Great Expectations — Page 2
Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea.
La nostra era la regione paludosa, lungo il fiume, a non più di venti miglia dal mare, seguendo le anse del fiume stesso.
My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening.
La mia prima impressione vivida e completa dell'identità delle cose mi sembra di averla acquisita in un memorabile pomeriggio rigido, verso sera.
At such a time I found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dikes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing was the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.
In quel frangente compresi con certezza che quel luogo desolato ricoperto di ortiche era il cimitero; e che Philip Pirrip, già residente in questa parrocchia, e Georgiana sua moglie, erano morti e sepolti; e che Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias e Roger, figli in tenera età dei suddetti, erano anch'essi morti e sepolti; e che la buia e piatta distesa oltre il cimitero, attraversata da argini, cumuli di terra e cancelli, con sparsi capi di bestiame al pascolo, era la palude; e che la bassa linea plumbea oltre era il fiume; e che il lontano e selvaggio covo da cui il vento si precipitava era il mare; e che il piccolo fagotto di brividi che cominciava ad aver paura di tutto ciò e a piangere, era Pip.
"Hold your noise!" cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch.
«Smettila di frignare!» gridò una voce terribile, mentre un uomo balzava su da tra le tombe sul lato del portico della chiesa.
"Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!"
«Stai fermo, diavoletto, o ti taglio la gola!»
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.
Un uomo spaventoso, tutto vestito di ruvido grigio, con un grosso ferro alla gamba.
A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head.
Un uomo senza cappello, con le scarpe rotte e con uno straccio vecchio legato intorno alla testa.
Vocabulary
- nostra
- Our; first-person plural possessive adjective
- era
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- regione
- Region; a geographic or administrative area
- paludosa
- Marshy; characterized by swamps or wetlands
- lungo
- Along; following the length of something
- fiume
- River; a large natural stream of water
- più
- More; also used in 'non più' meaning 'no more'
- venti
- Twenty; the cardinal number 20
- miglia
- Miles; plural of miglio, unit of distance
- mare
- Sea; a large body of saltwater
- seguendo
- Following; present participle of 'seguire'
- anse
- Bends or curves, especially of a river
- stesso
- Same; indicating identity or similarity
- prima
- First; ordinal adjective indicating initial order
- impressione
- Impression; a feeling or perception formed initially
- vivida
- Vivid; intensely clear and striking to the senses
- completa
- Complete; whole, lacking nothing, fully formed
- identità
- Identity; the nature or essence of something
- cose
- Things; objects, matters, or affairs in general
- sembra
- Seems; third-person singular present of 'sembrare'
- averla
- To have it; infinitive 'avere' with clitic 'la'
- acquisita
- Acquired; past participle of 'acquisire', to gain
- memorabile
- Memorable; worth remembering, notably impressive
- pomeriggio
- Afternoon; the period between noon and evening
- rigido
- Rigid; stiff, also used to mean bitterly cold
- verso
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or approximation
- sera
- Evening; the time of day after afternoon
- quel
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- frangente
- Moment; a critical or difficult juncture or situation
- compresi
- Understood; first-person singular past of 'comprendere'
- certezza
- Certainty; the state of being completely sure
- luogo
- Place; a specific location or spot
- desolato
- Desolate; empty, barren, and devoid of life
- ricoperto
- Covered; past participle of 'ricoprire', to cover
- ortiche
- Nettles; stinging wild plants with irritating leaves
- cimitero
- Cemetery; a burial ground for the deceased
- già
- Already; indicating something has occurred previously
- residente
- Resident; a person living in a particular place
- questa
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- parrocchia
- Parish; a local church community or district
- moglie
- Wife; a married woman in relation to her husband
- erano
