Great Expectations — Page 3
A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
Un uomo che era stato inzuppato d'acqua, e soffocato nel fango, e reso zoppo dai sassi, e tagliato dalle selci, e punto dalle ortiche, e graffiato dai rovi; che zoppicava, e tremava, e lanciava occhiate feroci, e ringhiava; e i cui denti battevano in testa mentre mi afferrava per il mento.
"Oh! Don't cut my throat, sir," I pleaded in terror. "Pray don't do it, sir."
«Oh! Non tagliatemi la gola, signore,» supplicai terrorizzato. «Vi prego, non fatelo, signore.»
"Tell us your name!" said the man. "Quick!"
«Dicci il tuo nome!» disse l'uomo. «Presto!»
"Pip, sir."
«Pip, signore.»
"Once more," said the man, staring at me. "Give it mouth!"
«Ancora una volta,» disse l'uomo, fissandomi. «Dillo ad alta voce!»
"Pip. Pip, sir."
«Pip. Pip, signore.»
"Show us where you live," said the man. "Pint out the place!"
«Mostraci dove abiti,» disse l'uomo. «Indica il posto!»
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
Indicai il punto dove sorgeva il nostro villaggio, sulla pianura costiera tra gli ontani e i salici capitozzati, a un miglio o più dalla chiesa.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets.
L'uomo, dopo avermi guardato per un momento, mi capovolse, e mi svuotò le tasche.
There was nothing in them but a piece of bread.
Non c'era niente altro che un pezzo di pane.
When the church came to itself,—for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet,—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread ravenously.
Quando la chiesa tornò al suo posto — poiché egli era stato così improvviso e forte da farla volteggiare davanti a me, e io vidi il campanile sotto i miei piedi — quando la chiesa tornò al suo posto, dico, ero seduto su un'alta lapide, tremante mentre lui divorava il pane voracemente.
"You young dog," said the man, licking his lips, "what fat cheeks you ha' got."
«Giovane canaglia,» disse l'uomo, leccandosi le labbra, «che guance paffute che hai.»
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
Credo che fossero davvero paffute, benché a quell'epoca fossi piccolo per la mia età, e non robusto.
Vocabulary
- uomo
- An adult male human being
- stato
- Past participle of 'essere': 'been'; also 'state' or 'nation'
- inzuppato
- Soaked or drenched thoroughly with liquid
- acqua
- The liquid essential for life; water
- soffocato
- Choked, smothered, or suffocated by something
- fango
- Soft wet earth or mud on the ground
- reso
- Past participle of 'rendere': made, rendered, caused to become
- zoppo
- Unable to walk normally due to leg injury; lame
- sassi
- Plural of 'sasso': stones or rocks
- tagliato
- Cut or sliced by a sharp object
- selci
- Plural of 'selce': sharp flint stones used as tools
- punto
- Stung or pricked by a sharp or biting object
- ortiche
- Plural of 'ortica': stinging nettles, irritating wild plants
- graffiato
- Scratched or scraped by something sharp or thorny
- rovi
- Plural of 'rovo': bramble or thorny briar bushes
- zoppicava
- Imperfect tense: was limping or hobbling along
- tremava
- Imperfect tense: was trembling or shaking involuntarily
- lanciava
- Imperfect tense: was casting or throwing glances, looks
- occhiate
- Plural of 'occhiata': glances or sharp looks at someone
- feroci
- Plural of 'feroce': fierce, savage, or intensely aggressive
- ringhiava
- Imperfect tense: was growling or snarling menacingly
- denti
- Plural of 'dente': teeth in the mouth
- battevano
- Imperfect tense: were chattering, banging, or striking together
- testa
- The uppermost part of the body; head
- mentre
- Conjunction indicating simultaneous actions: while, as, whereas
- afferrava
- Imperfect tense: was grabbing or seizing something firmly
- mento
- The lower front part of the face; chin
- supplicai
- First-person past tense of 'supplicare': I begged or implored
