Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 7
I wonder if he read that notion in my face; for, all at once, without speaking, he struck suddenly and strongly.
Mi chiedo se avesse letto quell'idea sul mio viso; poiché, tutto a un tratto, senza parlare, colpì improvvisamente e con forza.
I tottered, and on regaining my equilibrium retired back a step or two from his chair.
Vacillai, e dopo aver recuperato l'equilibrio mi ritirai di uno o due passi dalla sua sedia.
"That is for your impudence in answering mama awhile since," said he, "and for your sneaking way of getting behind curtains, and for the look you had in your eyes two minutes since, you rat!"
«Questo è per la tua sfacciataggine nel rispondere alla mamma poco fa,» disse lui, «e per il tuo modo furtivo di nasconderti dietro le tende, e per lo sguardo che avevi negli occhi due minuti fa, topo!»
Accustomed to John Reed's abuse, I never had an idea of replying to it; my care was how to endure the blow which would certainly follow the insult.
Abituata agli abusi di John Reed, non avevo mai pensato di rispondergli; la mia preoccupazione era come sopportare il colpo che avrebbe certamente seguito l'insulto.
"What were you doing behind the curtain?" he asked.
«Cosa stavi facendo dietro la tenda?» chiese lui.
"I was reading."
«Stavo leggendo.»
"Show the book."
«Mostra il libro.»
I returned to the window and fetched it thence.
Tornai alla finestra e lo presi da lì.
"You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mama's expense.
«Non hai il diritto di prendere i nostri libri; sei una dipendente, dice la mamma; non hai denaro; tuo padre non te ne ha lasciato; dovresti mendicare, e non vivere qui con i figli di gentiluomini come noi, mangiare gli stessi pasti che mangiamo noi, e vestire a spese della nostra mamma.
Now, I'll teach you to rummage my bookshelves: for they are mine; all the house belongs to me, or will do in a few years.
Ora ti insegnerò io a rovistare nei miei scaffali: perché sono miei; tutta la casa appartiene a me, o lo farà tra pochi anni.
Go and stand by the door, out of the way of the mirror and the windows.
Vai a metterti in piedi vicino alla porta, lontano dallo specchio e dalle finestre.
Vocabulary
- mi
- me; to me (direct/indirect object pronoun)
- chiedo
- I ask; I wonder (present tense of chiedere)
- se
- if; whether (conditional conjunction)
- avesse
- had; might have (subjunctive past of avere)
- letto
- read; bed (past participle of leggere or noun)
- idea
- idea; thought or plan
- sul
- on the; about the (preposition + article)
- mio
- my; mine (possessive adjective)
- viso
- face; countenance
- poiché
- because; since (causal conjunction)
- tutto
- all; everything; entire (adjective/pronoun)
- un
- a; an (indefinite article)
- tratto
- moment; stroke; feature (noun)
- senza
- without (preposition)
- parlare
- to speak; to talk (infinitive)
- colpì
- struck; hit (past tense of colpire)
- improvvisamente
- suddenly; unexpectedly (adverb)
- con
- with (preposition)
- forza
- force; strength; power
- dopo
- after; afterwards (preposition/adverb)
- aver
- to have (infinitive, contracted form)
- recuperato
- recovered; regained (past participle of recuperare)
- equilibrio
- balance; equilibrium (noun)
- ritirai
- I withdrew; I retreated (past tense of ritirare)
- di
- of; from (preposition)
- uno
- one (number)
- due
- two (number)
- passi
- steps; paces (plural of passo)
- dalla
- from the; by the (preposition + article)
- sua
- his; her; its (possessive adjective)
- sedia
- chair (furniture noun)
- questo
- this; this one (demonstrative)
- per
- for; in order to (preposition)
- la
- the; her (article/pronoun)
- tua
- your (singular, feminine possessive)
- nel
- in the; within the (preposition + article)
- rispondere
- to answer; to reply (infinitive)
- alla
- to the; at the (preposition + article)
- mamma
- mommy; mother (informal)
- poco
- little; few; a little (adjective/adverb)
- fa
- ago; (he/she) does (adverb or verb)
- disse
- said; told (past tense of dire)
- lui
- he; him (masculine pronoun)
- il
- the (masculine singular article)
- tuo
- your; yours (masculine singular possessive)
- modo
- way; manner; mode (noun)
- furtivo
- furtive; sneaky; stealthy (adjective)
- nasconderti
- hide yourself; conceal yourself (infinitive)
- dietro
- behind; back (preposition/adverb)
- le
- the; them (feminine plural article/pronoun)
- tende
- curtains; drapes (plural noun)
- lo
- the; it (masculine singular article/pronoun)
- sguardo
- gaze; look; glance (noun)
- che
- that; which; who (relative/interrogative)
- avevi
- you had (past tense of avere)
- negli
- in the; within the (preposition + article)
- occhi
- eyes (plural of occhio)
- minuti
- minutes; tiny; small (plural noun/adjective)
- topo
- mouse; rat (noun)
- abituata
- accustomed; used to (feminine adjective)
- agli
- to the; at the (preposition + article)
- abusi
- abuses; mistreatment (plural noun)
- non
- not; no (negation)
- avevo
- I had (past tense of avere)
- mai
- never; ever (adverb)
- pensato
- thought; considered (past participle of pensare)
- rispondergli
- answer him; reply to him (infinitive)
- mia
- my; mine (feminine singular possessive)
- preoccupazione
- worry; concern; anxiety (noun)
- era
- was; (it) was (past tense of essere)
- come
- how; as; like (adverb/conjunction)
- sopportare
- to bear; to endure; to tolerate (infinitive)
- colpo
- blow; strike; shock (noun)
- avrebbe
- would have; would (conditional of avere)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →