← The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete — Page 2

English → It CHAPTER I Level 5/10

"Nothing! Look at your hands. And look at your mouth. What _is_ that truck?"

"Niente! Guarda le tue mani. E guarda la tua bocca. Cos'_è_ quella roba?"

"I don't know, aunt."

"Non lo so, zia."

"Well, I know. It's jam—that's what it is. Forty times I've said if you didn't let that jam alone I'd skin you. Hand me that switch."

"Beh, io lo so. È marmellata—ecco cos'è. Quaranta volte ho detto che se non avessi lasciato stare quella marmellata ti avrei scuoiato. Dammi quella verga."

The switch hovered in the air—the peril was desperate—

La verga aleggiava in aria—il pericolo era disperato—

"My! Look behind you, aunt!"

"Oddio! Guarda dietro di te, zia!"

The old lady whirled round, and snatched her skirts out of danger.

La vecchia signora si girò di scatto e strappò le sue gonne fuori dal pericolo.

The lad fled on the instant, scrambled up the high board-fence, and disappeared over it.

Il ragazzo fuggì all'istante, scalò in fretta l'alta staccionata di assi, e vi sparì oltre.

His aunt Polly stood surprised a moment, and then broke into a gentle laugh.

La sua zia Polly rimase sorpresa un momento, e poi scoppiò in una dolce risata.

"Hang the boy, can't I never learn anything? Ain't he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time? But old fools is the biggest fools there is. Can't learn an old dog new tricks, as the saying is. But my goodness, he never plays them alike, two days, and how is a body to know what's coming? He 'pears to know just how long he can torment me before I get my dander up, and he knows if he can make out to put me off for a minute or make me laugh, it's all down again and I can't hit him a lick. I ain't doing my duty by that boy, and that's the Lord's truth, goodness knows. Spare the rod and spile the child, as the Good Book says.

"Accidenti al ragazzo, non imparerò mai nulla? Non mi ha già fatto abbastanza scherzi del genere perché ormai stia in guardia con lui? Ma i vecchi sciocchi sono i più sciocchi di tutti. Non si insegnano nuovi trucchi a un vecchio cane, come si suol dire. Ma cielo, non li fa mai uguali due giorni di seguito, e come fa uno a sapere cosa sta per arrivare? Sembra sapere esattamente quanto a lungo può tormentarmi prima che io perda la pazienza, e sa che se riesce a distrarmi per un minuto o a farmi ridere, tutto ricade e non riesco a dargli nemmeno uno schiaffo. Non sto facendo il mio dovere verso quel ragazzo, e questa è la pura verità del Signore, Dio lo sa. Chi risparmia la verga rovina il figlio, come dice il Buon Libro.

