Great Expectations — Page 6
It was as if I had to make up my mind to leap from the top of a high house, or plunge into a great depth of water.
Era como si tuviera que decidirme a saltar desde lo alto de una casa elevada, o a lanzarme a una gran profundidad de agua.
And it was made the more difficult by the unconscious Joe.
Y la presencia inconsciente de Joe lo hacía aún más difícil.
In our already-mentioned freemasonry as fellow-sufferers, and in his good-natured companionship with me, it was our evening habit to compare the way we bit through our slices, by silently holding them up to each other's admiration now and then,—which stimulated us to new exertions.
En nuestra ya mencionada cofradía de compañeros de infortunio, y en su afable compañerismo conmigo, teníamos la costumbre vespertina de comparar la manera en que mordíamos nuestras rebanadas, sosteniéndolas en silencio para la admiración mutua de vez en cuando, lo cual nos estimulaba a nuevos esfuerzos.
To-night, Joe several times invited me, by the display of his fast diminishing slice, to enter upon our usual friendly competition; but he found me, each time, with my yellow mug of tea on one knee, and my untouched bread and butter on the other.
Esta noche, Joe me invitó varias veces, mostrando su rebanada que mengüaba rápidamente, a participar en nuestra habitual y amistosa competencia; pero me encontró, en cada ocasión, con mi taza amarilla de té sobre una rodilla y mi pan con mantequilla intacto sobre la otra.
At last, I desperately considered that the thing I contemplated must be done, and that it had best be done in the least improbable manner consistent with the circumstances.
Por fin, consideré con desesperación que lo que meditaba debía llevarse a cabo, y que lo mejor era hacerlo de la manera menos improbable que las circunstancias permitieran.
I took advantage of a moment when Joe had just looked at me, and got my bread and butter down my leg.
Aproveché un momento en que Joe acababa de mirarme, y deslicé mi pan con mantequilla por mi pierna.
Joe was evidently made uncomfortable by what he supposed to be my loss of appetite, and took a thoughtful bite out of his slice, which he didn't seem to enjoy.
Joe estaba visiblemente incómodo por lo que suponía era mi falta de apetito, y dio un mordisco pensativo a su rebanada, que no pareció disfrutar.
He turned it about in his mouth much longer than usual, pondering over it a good deal, and after all gulped it down like a pill.
Lo revolvió en su boca mucho más tiempo de lo habitual, reflexionando sobre ello considerablemente, y al final lo tragó como si fuera una píldora.
Vocabulary
- como
- Like, as; used for comparisons
- si
- If; introduces a conditional clause
- tuviera
- Had; past subjunctive of 'tener'
- decidirme
- To make up my mind, to decide
- saltar
- To jump, to leap
- desde
- From, since; indicates starting point
- alto
- High, tall; great height or elevation
- elevada
- Elevated, raised; situated at a great height
- lanzarme
- To throw myself, to hurl myself
- profundidad
- Depth; the measurement downward from a surface
- presencia
- Presence; the state of being in a place
- inconsciente
- Unconscious, unaware; without conscious knowledge
- aún
- Still, even; intensifies or indicates continuation
- ya
- Already, now; indicates something has occurred
- mencionada
- Mentioned, aforementioned; previously referred to
- cofradía
- Brotherhood, fraternity; a group sharing common bonds
- compañeros
- Companions, partners; people sharing a situation
- infortunio
- Misfortune, bad luck; an unfortunate circumstance
- afable
- Affable, friendly; easy to talk to and pleasant
- compañerismo
- Companionship, fellowship; friendly relationship between companions
- conmigo
- With me; first person singular prepositional pronoun
- costumbre
- Custom, habit; a regular practice or tradition
- vespertina
- Evening, vespertine; relating to the evening hours
- comparar
