The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete — Page 6
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He was not the Model Boy of the village.
No era el Niño Modelo del pueblo.
He knew the model boy very well though—and loathed him.
Sin embargo, conocía muy bien al niño modelo, y lo detestaba.
Within two minutes, or even less, he had forgotten all his troubles.
En menos de dos minutos, o incluso menos, había olvidado todas sus penas.
Not because his troubles were one whit less heavy and bitter to him than a man's are to a man, but because a new and powerful interest bore them down and drove them out of his mind for the time—just as men's misfortunes are forgotten in the excitement of new enterprises.
No porque sus penas fueran ni un ápice menos pesadas y amargas para él que las de un hombre lo son para un hombre, sino porque un interés nuevo y poderoso las aplastó y las expulsó de su mente por el momento, igual que las desgracias de los hombres se olvidan en la emoción de nuevas empresas.
This new interest was a valued novelty in whistling, which he had just acquired from a negro, and he was suffering to practise it undisturbed.
Este nuevo interés era una preciada novedad en el silbido, que acababa de aprender de un negro, y le urgía practicarlo sin que nadie lo molestara.
It consisted in a peculiar bird-like turn, a sort of liquid warble, produced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth at short intervals in the midst of the music—the reader probably remembers how to do it, if he has ever been a boy.
Consistía en un peculiar trino parecido al de un pájaro, una especie de gorjeo líquido, producido al tocar la lengua contra el paladar a cortos intervalos en medio de la música; el lector probablemente recuerda cómo hacerlo, si alguna vez fue niño.
Diligence and attention soon gave him the knack of it, and he strode down the street with his mouth full of harmony and his soul full of gratitude.
La diligencia y la atención pronto le dieron el truco, y caminó calle abajo con la boca llena de armonía y el alma llena de gratitud.
He felt much as an astronomer feels who has discovered a new planet—no doubt, as far as strong, deep, unalloyed pleasure is concerned, the advantage was with the boy, not the astronomer.
Se sentía muy parecido a como se siente un astrónomo que ha descubierto un nuevo planeta; sin duda, en lo que respecta a un placer intenso, profundo y puro, la ventaja estaba del lado del niño, no del astrónomo.
The summer evenings were long.
Las tardes de verano eran largas.
It was not dark, yet.
Todavía no había oscurecido.
Presently Tom checked his whistle.
De pronto, Tom dejó de silbar.
A stranger was before him—a boy a shade larger than himself.
Ante él había un desconocido: un muchacho algo más grande que él.
Vocabulary
- era
- Past tense of 'ser'; he/she/it was.
- Niño
- Child or boy; young male person.
- Modelo
- Model; an exemplary or ideal person or thing.
- pueblo
- Town, village, or the common people.
- Sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'.
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo', meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'.
- conocía
- Imperfect tense of 'conocer'; he/she knew someone.
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well'; in a good manner.
- niño
- Child or boy; a young male person.
- modelo
- Model; exemplary person or ideal standard.
- detestaba
- Imperfect of 'detestar'; he/she detested or hated.
- menos
- Means 'less' or 'fewer'; used in comparisons.
- minutos
- Minutes; units of time equal to sixty seconds.
- incluso
- Adverb meaning 'even' or 'including'.
- había
- Past form of 'haber'; auxiliary verb 'had'.
- olvidado
- Past participle of 'olvidar'; forgotten.
- penas
- Sorrows, troubles, or hardships; emotional burdens.
- fueran
- Subjunctive past of 'ser'; were (subjunctive mood).
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'not even'.
- ápice
- A tiny bit or iota; the slightest amount.
- pesadas
- Feminine plural of 'pesado'; heavy or burdensome.
- amargas
- Feminine plural of 'amargo'; bitter or painful.
- hombre
- Man; an adult male human being.
- sino
- Conjunction meaning 'but rather', contrasting two ideas.
- interés
- Interest; attention drawn to something new or exciting.
- nuevo
- Adjective meaning 'new'; something recently encountered.
- poderoso
- Powerful; having great force or influence.
- aplastó
- Preterite of 'aplastar'; crushed or overwhelmed something.
- expulsó
- Preterite of 'expulsar'; expelled or drove something out.
- mente
- Mind; the seat of thought and consciousness.
- momento
- Moment; a brief period of time.
- igual
- Adjective meaning 'equal' or 'the same'.
- desgracias
- Misfortunes or miseries; unfortunate or painful events.
- hombres
- Plural of 'hombre'; men or human beings generally.
- olvidan
- Third-person plural of 'olvidar'; they forget.
- emoción
- Emotion; a strong feeling or excitement.
- empresas
- Enterprises or undertakings; new projects or ventures.
- preciada
- Prized or cherished; something highly valued.
- novedad
- Novelty; something new, unusual, or recently discovered.
- silbido
- A whistle or whistling sound made with lips.
- acababa
- Imperfect of 'acabar'; he/she had just finished.
- aprender
- Infinitive meaning 'to learn' a skill or knowledge.
- negro
- Adjective meaning 'black'; the darkest color.
- urgía
- Imperfect of 'urgir'; it was urgent or pressing.
- practicarlo
- To practice it; infinitive plus direct object pronoun.
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'.
- nadie
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'nobody' or 'no one'.
- molestara
- Past subjunctive of 'molestar'; to bother or disturb.
- Consistía
- Imperfect of 'consistir'; consisted of or was composed.
- peculiar
- Peculiar; strange, distinctive, or unique in character.
- trino
- Trill or warble; a musical bird-like sound.
- parecido
- Past participle of 'parecer'; similar or resembling something.
- pájaro
- Bird; a feathered flying vertebrate animal.
- especie
- Species or type; a kind or sort of thing.
- gorjeo
- Warble or twitter; melodious sound made by birds.
- líquido
- Liquid; fluid, or smooth-sounding in quality.
- producido
- Past participle of 'producir'; produced or generated.
- tocar
- To touch or to play a musical instrument.
- lengua
- Tongue; the muscular organ in the mouth.
- contra
- Preposition meaning 'against' or in opposition to.
- paladar
- Palate; the roof of the mouth.
- cortos
- Plural of 'corto'; short or brief in duration.
- intervalos
- Intervals; spaces of time between repeated actions.
- medio
- Middle or means; also used to mean 'half'.
- música
- Music; organized sound with rhythm and melody.
- lector
- Reader; a person who reads a text.
- probablemente
- Adverb meaning 'probably'; with a degree of likelihood.
- recuerda
- Present of 'recordar'; he/she remembers or recalls.
- hacerlo
- To do it; infinitive 'hacer' plus object pronoun.
- alguna
- Feminine of 'alguno'; some or any (feminine singular).
- vez
- Time or instance; 'alguna vez' means 'ever' or 'sometime'.
- fue
- Preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'; was or went.
- diligencia
- Diligence; careful and persistent effort or application.
- atención
- Attention; the act of focusing mentally on something.
- pronto
- Soon or quickly; in a short period of time.
- dieron
- Preterite of 'dar'; they gave or yielded results.
- truco
- Trick or knack; a clever technique or skill.
- caminó
- Preterite of 'caminar'; he/she walked or strolled.
- calle
- Street; a public road in a town or city.
- abajo
- Below or down; indicating downward direction.
- boca
- Mouth; the opening in the face used for speaking.
- llena
- Feminine of 'lleno'; full or filled with something.
- armonía
- Harmony; a pleasing combination of sounds or elements.
- alma
- Soul; the spiritual or emotional core of a person.
- gratitud
- Gratitude; the feeling of being thankful or appreciative.
- sentía
- Imperfect of 'sentir'; he/she felt a certain way.
- siente
- Present of 'sentir'; he/she/one feels a sensation.
- astrónomo
- Astronomer; a scientist who studies celestial bodies.
- descubierto
- Past participle of 'descubrir'; discovered or uncovered.
- planeta
- Planet; a large celestial body orbiting a star.
- duda
- Doubt; uncertainty about something's truth or outcome.
- respecta
- Present of 'respectar'; concerns or pertains to something.
- placer
- Pleasure; a feeling of enjoyment or satisfaction.
- intenso
- Intense; extremely strong or powerful in degree.
- profundo
- Profound or deep; having great depth or intensity.
- puro
- Pure; unmixed, clean, or free from impurities.
- ventaja
- Advantage; a favorable condition or beneficial circumstance.
- estaba
- Imperfect of 'estar'; he/she/it was (temporary state).
- lado
- Side; a lateral part or direction of something.
- tardes
- Afternoons; the part of day after noon.
- verano
- Summer; the warmest season of the year.
- eran
- Imperfect of 'ser'; they were (describing past state).
- largas
- Feminine plural of 'largo'; long in duration or length.
- Todavía
- Adverb meaning 'still' or 'yet'.
- oscurecido
- Past participle of 'oscurecer'; darkened or grown dark.
- dejó
- Preterite of 'dejar'; he stopped or left something.
- silbar
- To whistle; to produce sound by blowing air.
- Ante
- Preposition meaning 'before' or 'in the presence of'.
- desconocido
- Unknown or stranger; a person not previously known.
- muchacho
- Boy or young man; a male youth.
- algo
- Something; an unspecified object or degree of quality.
- grande
- Big or great; large in size or importance.
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