Great Expectations — Page 8
On the edge of the river I could faintly make out the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be standing upright; one of these was the beacon by which the sailors steered,—like an unhooped cask upon a pole,—an ugly thing when you were near it; the other, a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate.
Sul bordo del fiume riuscivo a distinguere a malapena le sole due cose nere in tutto il panorama che sembravano stare in piedi; una di queste era il segnale con cui i marinai si orientavano, — come un barile senza cerchi su un palo, — una cosa brutta quando le si era vicino; l'altra, una forca, con alcune catene che vi pendevano e che un tempo avevano tenuto un pirata.
The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again.
L'uomo zoppicava verso quest'ultima, come se fosse il pirata tornato in vita, sceso giù, e di ritorno per riappendersi di nuovo.
It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so; and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too.
Mi diede un terribile brivido quando lo pensai; e mentre vedevo il bestiame alzare la testa per guardarlo, mi chiesi se anche loro lo pensassero.
I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him.
Guardai tutt'intorno in cerca del terribile giovane, ma non riuscii a vedere alcuna traccia di lui.
But now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping.
Ma ora ero di nuovo spaventato, e corsi a casa senza fermarmi.
Vocabulary
- bordo
- Edge, border, or side of something.
- fiume
- A large natural flowing body of water.
- riuscivo
- Imperfect tense of riuscire; I was able to.
- distinguere
- To tell apart or make out distinct things.
- malapena
- Barely, hardly, with great difficulty.
- sole
- Here used as adjective meaning only, sole.
- panorama
- A wide unobstructed view of a landscape.
- sembravano
- Imperfect of sembrare; they seemed or appeared.
- segnale
- A signal, sign, or marker used for navigation.
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning whom, which, that.
- marinai
- Plural of marinaio; sailors, seamen.
- orientavano
- Imperfect of orientarsi; they oriented, navigated.
- barile
- A barrel or cask used to store goods.
- senza
- Preposition meaning without, lacking something.
- cerchi
- Plural of cerchio; rings, circles, hoops.
- palo
- A pole, post, or stake fixed upright.
- brutta
- Ugly, unpleasant, nasty; feminine form.
- vicino
- Near, close, nearby in space or time.
- forca
- A gallows or gibbet used for execution.
- catene
- Plural of catena; chains, metal links.
- vi
- Pronoun meaning there, from it, on it.
- pendevano
- Imperfect of pendere; they were hanging, dangling.
- tenuto
- Past participle of tenere; held, kept.
- pirata
- A pirate; sea robber and criminal.
- zoppicava
- Imperfect of zoppicare; he was limping, hobbling.
- verso
- Preposition meaning toward, in the direction of.
- ultima
- Feminine of ultimo; last, final one.
- fosse
- Imperfect subjunctive of essere; were, had been.
- tornato
- Past participle of tornare; returned, come back.
- sceso
- Past participle of scendere; descended, come down.
- ritorno
- A return, coming back to a place.
- riappendersi
- Reflexive infinitive; to hang oneself back up.
- diede
- Passato remoto of dare; he gave, caused.
- terribile
- Terrible, dreadful, causing fear or horror.
- brivido
- A shiver, shudder, or chill from fear.
- pensai
- Passato remoto of pensare; I thought, reflected.
- mentre
- Conjunction meaning while, as, during the time.
- bestiame
- Livestock, cattle, farm animals collectively.
- alzare
- To raise, lift up something or someone.
- chiesi
- Passato remoto of chiedere; I asked, wondered.
- pensassero
- Imperfect subjunctive of pensare; they were thinking.
- Guardai
- Passato remoto of guardare; I looked, watched.
- intorno
- Around, about, in all directions nearby.
- cerca
- Search; in cerca di means in search of.
- riuscii
- Passato remoto of riuscire; I managed, succeeded.
- alcuna
- Feminine of alcuno; any, some; used in negations.
- traccia
- A trace, track, sign, or clue left behind.
- spaventato
- Frightened, scared, terrified; past participle.
- corsi
- Passato remoto of correre; I ran, rushed quickly.
- fermarmi
- Reflexive infinitive; to stop myself, to halt.
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