Heart of Darkness — Page 15
"I flew around like mad to get ready, and before forty-eight hours I was crossing the Channel to show myself to my employers, and sign the contract.
"Corrí de un lado a otro como loco para prepararme, y antes de cuarenta y ocho horas cruzaba el Canal para presentarme ante mis empleadores y firmar el contrato.
In a very few hours I arrived in a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre.
En pocas horas llegué a una ciudad que siempre me hace pensar en un sepulcro blanqueado.
Prejudice no doubt.
Prejuicio, sin duda.
I had no difficulty in finding the Company's offices.
No tuve dificultad en encontrar las oficinas de la Compañía.
It was the biggest thing in the town, and everybody I met was full of it.
Era lo más importante de la ciudad, y todos los que encontraba no hablaban de otra cosa.
They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade.
Iban a dirigir un imperio de ultramar y a ganar cantidades ingentes de dinero con el comercio.
"A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar.
"Una calle estrecha y desierta sumida en sombras profundas, casas altas, innumerables ventanas con persianas venecianas, un silencio sepulcral, hierba brotando entre las piedras, imponentes arcos para carruajes a derecha e izquierda, inmensas puertas dobles entornadas pesadamente.
I slipped through one of these cracks, went up a swept and ungarnished staircase, as arid as a desert, and opened the first door I came to.
Me colé por una de esas rendijas, subí una escalera barrida y sin adorno alguno, árida como un desierto, y abrí la primera puerta que encontré.
Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool.
Dos mujeres, una gorda y la otra delgada, estaban sentadas en sillas de asiento de paja, tejiendo lana negra.
The slim one got up and walked straight at me—still knitting with downcast eyes—and only just as I began to think of getting out of her way, as you would for a somnambulist, stood still, and looked up.
La delgada se levantó y caminó directamente hacia mí —sin dejar de tejer, con los ojos bajos— y justo cuando empecé a pensar en apartarme de su camino, como lo haría ante una sonámbula, se detuvo y levantó la vista.
Her dress was as plain as an umbrella-cover, and she turned round without a word and preceded me into a waiting-room.
Su vestido era tan sencillo como una funda de paraguas, y se dio la vuelta sin decir una palabra y me precedió hacia una sala de espera.
I gave my name, and looked about.
Di mi nombre y miré a mi alrededor.
Vocabulary
- Corrí
- Past tense of correr; I ran quickly.
- lado
- Side or edge of something.
- loco
- Crazy or mad person or behavior.
- prepararme
- To prepare myself for something ahead.
- antes
- Before a certain time or event.
- cuarenta
- The number forty.
- cruzaba
- Was crossing a place or boundary.
- Canal
- Canal; a man-made or natural waterway.
- presentarme
- To present or introduce myself formally.
- ante
- Before or in front of someone.
- empleadores
- Employers; those who hire and pay workers.
- firmar
- To sign a document or agreement.
- contrato
- A contract or formal written agreement.
- llegué
- I arrived at a destination or place.
- siempre
- Always; at all times without exception.
- pensar
- To think about something or someone.
- sepulcro
- Sepulchre; a tomb or burial vault.
- blanqueado
- Whitewashed; painted or coated white.
- Prejuicio
- Prejudice; a preconceived unfair opinion.
- duda
- Doubt; uncertainty about something's truth.
- tuve
- I had; past tense of tener.
- dificultad
- Difficulty; the state of being hard.
- encontrar
- To find or encounter something or someone.
- oficinas
- Offices; rooms or buildings for work.
- Compañía
- Company; a business or commercial organization.
- importante
- Important; having great significance or value.
- encontraba
- Was finding or encountering; imperfect tense.
- hablaban
- They were speaking or talking about something.
- Iban
- They were going; imperfect of ir.
- dirigir
- To direct, manage, or lead something.
- imperio
- Empire; a large dominion under one ruler.
- ultramar
- Overseas; lands or territories across the sea.
- ganar
- To earn, win, or gain something.
- cantidades
- Quantities or amounts of something.
- ingentes
- Huge or enormous in size or quantity.
- dinero
- Money; currency used for transactions.
- comercio
- Commerce or trade of goods and services.
- calle
- Street; a road in a town or city.
- estrecha
- Narrow; having a small width.
- desierta
- Deserted; empty of people or activity.
- sumida
- Plunged or immersed into something deeply.
- sombras
- Shadows or darkness; absence of light.
- profundas
- Deep or profound; extending far down.
- altas
- Tall or high; of great vertical extent.
- innumerables
- Innumerable; too many to be counted.
- ventanas
- Windows; openings in walls for light.
- persianas
- Blinds or shutters used to block light.
- venecianas
- Venetian blinds; slatted window coverings.
- silencio
- Silence; complete absence of sound.
- sepulcral
- Sepulchral; gloomy and resembling a tomb.
- hierba
- Grass or weed growing in a place.
- brotando
- Sprouting or growing up from the ground.
- entre
- Between or among multiple things or people.
- piedras
- Stones or rocks of various sizes.
- imponentes
- Imposing; impressive and commanding in appearance.
- arcos
- Arches; curved structural architectural elements.
- carruajes
- Carriages; horse-drawn wheeled vehicles.
- derecha
- Right; the right-hand side or direction.
- izquierda
- Left; the left-hand side or direction.
- inmensas
- Immense or vast; extremely large in size.
- puertas
- Doors; panels used to open or close entrances.
- dobles
- Double; consisting of two matching parts.
- entornadas
- Ajar; slightly open but not fully opened.
- pesadamente
- Heavily; in a slow and weighty manner.
- colé
- I slipped or sneaked through an opening.
- rendijas
- Cracks or narrow gaps in a surface.
- subí
- I went up or climbed something.
- escalera
- Staircase or ladder used for climbing.
- barrida
- Swept; cleaned by brushing away debris.
- adorno
- Decoration or ornament added for beauty.
- alguno
- Some or any; referring to an unspecified one.
- árida
- Arid or dry; lacking moisture or vegetation.
- desierto
- Desert or deserted; barren and uninhabited place.
- abrí
- I opened a door or object.
- puerta
- Door; an entrance to a room or building.
- encontré
- I found or came across something or someone.
- mujeres
- Women; adult female human beings.
- gorda
- Fat or plump; having a large body.
- delgada
- Thin or slim; having a slender body.
- sentadas
- Seated; in a sitting position.
- sillas
- Chairs; seats with backs for sitting.
- asiento
- Seat or sitting surface of a chair.
- paja
- Straw; dry stalks used for weaving.
- tejiendo
- Knitting or weaving material together.
- lana
- Wool; soft fiber from sheep.
- negra
- Black; the darkest color.
- levantó
- She stood up or rose from sitting.
- caminó
- She walked toward a direction or place.
- directamente
- Directly; in a straight or immediate manner.
- hacia
- Toward; in the direction of something.
- dejar
- To stop or let; to leave something behind.
- tejer
- To knit or weave threads together.
- ojos
- Eyes; organs used for seeing.
- bajos
- Low or lowered; downward in position.
- justo
- Just or exactly; precisely at that moment.
- empecé
- I began or started doing something.
- apartarme
- To move myself aside or out of way.
- camino
- Path or road; a way to travel.
- haría
- Would do; conditional tense of hacer.
- sonámbula
- Sleepwalker; person who walks while asleep.
- detuvo
- Stopped; past tense of detenerse.
- vista
- Sight or gaze; the sense of seeing.
- vestido
- Dress; a garment worn by women.
- sencillo
- Simple or plain; without ornamentation.
- funda
- Cover or case; a protective outer layer.
- paraguas
- Umbrella; a device for protection from rain.
- dio
- Gave or turned; past tense of dar.
- vuelta
- Turn or return; rotating or going back.
- decir
- To say or tell something to someone.
- palabra
- Word; a single unit of spoken language.
- precedió
- She preceded or led the way ahead.
- sala
- Room or hall; a space inside a building.
- espera
- Wait or waiting; the act of waiting.
- Di
- I gave; first-person past tense of dar.
- nombre
- Name; a word identifying a person or thing.
- miré
- I looked or gazed at something.
- alrededor
- Around; in the surrounding area or vicinity.
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