Little Women — Page 5
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And Jo shook the blue army sock till the needles rattled like castanets, and her ball bounded across the room.
E Jo sacudiu a meia azul do exército até as agulhas chacoalharem como castanholas, e seu novelo saltou pelo quarto.
"Poor Jo! It's too bad, but it can't be helped. So you must try to be contented with making your name boyish, and playing brother to us girls," said Beth, stroking the rough head with a hand that all the dish washing and dusting in the world could not make ungentle in its touch.
"Coitada da Jo! É uma pena, mas não tem jeito. Então você deve tentar se contentar em dar um tom masculino ao seu nome e fazer papel de irmão para nós, meninas", disse Beth, acariciando a cabeça rebelde com uma mão que toda a lavagem de pratos e o espanamento do mundo não conseguiriam tornar áspera no toque.
"As for you, Amy," continued Meg, "you are altogether too particular and prim. Your airs are funny now, but you'll grow up an affected little goose, if you don't take care. I like your nice manners and refined ways of speaking, when you don't try to be elegant. But your absurd words are as bad as Jo's slang."
"Quanto a você, Amy", continuou Meg, "você é excessivamente meticulosa e afetada. Suas maneiras são engraçadas agora, mas você vai crescer se tornando uma pequena gansa afetada, se não tiver cuidado. Gosto das suas boas maneiras e dos seus modos refinados de falar, quando você não tenta ser elegante. Mas suas palavras absurdas são tão ruins quanto a gíria da Jo."
"If Jo is a tomboy and Amy a goose, what am I, please?" asked Beth, ready to share the lecture.
"Se a Jo é uma moleca e a Amy uma gansa, o que sou eu, afinal?" perguntou Beth, pronta para participar da lição.
"You're a dear, and nothing else," answered Meg warmly, and no one contradicted her, for the 'Mouse' was the pet of the family.
"Você é um amor, e nada mais", respondeu Meg com carinho, e ninguém a contradisse, pois o 'Ratinho' era a queridinha da família.
As young readers like to know 'how people look', we will take this moment to give them a little sketch of the four sisters, who sat knitting away in the twilight, while the December snow fell quietly without, and the fire crackled cheerfully within.
Como os jovens leitores gostam de saber 'como as pessoas são', aproveitaremos este momento para lhes dar uma pequena descrição das quatro irmãs, que ficavam tricotando ao crepúsculo, enquanto a neve de dezembro caía silenciosamente lá fora e o fogo crepitava alegremente lá dentro.
Vocabulary
- sacudiu
- Shook; past tense of sacudir (to shake).
- meia
- Half; sock or stocking worn on foot.
- azul
- Blue color; common adjective in Portuguese.
- do
- Contraction of 'de' and 'o' (of the).
- exército
- Army; military organization of a nation.
- até
- Until; up to a certain point or time.
- as
- The (feminine plural article); feminine pronoun.
- agulhas
- Needles; sharp pointed tools for sewing.
- como
- How; as; in the manner that something happens.
- castanholas
- Castanets; percussion instrument with wooden pieces.
- seu
- His; her; your; possessive adjective in Portuguese.
- novelo
- Ball of yarn or thread; wound fibers.
- saltou
- Jumped; past tense of saltar (to jump).
- pelo
- Hair; fur; by the (contraction).
- quarto
- Room; fourth; a quarter of something.
- Coitada
- Poor thing; unfortunate one (feminine form).
- da
- Of the; feminine singular contraction of de+a.
- uma
- A; an; feminine indefinite article in Portuguese.
- pena
- Pity; feather; pen; a shame or regret.
- mas
- But; however; conjunction expressing contrast.
- não
- No; not; negation word in Portuguese.
- tem
- Has; have; third person present of ter.
- jeito
- Way; manner; trick; style of doing something.
- Então
- Then; so; at that moment or next.
- você
- You; second person singular formal pronoun.
- deve
- Must; should; ought to do something.
- tentar
- To try; to attempt; to endeavor.
- se
- If; oneself; reflexive pronoun in Portuguese.
- contentar
- To satisfy; to make content or pleased.
- em
- In; on; at; preposition indicating location.
- dar
- To give; to provide; to offer.
- um
- A; an; masculine indefinite article in Portuguese.
- tom
- Tone; shade of color; quality of sound.
- masculino
- Masculine; male; relating to men or males.
- ao
- To the; at the; contraction of a+o.
- nome
- Name; title; noun; word identifying person.
- fazer
- To make; to do; to perform action.
- papel
- Paper; role; part played in something.
- de
- Of; from; indicating possession or origin.
- irmão
- Brother; male sibling; familial relationship.
- para
- For; to; in order to; toward.
- nós
- We; us; first person plural pronoun.
- meninas
- Girls; young females; female children.
- disse
- Said; past tense of dizer (to say).
- acariciando
- Caressing; stroking; touching gently and affectionately.
- cabeça
- Head; upper part of human body.
- rebelde
- Rebellious; defiant; resistant to authority.
- com
- With; together with; accompanying another person.
- mão
- Hand; upper limb ending in fingers.
- que
- That; which; what; relative pronoun.
- toda
- All; entire; whole; feminine form of todo.
- lavagem
- Washing; cleansing with water and soap.
- pratos
- Dishes; plates; containers for serving food.
- mundo
- World; earth; all people and places.
- conseguiriam
- Would manage; could accomplish; conditional past.
- tornar
- To make; to turn into; to become.
- áspera
- Rough; coarse; not smooth to touch.
- no
- In the; on the; contraction of em+o.
- toque
- Touch; contact; playing a musical instrument.
- Quanto
- How much; how many; as much as.
- continuou
- Continued; past tense of continuar (to continue).
- excessivamente
- Excessively; too much; overly; beyond reasonable.
- meticulosa
- Meticulous; careful; precise; paying great attention.
- afetada
- Affected; artificial; pretentious; not natural.
- Suas
- Your; her; feminine plural possessive adjective.
- maneiras
- Manners; ways; behaviors; methods of acting.
- são
- Are; third person plural of ser (to be).
- engraçadas
- Funny; amusing; comical; causing laughter.
- agora
- Now; at this moment; at present.
- vai
- Goes; is going; third person singular.
- crescer
- To grow; to increase in size or age.
- tornando
- Making; becoming; turning into; present participle.
- pequena
- Small; little; tiny; feminine adjective.
- gansa
- Goose; female goose; water bird.
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