- To compare; to examine differences and similarities
- manera
- Manner, way; the method of doing something
- mordíamos
- We bit; imperfect tense of 'morder'
- rebanadas
- Slices; thin flat pieces cut from food
- sosteniéndolas
- Holding them; gerund of 'sostener' with pronoun
- silencio
- Silence; complete absence of sound or noise
- admiración
- Admiration; a feeling of respect and wonder
- mutua
- Mutual, reciprocal; shared equally between two parties
- vez
- Time, instance; an occurrence of something happening
- cual
- Which, who; relative pronoun referring to something
- estimulaba
- Stimulated, encouraged; motivated to make greater effort
- esfuerzos
- Efforts; vigorous attempts to accomplish something
- invitó
- Invited; asked someone to join or participate
- varias
- Various, several; more than two but not many
- veces
- Times; plural of 'vez,' instances or occasions
- mostrando
- Showing; presenting something for others to see
- rebanada
- Slice; a thin flat piece cut from food
- mengüaba
- Diminished, shrank; imperfect tense of 'menguar'
- rápidamente
- Quickly, rapidly; in a fast manner
- participar
- To participate; to take part in an activity
- habitual
- Habitual, usual; done as a regular habit
- amistosa
- Friendly, amicable; in a kind and sociable way
- competencia
- Competition, contest; a friendly rivalry or challenge
- cada
- Each, every; refers to all members individually
- ocasión
- Occasion, opportunity; a particular time or chance
- taza
- Cup; a small container used for drinking beverages
- amarilla
- Yellow; the color of sunlight or lemons
- té
- Tea; a hot beverage made from dried leaves
- sobre
- On, over, about; preposition indicating position or topic
- rodilla
- Knee; the joint connecting the upper and lower leg
- mantequilla
- Butter; a yellow dairy fat spread on bread
- intacto
- Intact, untouched; not damaged or consumed at all
- fin
- End, finally; the conclusion or last point
- consideré
- I considered; past tense of 'considerar'
- desesperación
- Desperation, despair; a state of hopeless distress
- meditaba
- Meditated, pondered; imperfect of 'meditar,' to think deeply
- debía
- Should, owed; imperfect tense of 'deber'
- llevarse
- To be carried out, to take place
- cabo
- End, cape; 'llevar a cabo' means to carry out
- menos
- Less, fewer; comparative adverb of lesser degree
- improbable
- Unlikely, improbable; not likely to happen
- circunstancias
- Circumstances; conditions affecting a situation or event
- permitieran
- Allowed, permitted; past subjunctive of 'permitir'
- Aproveché
- I took advantage of; past tense of 'aprovechar'
- acababa
- Had just; imperfect of 'acabar de' (to have just)
- mirarme
- To look at me; infinitive 'mirar' with reflexive pronoun
- deslicé
- I slipped, I slid; past tense of 'deslizar'
- pierna
- Leg; the lower limb of the human body
- visiblemente
- Visibly, noticeably; in a way clearly seen by others
- incómodo
- Uncomfortable, awkward; causing physical or social discomfort
- suponía
- Supposed, assumed; imperfect tense of 'suponer'
- falta
- Lack, absence; something missing or insufficient
- apetito
- Appetite; desire or craving for food
- mordisco
- Bite; a small piece taken by biting
- pensativo
- Pensive, thoughtful; deeply absorbed in thought
- pareció
- Seemed, appeared; past tense of 'parecer'
- disfrutar
- To enjoy; to take pleasure in something
- revolvió
- Stirred, turned around; past tense of 'revolver'
- boca
- Mouth; the opening used for eating and speaking
- reflexionando
- Reflecting, pondering; thinking carefully about something
- ello
- It; neuter third person pronoun referring to an idea
- considerablemente
- Considerably; to a notably significant or large degree
- tragó
- Swallowed; past tense of 'tragar'
- fuera
- Were, outside; subjunctive of 'ser/estar' or preposition
- píldora
- Pill; a small tablet of medicine to be swallowed
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