Vocabulary

Niente: NYEHN-teh — Nothing; not anything at all.
Guarda: GWAHR-dah — Look; imperative form of guardare.
le: leh — The; feminine plural definite article.
tue: TOO-eh — Your; feminine plural possessive adjective.
mani: MAH-nee — Hands; plural of mano.
la: lah — The; feminine singular definite article.
tua: TOO-ah — Your; feminine singular possessive adjective.
bocca: BOHK-kah — Mouth; the opening in the face.
Cos': kohz — What; short form of cosa before vowel.
è: eh — Is; third person singular of essere.
quella: KWEHL-lah — That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
roba: ROH-bah — Stuff; things or matter of some kind.
Non: nohn — Not; negation particle used before verbs.
lo: loh — It/him; masculine singular direct object pronoun.
so: soh — I know; first person singular of sapere.
zia: DZEE-ah — Aunt; a parent's sister or female relative.
Beh: beh — Well; informal interjection expressing hesitation.
io: EE-oh — I; first person singular subject pronoun.
È: eh — It is; third person singular of essere.
marmellata: mahr-mehl-LAH-tah — Jam; sweet fruit preserve spread on bread.
ecco: EHK-koh — Here is; interjection pointing something out.
Quaranta: kwah-RAHN-tah — Forty; the number forty.
volte: VOHL-teh — Times; plural of volta, indicating repetition.
ho: oh — I have; first person singular of avere.
detto: DEHT-toh — Said; past participle of dire.
che: keh — That/which; conjunction or relative pronoun.
se: seh — If; conditional conjunction introducing a clause.
non: nohn — Not; negation particle before verbs.
avessi: ah-VEHS-see — Had; imperfect subjunctive of avere.
lasciato: lah-SHAH-toh — Left alone; past participle of lasciare.
stare: STAH-reh — To stay; infinitive meaning to remain or be.
ti: tee — You; second person singular object pronoun.
avrei: ah-VREH-ee — I would have; conditional of avere.
Dammi: DAHM-mee — Give me; imperative of dare with pronoun.
La: lah — The; feminine singular definite article.
in: een — In; preposition indicating location or state.
aria: AH-ryah — Air; the atmosphere or surrounding environment.
il: eel — The; masculine singular definite article.
pericolo: peh-REE-koh-loh — Danger; a situation involving risk or threat.
era: EH-rah — Was; third person singular imperfect of essere.
disperato: dees-peh-RAH-toh — Desperate; feeling or showing extreme hopelessness.
Oddio: ohd-DEE-oh — Oh God; exclamation of surprise or alarm.
dietro: DYEH-troh — Behind; preposition indicating position at the back.
di: dee — Of; preposition showing possession or belonging.
te: teh — You; second person singular stressed pronoun.
vecchia: VEHK-kyah — Old woman; feminine adjective meaning elderly.
signora: see-NYOH-rah — Lady/Mrs.; polite form of address for woman.
si: see — Herself/himself; reflexive third person pronoun.
girò: jee-ROH — Turned; third person singular past of girare.
scatto: SKAHT-toh — Snap/jolt; a sudden quick movement.
e: eh — And; basic coordinating conjunction.
strappò: strahp-POH — Yanked; third person singular past of strappare.
sue: SOO-eh — Her; feminine plural possessive adjective.
gonne: GOHN-neh — Skirts; plural of gonna, a garment.
fuori: FWOH-ree — Out/outside; indicating position beyond a boundary.
dal: dahl — From the; contraction of da and il.
Il: eel — The; masculine singular definite article.
ragazzo: rah-GAHT-tsoh — Boy; a young male person.
fuggì: fud-JEE — Fled; third person singular past of fuggire.
all': ahl — At the; contraction of a and lo/la.
istante: ee-STAHN-teh — Instant; a very brief moment in time.
scalò: skah-LOH — Climbed; third person singular past of scalare.
fretta: FREHT-tah — Hurry; a state of rushing or haste.
l': l — The; elided definite article before a vowel.
alta: AHL-tah — High/tall; feminine adjective describing height.
vi: vee — There/you; pronoun indicating place or persons.
sparì: spah-REE — Disappeared; third person singular past of sparire.
oltre: OHL-treh — Beyond; preposition meaning on the other side.
sua: SOO-ah — His/her; feminine singular possessive adjective.
rimase: ree-MAH-zeh — Remained; third person singular past of rimanere.
sorpresa: sohr-PREH-zah — Surprise; an unexpected or astonishing event.
un: oon — A/an; masculine singular indefinite article.
momento: moh-MEHN-toh — Moment; a brief period of time.
poi: poy — Then; adverb indicating what happened next.
scoppiò: skohp-PYOH — Burst out; third person singular past of scoppiare.
una: OO-nah — A/an; feminine singular indefinite article.
dolce: DOHL-cheh — Sweet; adjective describing pleasant gentleness.
risata: ree-ZAH-tah — Laugh; a burst of laughter or chuckling.
Accidenti: ahch-chee-DEHN-tee — Darn it; mild exclamation of frustration.
al: ahl — To the; contraction of a and il.
imparerò: eem-pah-reh-ROH — I will learn; future tense of imparare.
mai: my — Never/ever; adverb of time or negation.
nulla: NOOL-lah — Nothing; not anything whatsoever.
mi: mee — Me; first person singular object pronoun.
ha: ah — Has; third person singular of avere.
già: JAH — Already; adverb indicating prior occurrence.
fatto: FAHT-toh — Done; past participle of fare.
abbastanza: ahb-bah-STAHN-tsah — Enough; a sufficient amount or degree.
scherzi: SKEHR-tsee — Tricks/jokes; plural of scherzo.
del: dehl — Of the; contraction of di and il.
genere: JEH-neh-reh — Kind/type; a category or sort of thing.
perché: pehr-KEH — Because/why; causal conjunction or question word.
ormai: ohr-MY — By now; adverb meaning at this point.
stia: STEE-ah — Stay/be; present subjunctive of stare.
guardia: GWAHR-dyah — Guard; watchful alertness against potential danger.
con: kohn — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
lui: LOO-ee — Him/he; third person masculine subject pronoun.
Ma: mah — But; conjunction introducing contrast or exception.
i: ee — The; masculine plural definite article.
vecchi: VEHK-kee — Old people; plural of vecchio.
sciocchi: SHOHK-kee — Foolish; plural adjective meaning silly or stupid.
sono: SOH-noh — Are; third person plural of essere.
più: pyoo — More; adverb or adjective of quantity.
tutti: TOOT-tee — All/everyone; masculine plural of tutto.
insegnano: een-SEH-nyah-noh — Teach; third person plural present of insegnare.
nuovi: NWOH-vee — New; masculine plural of nuovo.
trucchi: TROOK-kee — Tricks; plural of trucco, clever maneuvers.
a: ah — To/at; preposition of direction or location.
vecchio: VEHK-kyoh — Old; adjective describing age, or an old person.
cane: KAH-neh — Dog; a domestic canine animal.
come: KOH-meh — As/how; conjunction or adverb of comparison.
dire: DEE-reh — To say; infinitive of the verb dire.
cielo: CHEH-loh — Sky/heaven; the expanse above the earth.
li: lee — Them; third person masculine plural object pronoun.
fa: fah — Makes; third person singular present of fare.
uguali: oo-GWAH-lee — Equal/alike; plural adjective meaning the same.
due: DOO-eh — Two; the number two.
giorni: JOHR-nee — Days; plural of giorno.
seguito: SEH-gwee-toh — In a row; followed consecutively one after another.
uno: OO-noh — One; the number one or indefinite article.
sapere: sah-PEH-reh — To know; infinitive meaning to have knowledge.
cosa: KOH-zah — Thing/what; a noun or interrogative pronoun.
sta: stah — Is; third person singular present of stare.
per: pehr — For/to; preposition of purpose or direction.
arrivare: ahr-ree-VAH-reh — To arrive; infinitive meaning to reach a place.
Sembra: SEHM-brah — Seems; third person singular present of sembrare.
esattamente: eh-zaht-tah-MEHN-teh — Exactly; adverb meaning precisely or accurately.
quanto: KWAHN-toh — How much/long; interrogative or relative pronoun.
lungo: LOON-goh — Long; adjective describing length or duration.
può: pwoh — Can; third person singular present of potere.
tormentarmi: tohr-mehn-TAHR-mee — Torment me; infinitive of tormentare with pronoun.
prima: PREE-mah — Before; adverb or conjunction of time.
perda: PEHR-dah — Lose; present subjunctive of perdere.
pazienza: pah-TSYEHN-tsah — Patience; the ability to wait calmly.
sa: sah — Knows/can; third person singular present of sapere.
riesce: RYEH-sheh — