Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 4
I felt the silence, although I was hardly conscious of its extreme profundity, until my ear was suddenly arrested by the paddling of oars near the shore, and a person landed close to my house.
Sentí el silencio, aunque apenas era consciente de su extrema profundidad, hasta que mi oído fue repentinamente atraído por el chapoteo de remos cerca de la orilla, y una persona desembarcó cerca de mi casa.
In a few minutes after, I heard the creaking of my door, as if some one endeavoured to open it softly.
Pocos minutos después, escuché el crujido de mi puerta, como si alguien intentara abrirla suavemente.
I trembled from head to foot; I felt a presentiment of who it was and wished to rouse one of the peasants who dwelt in a cottage not far from mine; but I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot.
Temblé de pies a cabeza; sentí un presentimiento de quién era y deseé despertar a uno de los campesinos que vivían en una cabaña no lejos de la mía; pero me venció la sensación de impotencia, tan frecuente en los sueños aterradores, cuando en vano intentas huir de un peligro inminente, y quedé paralizado en el lugar.
Presently I heard the sound of footsteps along the passage; the door opened, and the wretch whom I dreaded appeared.
En ese momento escuché el sonido de pasos a lo largo del pasillo; la puerta se abrió, y apareció el miserable a quien yo temía.
Shutting the door, he approached me and said in a smothered voice,
Cerrando la puerta, se acercó a mí y dijo con voz sofocada,
"You have destroyed the work which you began; what is it that you intend? Do you dare to break your promise? I have endured toil and misery; I left Switzerland with you; I crept along the shores of the Rhine, among its willow islands and over the summits of its hills. I have dwelt many months in the heaths of England and among the deserts of Scotland. I have endured incalculable fatigue, and cold, and hunger; do you dare destroy my hopes?"
"Has destruido la obra que comenzaste; ¿qué es lo que pretendes? ¿Te atreves a romper tu promesa? He soportado el trabajo y la miseria; salí de Suiza contigo; me arrastré por las orillas del Rin, entre sus islas de sauces y por las cimas de sus colinas. He vivido muchos meses en los páramos de Inglaterra y entre los desiertos de Escocia. He soportado una fatiga incalculable, y frío, y hambre; ¿te atreves a destruir mis esperanzas?"
"Begone!
"¡Fuera de aquí!
Vocabulary
- Sentí
- First-person past tense of 'sentir,' meaning 'I felt'
- el
- Definite masculine singular article meaning 'the'
- silencio
- Complete absence of sound; quiet
- aunque
- Conjunction meaning 'although' or 'even though'
- apenas
- Adverb meaning 'hardly,' 'barely,' or 'scarcely'
- era
- Past imperfect of 'ser,' meaning 'was' or 'were'
- consciente
- Aware or mindful of something; conscious
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'
- su
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its'
- extrema
- Adjective meaning 'extreme' or 'very great'
- profundidad
- The quality of being deep; depth
- hasta
- Preposition meaning 'until,' 'up to,' or 'even'
- que
- Conjunction or relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'
- mi
- First-person singular possessive meaning 'my'
- oído
- The sense or organ of hearing; ear
- fue
- Past tense of 'ser' or 'ir,' meaning 'was' or 'went'
- repentinamente
- In a sudden and unexpected manner; suddenly
- atraído
- Past participle of 'atraer'; drawn or attracted toward something
- por
- Preposition meaning 'by,' 'for,' or 'through'
- chapoteo
- Splashing sound made in water; splashing
- remos
- Plural of 'remo'; oars used to row a boat
- cerca
- Adverb meaning 'near' or 'close by'
- la
- Definite feminine singular article meaning 'the'
- orilla
- Edge or bank of a body of water; shore
- y
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- una
- Indefinite feminine singular article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- persona
- A human individual; a person
- desembarcó
- Past tense of 'desembarcar'; someone came ashore or landed
- casa
- A building used as a home; house
- Pocos
- Adjective meaning 'few' or 'a small number of'
- minutos
- Plural of 'minuto'; units of time equal to sixty seconds
- después
- Adverb meaning 'after,' 'later,' or 'afterward'
- escuché
- First-person past tense of 'escuchar'; I listened or heard
- crujido
- A creaking or crackling sound made by something
- puerta
- A hinged panel used to open or close an entrance; door
- como
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as,' 'like,' or 'how'
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or 'whether'
- alguien
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'someone' or 'somebody'
- intentara
- Past subjunctive of 'intentar'; were trying or attempting
- abrirla
- Infinitive 'abrir' plus pronoun; to open it
- suavemente
- In a gentle or soft manner; gently, softly
- Temblé
- First-person past tense of 'temblar'; I trembled or shook
- pies
- Plural of 'pie'; feet, the lower extremities of the body
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'from'
- cabeza
- The uppermost part of the body; head
- sentí
- First-person past tense of 'sentir'; I felt or sensed
- un
- Indefinite masculine singular article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- presentimiento
- A feeling that something bad is about to happen; premonition
- quién
- Interrogative or relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'whom'
- deseé
- First-person past tense of 'desear'; I wished or desired
- despertar
- To rouse from sleep; to wake up
- uno
- Numeral or pronoun meaning 'one' or 'someone'
- los
- Definite masculine plural article meaning 'the'
- campesinos
- Rural workers or farmers; peasants or country people
- vivían
- Past imperfect of 'vivir'; they used to live or were living
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'at,' or 'on'
- cabaña
- A small, simple rural dwelling; a cabin or hut
- no
- Negation word meaning 'no' or 'not'
- lejos
- Adverb meaning 'far away' or 'distant'
- mía
- Feminine possessive pronoun meaning 'mine'
- pero
- Conjunction meaning 'but' indicating contrast
- me
- First-person singular reflexive or object pronoun; me
- venció
- Past tense of 'vencer'; overcame, defeated, or overpowered
- sensación
- A physical or emotional feeling; sensation
- impotencia
- Lack of power or ability to act; helplessness
- tan
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'as,' used in comparisons
- frecuente
- Occurring often or repeatedly; frequent
- sueños
- Plural of 'sueño'; dreams experienced during sleep
- aterradores
- Causing great fear or terror; frightening or terrifying
- cuando
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'
- vano
- Without success or result; futile or in vain
- intentas
- Second-person present of 'intentar'; you try or attempt
- huir
- To run away or escape from danger; to flee
- peligro
- A situation involving risk of harm; danger
- inminente
- About to happen very soon; imminent or impending
- quedé
- First-person past of 'quedar'; I remained or stayed
- paralizado
- Unable to move due to fear or shock; paralyzed
- lugar
- A specific area or position in space; place
- En
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'at,' or 'on'
- ese
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (nearby)
- momento
- A very brief period of time; moment or instant
- sonido
- Vibrations perceived by the ear; sound
- pasos
- Plural of 'paso'; footsteps or steps taken while walking
- lo
- Neuter or masculine object pronoun meaning 'it' or 'him'
- largo
- Extended in length; long; used in 'a lo largo de' meaning along
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el' meaning 'of the'
- pasillo
- A narrow walkway connecting rooms; hallway or corridor
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or passive verbs
- abrió
- Past tense of 'abrir'; it or he/she opened
- apareció
- Past tense of 'aparecer'; appeared or came into view
- miserable
- Extremely unhappy or causing suffering; wretched
- quien
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'whom'
- yo
- First-person singular subject pronoun meaning 'I'
- temía
- Past imperfect of 'temer'; I feared or was afraid of
- Cerrando
- Present participle of 'cerrar'; closing or shutting something
- acercó
- Past tense of 'acercarse'; approached or drew near
- mí
- First-person singular pronoun used after prepositions; me
- dijo
- Past tense of 'decir'; he, she, or it said
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- voz
- Sound produced in speaking or singing; voice
- sofocada
- Muffled, suppressed, or choked; stifled
- Has
- Second-person singular present perfect auxiliary; you have
- destruido
- Past participle of 'destruir'; destroyed or ruined completely
- obra
- A piece of creative or constructed work; work or piece
- comenzaste
- Second-person past tense of 'comenzar'; you began or started
- ¿qué
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'
- es
- Third-person singular present of 'ser'; is
- pretendes
- Second-person present of 'pretender'; you intend or claim
- ¿Te
- Interrogative opening plus reflexive pronoun 'te'; do you
- atreves
- Second-person present of 'atreverse'; you dare or venture
- romper
- To break or violate something such as a promise
- tu
- Second-person singular possessive adjective meaning 'your'
- promesa
- A commitment to do or not do something; promise
- He
- First-person singular present perfect auxiliary; I have
- soportado
- Past participle of 'soportar'; endured or tolerated suffering
- trabajo
- Physical or mental effort; work or labor
- miseria
- Extreme poverty or suffering; misery or wretchedness
- salí
- First-person past tense of 'salir'; I left or departed
- Suiza
- The European country known for mountains and neutrality; Switzerland
- contigo
- Prepositional pronoun meaning 'with you'
- arrastré
- First-person past of 'arrastrar'; I dragged or trudged along
- las
- Definite feminine plural article meaning 'the'
- orillas
- Plural of 'orilla'; banks or shores of a body of water
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
- sus
- Plural possessive pronoun meaning 'his,' 'her,' 'their,' 'its'
- islas
- Plural of 'isla'; landmasses surrounded by water; islands
- sauces
- Plural of 'sauce'; trees with long drooping branches; willows
- cimas
- Plural of 'cima'; tops or summits of hills or mountains
- colinas
- Plural of 'colina'; small elevated landforms; hills
- vivido
- Past participle of 'vivir'; lived or experienced over time
- muchos
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'many' or 'a lot of'
- páramos
- Plural of 'páramo'; bleak, treeless highland plains or moors
- Inglaterra
- The southern part of Great Britain; England
- desiertos
- Plural of 'desierto'; barren lands with little vegetation; deserts
- Escocia
- Northern part of Great Britain; Scotland
- fatiga
- Extreme tiredness resulting from exertion; fatigue
- incalculable
- Too great to be measured or counted; incalculable
- frío
- Low temperature causing discomfort; cold
- hambre
- The painful sensation caused by lack of food; hunger
- ¿te
- Interrogative opening plus reflexive pronoun; do you (yourself)
- destruir
- To damage something so severely it no longer exists; to destroy
- mis
- First-person plural possessive adjective meaning 'my'
- esperanzas
- Plural of 'esperanza'; feelings of desire and expectation; hopes
- ¡Fuera
- Exclamatory imperative meaning 'get out' or 'away with you'
- aquí
- Adverb indicating this place; here
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