; adult male human being.
- borde
- Edge; border; brink of something.
- muerte
- Death; the end of life.
- habría
- Would have; conditional of haber.
- supuesto
- Supposed; assumed; past participle of suponer.
- resultado
- Result; outcome; also turned out to be.
- recurso
- Resource; recourse; something one turns to.
- cambiado
- Changed; exchanged; past participle of cambiar.
- riqueza
- Wealth; richness; abundance of valuable things.
- más
- More; most; comparative adverb.
- preciada
- Precious; prized; highly valued or treasured.
- tierra
- Land; earth; ground; solid surface.
- puede
- Can; is able; third person singular of poder.
- ofrecer
- To offer; to provide; to present something.
- respondí
- I replied; I answered; preterite of responder.
- estábamos
- We were; first person plural imperfect of estar.
- viaje
- Trip; journey; travel to a destination.
- exploración
- Exploration; the act of exploring unknown territory.
- polo
- Pole; the North or South Pole of Earth.
- norte
- North; the direction toward the North Pole.
- esto
- This; this thing; neuter demonstrative pronoun.
- pareció
- Seemed; appeared; preterite of parecer.
- satisfecho
- Satisfied; content; pleased with a result.
- consintió
- Consented; agreed; preterite of consentir.
- Dios
- God; the divine being in Christian tradition.
- mío
- Mine; my; first person possessive pronoun.
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