Great Expectations — Page 5
My sister had a trenchant way of cutting our bread and butter for us, that never varied.
Mi hermana tenía una manera tajante de cortarnos el pan con mantequilla que nunca variaba.
First, with her left hand she jammed the loaf hard and fast against her bib,—where it sometimes got a pin into it, and sometimes a needle, which we afterwards got into our mouths.
Primero, con la mano izquierda apretaba el pan con fuerza contra su pechera, —donde a veces se le clavaba un alfiler, y a veces una aguja, que luego nosotros nos metíamos en la boca.
Then she took some butter (not too much) on a knife and spread it on the loaf, in an apothecary kind of way, as if she were making a plaster,—using both sides of the knife with a slapping dexterity, and trimming and moulding the butter off round the crust.
Luego tomaba un poco de mantequilla (no demasiada) con un cuchillo y la extendía sobre el pan, a la manera de un boticario, como si estuviera preparando un emplasto, —usando ambos lados del cuchillo con una habilidad rápida y precisa, recortando y moldeando la mantequilla alrededor de la corteza.
Then, she gave the knife a final smart wipe on the edge of the plaster, and then sawed a very thick round off the loaf: which she finally, before separating from the loaf, hewed into two halves, of which Joe got one, and I the other.
Luego le dio al cuchillo un último y hábil limpión en el borde del emplasto, y después serró una rebanada muy gruesa del pan, que finalmente, antes de separarla del resto, partió en dos mitades, de las cuales Joe recibió una y yo la otra.
On the present occasion, though I was hungry, I dared not eat my slice.
En aquella ocasión, aunque tenía hambre, no me atreví a comer mi rebanada.
I felt that I must have something in reserve for my dreadful acquaintance, and his ally the still more dreadful young man.
Sentí que debía guardar algo para mi terrible conocido y su aliado, el joven aún más temible.
I knew Mrs. Joe's housekeeping to be of the strictest kind, and that my larcenous researches might find nothing available in the safe.
Sabía que la administración doméstica de la señora Joe era de lo más estricta, y que mis búsquedas furtivas podían no encontrar nada disponible en la despensa.
Therefore I resolved to put my hunk of bread and butter down the leg of my trousers.
Por lo tanto, resolví meterme el pedazo de pan con mantequilla por la pernera del pantalón.
The effort of resolution necessary to the achievement of this purpose I found to be quite awful.
El esfuerzo de voluntad necesario para llevar a cabo este propósito me resultó verdaderamente penoso.
Vocabulary
- hermana
- Female sibling; sister
- tenía
- Past imperfect of 'tener'; had or used to have
- manera
- Way, method, or style of doing something
- tajante
- Sharp, cutting, or blunt in manner or style
- cortarnos
- To cut for us; infinitive with reflexive pronoun
- pan
- Bread; a common baked food staple
- mantequilla
- Butter; a dairy fat spread on bread
- nunca
- Never; at no time
- variaba
- Past imperfect of 'variar'; used to vary or change
- Primero
- First; indicating the first step or action
- mano
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- izquierda
- Left; the direction or side opposite to right
- apretaba
- Past imperfect of 'apretar'; used to press or squeeze
- fuerza
- Force, strength, or physical power
- contra
- Preposition meaning 'against'
- pechera
- Shirt front or chest bib area of clothing
- donde
- Relative adverb meaning 'where'
- veces
- Times; plural of 'vez'; a las veces means sometimes
- clavaba
- Past imperfect of 'clavar'; used to stick or pierce
- alfiler
- Pin; a small pointed fastening device
- aguja
- Needle; a thin pointed sewing or medical instrument
- luego
- Then, afterward, or later in sequence
- metíamos
- Past imperfect of 'meter'; we used to put or insert
- boca
- Mouth; the facial opening used for eating and speaking
- Luego
- Then or next; used to indicate sequence
- tomaba
- Past imperfect of 'tomar'; used to take or grab
- poco
- A little; a small amount of something
- demasiada
- Too much; excessive amount of something feminine
- cuchillo
- Knife; a bladed cutting utensil
- extendía
- Past imperfect of 'extender'; used to spread or extend
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'over', or 'about'
- boticario
- Apothecary or pharmacist; old term for druggist
- estuviera
- Past subjunctive of 'estar'; were or would be
- preparando
- Present participle of 'preparar'; preparing or making ready
- emplasto
