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.
"Fiquei agitado como um louco para me preparar, e antes de quarenta e oito horas estava atravessando o Canal da Mancha para me apresentar aos meus empregadores e assinar o contrato.
In a very few hours I arrived in a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre.
Em poucas horas cheguei a uma cidade que sempre me faz pensar em um sepulcro caiado.
Prejudice no doubt.
Preconceito, sem dúvida.
I had no difficulty in finding the Company's offices.
Não tive dificuldade em encontrar os escritórios da Companhia.
It was the biggest thing in the town, and everybody I met was full of it.
Era a maior coisa da cidade, e todos que eu encontrava estavam cheios disso.
They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade.
Eles iriam administrar um império ultramarino e ganhar uma fortuna com o comércio.
"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.
"Uma rua estreita e deserta em sombra profunda, casas altas, inúmeras janelas com persianas venezianas, um silêncio mortal, grama brotando entre as pedras, imponentes arcos de carruagem à direita e à esquerda, imensas portas duplas entrebertas de forma pesada.
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.
Deslizei por uma dessas frestas, subi uma escadaria varrida e sem ornamentos, tão árida quanto um deserto, e abri a primeira porta que encontrei.
Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool.
Duas mulheres, uma gorda e a outra magra, estavam sentadas em cadeiras de assento de palha, tricotando lã preta.
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.
A magra se levantou e caminhou diretamente em minha direção — ainda tricotando com os olhos baixos — e somente quando eu estava prestes a pensar em sair do seu caminho, como se faria com uma sonâmbula, ela parou e ergueu os olhos.
Her dress was as plain as an umbrella-cover, and she turned round without a word and preceded me into a waiting-room.
Seu vestido era tão simples quanto uma capa de guarda-chuva, e ela se virou sem dizer uma palavra e me precedeu até uma sala de espera.
I gave my name, and looked about.
Dei meu nome e olhei ao redor.
Vocabulary
- Fiquei
- fee-KAY — I became/stayed; first person past tense of ficar
- agitado
- ah-zhee-TAH-doo — agitated, excited, or restless in manner
- como
- KOH-moo — like, as, or how; common comparison word
- um
- oong — a, an; masculine indefinite article
- louco
- LOH-koo — crazy, mad, or insane person
- para
- PAH-rah — for, to, in order to; preposition of purpose
- me
- meh — me, myself; first person reflexive pronoun
- preparar
- preh-pah-RAR — to prepare or get ready for something
- antes
- AHN-chees — before, previously; indicates earlier time
- de
- deh — of, from; very common Portuguese preposition
- quarenta
- kwah-REN-tah — forty; the number 40
- oito
- OY-too — eight; the number 8
- horas
- OH-rahs — hours; units of time measurement
- estava
- es-TAH-vah — I/he/she was; imperfect tense of estar
- atravessando
- ah-trah-veh-SAHN-doo — crossing, going through or across something
- Canal
- kah-NAL — channel or canal; waterway between two bodies
- Mancha
- MAHN-shah — the English Channel; stain or spot
- apresentar
- ah-preh-zen-TAR — to present or introduce oneself or someone
- aos
- owsh — to the; contraction of a and os
- meus
- MEH-oosh — my; masculine plural possessive pronoun
- empregadores
- em-preh-gah-DOH-rehs — employers; those who hire and pay workers
- assinar
- ah-see-NAR — to sign a document or contract
- contrato
- kon-TRAH-too — contract; formal written legal agreement
- Em
- eng — in, at; common preposition of location/time
- poucas
- POH-kahs — few, not many; feminine plural adjective
- cheguei
- sheh-GAY — I arrived; first person past tense of chegar
- cidade
- see-DAH-deh — city; large urban populated area
- sempre
- SEM-preh — always; at all times without exception
- faz
- fahsh — makes, does; third person present of fazer
- pensar
- pen-SAR — to think or ponder about something
- Preconceito
- preh-kon-SAY-too — prejudice; preconceived biased opinion about something
- dúvida
- DOO-vee-dah — doubt; uncertainty about something's truth
- Não
- nowng — no, not; basic negation word
- tive
- CHEE-veh — I had; first person past tense of ter
- dificuldade
- dee-fee-kool-DAH-deh — difficulty; something hard to do or achieve
- encontrar
- en-kon-TRAR — to find or encounter someone or something
- escritórios
- es-kree-TOH-ree-oosh — offices; rooms or buildings for administrative work
- Companhia
- kom-pahn-YEE-ah — company; business organization or corporation
- Era
- EH-rah — it was; third person imperfect tense of ser
- maior
- mai-OR — bigger, greater; comparative of grande
- todos
- TOH-doos — all, everyone; masculine plural pronoun/adjective
- encontrava
- en-kon-TRAH-vah — was finding/meeting; imperfect tense of encontrar
- cheios
- SHAY-oosh — full; filled completely with something
- disso
- DEE-soo — of that, about that; contraction of de isso
- Eles
- EH-lehs — they; third person masculine plural pronoun
- iriam
- ee-REE-ahng — they would go/were going; conditional of ir
- administrar
- ahd-mee-nees-TRAR — to manage or administer an organization or territory
- império
- im-PEH-ree-oo — empire; vast territory under one ruler's control
- ganhar
- gahn-YAR — to earn, win, or gain something
- fortuna
- for-TOO-nah — fortune; great wealth or luck
- comércio
- koh-MER-see-oo — commerce, trade; buying and selling of goods
- rua
- HOO-ah — street; public road in a town or city
- estreita
- es-TRAY-tah — narrow; not wide in measurement or space
- deserta
- deh-ZER-tah — deserted, empty; abandoned with no people present
- sombra
- SOHM-brah — shadow or shade; darkness cast by an object
- profunda
- proh-FOON-dah — deep, profound; extending far down or intense
- casas
- KAH-zahs — houses; buildings where people live
- altas
- AHL-tahs — tall, high; feminine plural of alto
- inúmeras
- ee-NOO-meh-rahs — countless, innumerable; too many to count
- janelas
- zhah-NEH-lahs — windows; openings in walls with glass panels
- silêncio
- see-LEN-see-oo — silence; complete absence of sound or noise
- mortal
- mor-TAL — deadly, mortal; relating to death or fatal
- grama
- GRAH-mah — grass; low green ground-covering plant
- brotando
- broh-TAHN-doo — sprouting, budding; growing up through a surface
- entre
- EN-treh — between, among; preposition indicating position
- pedras
- PEH-drahs — stones, rocks; hard mineral material pieces
- imponentes
- im-poh-NEN-chees — imposing, impressive; commanding attention through size
- arcos
- AR-koos — arches; curved architectural structural elements
- direita
- dee-RAY-tah — right; direction opposite to left
- esquerda
- es-KER-dah — left; direction opposite to right
- imensas
- ee-MEN-sahs — immense, huge; extremely large in size
- portas
- POR-tahs — doors; movable barriers closing an entrance
- duplas
- DOOP-lahs — double; consisting of two matched parts
- forma
- FOR-mah — form, shape, or manner; way something appears
- pesada
- peh-ZAH-dah — heavy; having great weight or burden
- Deslizei
- desh-lee-ZAY — I slid or slipped through; past tense of deslizar
- por
- por — through, by, for; common Portuguese preposition
- subi
- soo-BEE — I climbed or went up; past tense of subir
- escadaria
- es-kah-dah-REE-ah — staircase; flight of stairs in a building
- varrida
- vah-HEE-dah — swept clean; cleared of dust or debris
- árida
- AH-ree-dah — arid, bare; extremely dry or devoid of interest
- quanto
- KWAHN-too — how much, as; comparative or quantity word
- deserto
- deh-ZER-too — desert; barren dry land with little vegetation
- abri
- ah-BREE — I opened; first person past tense of abrir
- primeira
- pree-MAY-rah — first; ordinal number, feminine form
- porta
- POR-tah — door; movable barrier at an entrance
- encontrei
- en-kon-TRAY — I found or met; past tense of encontrar
- Duas
- DOO-ahs — two; feminine form of the number two
- mulheres
- mool-YEH-rehs — women; adult female human beings
- gorda
- GOR-dah — fat, plump; having excess body weight
- outra
- OH-trah — other, another; feminine singular of outro
- magra
- MAH-grah — thin, slim; lacking excess body weight
- sentadas
- sen-TAH-dahs — seated, sitting; in a sitting position
- cadeiras
- kah-DAY-rahs — chairs; furniture pieces for sitting
- assento
- ah-SEN-too — seat; the part of a chair one sits on
- palha
- PAH-lyah — straw; dried plant stalks used for weaving
- tricotando
- tree-koh-TAHN-doo — knitting; creating fabric by looping yarn with needles
- lã
- lahng — wool; fiber from sheep used in knitting
- preta
- PREH-tah — black; the darkest color, feminine form
- levantou
- leh-vahn-TOH — stood up, rose; third person past of levantar
- caminhou
- kah-meen-YOH — walked; third person past tense of caminhar
- diretamente
- dee-reh-tah-MEN-teh — directly, straight; without deviation or interruption
- direção
- dee-reh-SAHNG — direction; course or path toward a destination
- ainda
- ah-EEN-dah — still, yet; indicates continuation of a state
- olhos
- OH-lyoos — eyes; organs of sight
- baixos
- BAI-shoos — low, downcast; at a low level or position
- somente
- soh-MEN-teh — only, solely; nothing more than this
- prestes
- PRESH-chees — about to; on the verge of doing something
- sair
- sah-EER — to leave or go out of a place
- caminho
- kah-MEEN-yoo — path, way; route taken to reach a destination
- faria
- fah-REE-ah — would do; conditional tense of fazer
- parou
- pah-ROH — stopped, halted; third person past of parar
- ergueu
- er-GEH-oo — raised, lifted; third person past of erguer
- vestido
- ves-CHEE-doo — dress; garment worn by women
- simples
- SEEM-plehs — simple, plain; without decoration or complexity
- capa
- KAH-pah — cape, cloak; loose outer garment without sleeves
- guarda-chuva
- GWAR-dah-SHOO-vah — umbrella; device used for protection from rain
- virou
- vee-ROH — turned; third person past tense of virar
- dizer
- dee-ZER — to say or tell; basic communication verb
- palavra
- pah-LAH-vrah — word; unit of language with meaning
- sala
- SAH-lah — room; enclosed space within a building
- espera
- es-PEH-rah — waiting; act of staying until something happens
- Dei
- DAY — I gave; first person past tense of dar
- nome
- NOH-meh — name; word used to identify a person
- olhei
- oh-LYAY — I looked; first person past tense of olhar
- redor
- heh-DOR — surroundings; the area around something or someone
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