- terrorizzato
- Extremely frightened or filled with terror
- prego
- I beg, please; common polite expression of request
- fatelo
- Imperative of 'fare' + 'lo': do it (command form)
- Dicci
- Imperative of 'dire' + 'ci': tell us (command form)
- disse
- Third-person singular past tense of 'dire': he/she said
- Presto
- Quickly, soon; used as an urgent command or adverb
- fissandomi
- Gerund of 'fissare' + 'mi': staring or gazing fixedly at me
- Dillo
- Imperative of 'dire' + 'lo': say it (command form)
- alta
- High or loud; used in 'ad alta voce': aloud
- voce
- Sound produced in speaking or singing; voice
- Mostraci
- Imperative of 'mostrare' + 'ci': show us (command form)
- abiti
- Second-person singular of 'abitare': you live or reside
- Indica
- Imperative of 'indicare': point to or indicate something
- posto
- A location, place, or spot
- Indicai
- First-person past tense of 'indicare': I pointed out or indicated
- sorgeva
- Imperfect of 'sorgere': was rising or standing up above
- villaggio
- A small rural settlement; village
- pianura
- A large flat expanse of land; plain or flatland
- costiera
- Adjective relating to a coast or coastal area
- ontani
- Plural of 'ontano': alder trees growing near water
- salici
- Plural of 'salice': willow trees, often found near water
- capitozzati
- Pollarded; trees trimmed by cutting back main branches
- miglio
- A unit of distance equal to about 1.6 kilometers; mile
- chiesa
- A building for Christian worship; church
- guardato
- Past participle of 'guardare': looked at or observed
- momento
- A very brief period of time; moment or instant
- capovolse
- Third-person past of 'capovolgere': turned upside down
- svuotò
- Third-person past of 'svuotare': emptied out completely
- tasche
- Plural of 'tasca': pockets in clothing
- niente
- Not anything; nothing at all
- pezzo
- A portion or fragment of something; piece
- pane
- Baked food made from flour and water; bread
- tornò
- Third-person past of 'tornare': returned or went back
- poiché
- Conjunction meaning 'since,' 'because,' or 'given that'
- egli
- Third-person singular masculine subject pronoun: he
- improvviso
- Sudden and unexpected; used in 'd'improvviso': suddenly
- forte
- Strong, powerful, or loud; used as adverb or adjective
- volteggiare
- To whirl, spin, or revolve in the air
- campanile
- A tall bell tower attached to or near a church
- piedi
- Plural of 'piede': feet, the lower extremities of legs
- seduto
- Past participle of 'sedere': seated or sitting down
- lapide
- A flat inscribed stone; tombstone or commemorative plaque
- tremante
- Present participle of 'tremare': trembling or shaking with fear
- divorava
- Imperfect of 'divorare': was devouring or eating greedily
- voracemente
- In a voracious manner; greedily and with great appetite
- Giovane
- Young in age; also used as a noun meaning 'young person'
- canaglia
- A rascal, scoundrel, or mischievous troublemaker
- leccandosi
- Gerund of 'leccarsi': licking one's own lips or fingers
- labbra
- Plural of 'labbro': lips on the mouth
- guance
- Plural of 'guancia': cheeks on the face
- paffute
- Plural of 'paffuto': chubby or plump, especially of cheeks
- Credo
- First-person singular of 'credere': I believe or I think
- fossero
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'essere': they were (subjunctive mood)
- davvero
- Adverb expressing affirmation or emphasis: really, truly, indeed
- benché
- Conjunction introducing a concession: although, even though
- epoca
- A period of time defined by distinctive characteristics; era, time
- fossi
- First-person imperfect subjunctive of 'essere': I were (subjunctive)
- piccolo
- Small in size or young in age; little
- età
- The number of years a person has lived; age
- robusto
- Physically strong, sturdy, and well-built
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