- Poultice or plaster; a medicinal paste applied to skin
- usando
- Present participle of 'usar'; using or employing
- ambos
- Both; referring to two things or people together
- lados
- Sides; plural of 'lado'; faces or edges of something
- habilidad
- Skill, ability, or dexterity in performing a task
- rápida
- Fast, quick; moving or acting with speed
- precisa
- Precise, exact, or accurate in action or detail
- recortando
- Present participle of 'recortar'; trimming or cutting around
- moldeando
- Present participle of 'moldear'; shaping or molding something
- alrededor
- Around; surrounding or encircling something
- corteza
- Crust or bark; the hard outer layer of bread
- dio
- Preterite of 'dar'; gave; third person singular past
- último
- Last, final; the most recent or concluding one
- hábil
- Skillful, capable, or adept at doing something
- limpión
- A big clean wipe or sweep of a surface
- borde
- Edge or border; the outer rim of something
- después
- After, afterward, or then; indicating later time
- serró
- Preterite of 'serrar'; sawed through something
- rebanada
- Slice; a thin flat piece cut from bread or food
- gruesa
- Thick; having great depth or width
- finalmente
- Finally, at last; after a long process or wait
- antes
- Before; earlier in time or order
- separarla
- To separate it; infinitive with direct object pronoun
- resto
- Rest or remainder; what is left over
- partió
- Preterite of 'partir'; split or divided into pieces
- mitades
- Halves; plural of 'mitad'; two equal parts
- cuales
- Relative pronoun 'which'; used to refer back to nouns
- recibió
- Preterite of 'recibir'; received something given
- otra
- Another or other; a different or additional one
- aquella
- That (distant); demonstrative adjective feminine singular
- ocasión
- Occasion, instance, or opportunity for something
- aunque
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction
- hambre
- Hunger; the physical sensation of needing food
- atreví
- Preterite of 'atreverse'; dared to do something
- comer
- To eat; the infinitive of consuming food
- Sentí
- Preterite of 'sentir'; felt or sensed something
- debía
- Past imperfect of 'deber'; should, ought to, or owed
- guardar
- To keep, save, or put away for later
- algo
- Something; an unspecified thing or amount
- terrible
- Terrible, dreadful; causing great fear or alarm
- conocido
- Known; familiar; acquaintance or past participle of 'conocer'
- aliado
- Ally; someone united with another for a purpose
- joven
- Young; a person of a relatively small age
- aún
- Still or even; adverb indicating continuation or degree
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- temible
- Fearsome, dreadful; worthy of being feared
- Sabía
- Past imperfect of 'saber'; knew a fact or how to do
- administración
- Administration or management of a household or organization
- doméstica
- Domestic; relating to the home or household
- señora
- Mrs. or lady; a respectful title for a woman
- era
- Past imperfect of 'ser'; was or used to be
- estricta
- Strict, rigorous; enforcing rules firmly and exactly
- búsquedas
- Searches; plural of 'búsqueda'; acts of looking for something
- furtivas
- Furtive, stealthy; done secretly to avoid detection
- podían
- Past imperfect of 'poder'; they were able to or could
- encontrar
- To find or encounter something or someone
- nada
- Nothing; not anything at all
- disponible
- Available; accessible or ready for use
- despensa
- Pantry or larder; a room for storing food
- tanto
- So much; therefore; used in 'por tanto' meaning therefore
- resolví
- Preterite of 'resolver'; decided or resolved to do something
- meterme
- To put into or insert for myself; reflexive infinitive
- pedazo
- Piece or chunk; a portion broken off from something
- pernera
- Trouser leg; the leg portion of a pair of pants
- pantalón
- Trousers or pants; a garment covering the lower body
- esfuerzo
- Effort, exertion; energy applied to accomplish something
- voluntad
- Will, willpower; the mental faculty of making decisions
- necesario
- Necessary, required; something that must be done
- llevar
- To carry, take, or bring; to lead or wear
- cabo
- End or cape; in 'llevar a cabo' means to carry out
- este
- This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective masculine singular
- propósito
- Purpose, intention, or goal for doing something
- resultó
- Preterite of 'resultar'; turned out or resulted in
- verdaderamente
- Truly, really; in a genuine or authentic manner
- penoso
- Painful, distressing, or difficult to endure
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