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 come se dovessi decidermi a saltare dalla cima di un'alta casa, o a tuffarmi in una grande profondità d'acqua.
And it was made the more difficult by the unconscious Joe.
E la cosa fu resa ancora più difficile dall'inconsapevole Joe.
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.
Nella nostra già menzionata fratellanza da compagni di sventura, e nella sua bonaria camerateria con me, era nostra abitudine serale confrontare il modo in cui mordevamo le nostre fette, mostrandocele in silenzio all'ammirazione reciproca di tanto in tanto, il che ci stimolava a nuovi sforzi.
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.
Quella sera, Joe mi invitò più volte, mostrandomi la sua fetta che si assottigliava rapidamente, a intraprendere la nostra consueta amichevole gara; ma mi trovò, ogni volta, con la mia tazza gialla di tè su un ginocchio e il mio pane e burro intatto sull'altro.
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.
Alla fine, considerai disperatamente che la cosa che avevo in mente doveva essere fatta, e che era meglio farla nel modo meno improbabile compatibile con le circostanze.
I took advantage of a moment when Joe had just looked at me, and got my bread and butter down my leg.
Approfittai di un momento in cui Joe mi aveva appena guardato, e feci scivolare il mio pane e burro lungo la gamba.
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 era evidentemente a disagio per quello che supponeva fosse la mia perdita di appetito, e morse pensierosamente la sua fetta, senza sembrare apprezzarla.
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.
La rigirò in bocca molto più a lungo del solito, riflettendoci parecchio, e alla fine la trangugiò come una pillola.
Vocabulary
- era
- was; used to be (imperfect tense)
- come
- how; like; as; in what manner
- se
- if; whether (conditional conjunction)
- dovessi
- I should; I would have to (conditional)
- decidermi
- to decide myself; to make a decision
- saltare
- to jump; to leap; to skip
- dalla
- from the (feminine singular contraction)
- cima
- summit; top; peak of a mountain
- di
- of; from (preposition)
- un
- a; an (indefinite article)
- alta
- high; tall (feminine adjective)
- casa
- house; home; building where people live
- tuffarmi
- to dive; to plunge myself into water
- in
- in; into; within (preposition)
- una
- a; an (feminine indefinite article)
- grande
- large; big; great in size or importance
- profondità
- depth; deepness of water or space
- acqua
- water; liquid essential for life
- la
- the (feminine singular definite article)
- cosa
- thing; object; matter; something
- fu
- was; became (simple past of essere)
- ancora
- still; yet; again; even more
- più
- more; additional; greater in quantity
- difficile
- difficult; hard; challenging to do
- Nella
- In the; within the (preposition+article)
- nostra
- our; belonging to us (feminine)
- già
- already; previously; in the past
- menzionata
- mentioned; referred to earlier (feminine)
- da
- from; by; since (preposition)
- compagni
- companions; friends; fellows; associates
- nella
- in the; within the (preposition+article)
- sua
- his; her; its (feminine singular possessive)
- con
- with; in company of; together with
- me
- me; myself (objective pronoun)
- abitudine
- habit; custom; usual practice or behavior
- confrontare
- to compare; to examine side by side
- il
- the (masculine singular definite article)
- modo
- way; manner; means of doing something
- cui
- which; whom; to which (relative pronoun)
- le
- the (feminine plural definite article)
- nostre
- our; belonging to us (feminine plural)
- fette
- slices; pieces of bread or food
- silenzio
- silence; absence of sound or noise
- ammirazione
- admiration; appreciation of beauty or excellence
- reciproca
- mutual; shared equally by both parties
- tanto
- so much; so many; such a lot
- che
- that; which; what (relative/conjunctive pronoun)
- ci
- us; to us; each other (pronoun)
- stimolava
- stimulated; encouraged; urged on (imperfect)
- nuovi
- new; recent; modern (masculine plural adjective)
- sforzi
- efforts; attempts; hard work or exertion
- Quella
- that; that one (feminine singular demonstrative)
- sera
- evening; night; period after sunset
- mi
- me; to me; myself (pronoun)
- invitò
- invited; asked to come or join
- volte
- times; occasions; instances (feminine plural)
- mostrandomi
- showing me; displaying to me (gerund)
- fetta
- slice; piece; thin section of food
- si
- reflexive pronoun; oneself; himself; herself
- rapidamente
- rapidly; quickly; at high speed or pace
- intraprendere
- to undertake; to begin; to start
- amichevole
- friendly; amicable; marked by friendliness
- gara
- competition; contest; race for superiority
- ma
- but; yet; however (conjunction)
- trovò
- found; discovered; came upon (simple past)
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