- Were; third-person plural imperfect of 'essere'
- morti
- Dead; plural past participle of 'morire', to die
- sepolti
- Buried; past participle of 'seppellire', to bury
- figli
- Sons/children; plural of 'figlio', son or child
- tenera
- Tender; young and delicate, often describing age
- età
- Age; the length of time a person has lived
- suddetti
- Aforementioned; referring to previously mentioned persons
- anch'
- Also; elided form of 'anche', meaning too or as well
- essi
- They; third-person plural subject pronoun
- buia
- Dark; lacking light, gloomy in atmosphere
- piatta
- Flat; having a level, even surface with no hills
- distesa
- Expanse; a wide, open stretch of land or water
- oltre
- Beyond; further than, on the other side of
- attraversata
- Crossed; past participle of 'attraversare', to cross
- argini
- Embankments; raised banks or levees beside waterways
- cumuli
- Mounds; piles or heaps of earth or material
- terra
- Earth/land; soil or the ground beneath one's feet
- cancelli
- Gates; iron or wooden barriers at an entrance
- sparsi
- Scattered; spread irregularly over an area
- capi
- Heads; here referring to heads of cattle or livestock
- bestiame
- Livestock; farm animals kept for agricultural purposes
- pascolo
- Pasture; land where animals graze on grass
- palude
- Marsh/swamp; waterlogged, boggy low-lying land
- bassa
- Low; situated at a small height above ground
- linea
- Line; a long, thin mark or outline on the horizon
- plumbea
- Lead-colored; heavy grey, like the color of lead
- lontano
- Far away; at a great distance from here
- selvaggio
- Wild; untamed, fierce, characteristic of wilderness
- covo
- Lair/den; a hiding place for wild animals or criminals
- cui
- Whose/which; relative pronoun used with prepositions
- vento
- Wind; moving air, especially strong outdoor breeze
- precipitava
- Was rushing; imperfect of 'precipitarsi', to rush headlong
- piccolo
- Small/little; of limited size or young age
- fagotto
- Bundle; a wrapped package of tied-together items
- brividi
- Shivers; trembling sensations from cold or fear
- cominciava
- Was beginning; imperfect of 'cominciare', to start
- paura
- Fear; a feeling of being scared or frightened
- tutto
- Everything/all; referring to the totality of things
- ciò
- That/this; demonstrative pronoun referring to a situation
- piangere
- To cry; to shed tears out of sadness or pain
- Smettila
- Stop it; imperative command to cease an action
- frignare
- To whine/snivel; to cry or complain in an irritating way
- gridò
- Shouted; third-person singular past of 'gridare'
- voce
- Voice; the sound produced in speaking or shouting
- terribile
- Terrible; causing terror, extremely frightening or severe
- mentre
- While; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- uomo
- Man; an adult male human being
- balzava
- Was leaping; imperfect of 'balzare', to jump up
- tra
- Among/between; preposition indicating position in a group
- tombe
- Tombs; burial monuments or grave structures
- lato
- Side; one of the edges or flanks of something
- portico
- Porch/portico; a covered entrance to a building
- chiesa
- Church; a Christian place of worship
- Stai
- Stay/stand; imperative of 'stare', to stay or be
- fermo
- Still; motionless, not moving, halted in place
- diavoletto
- Little devil; an affectionate or threatening diminutive
- taglio
- Cut; act of cutting, from 'tagliare', to cut
- gola
- Throat; the passage inside the neck for swallowing
- spaventoso
- Frightening; causing great fear or dread
- vestito
- Dressed/outfit; clothing worn on the body
- ruvido
- Rough; having a coarse or uneven texture
- grigio
- Grey; a color between black and white
- grosso
- Large/heavy; of great size or thickness
- ferro
- Iron; a heavy metal, here referring to a shackle
- gamba
- Leg; the lower limb of a human body
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- cappello
- Hat; a head covering worn outdoors
- scarpe
- Shoes; footwear worn on the feet
- rotte
- Broken; plural past participle of 'rompere', to break
- straccio
- Rag; a torn or worn-out piece of cloth
- vecchio
- Old; having existed or been used for a long time
- legato
- Tied; past participle of 'legare', to tie or bind
- intorno
- Around; encircling or surrounding something
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the human body
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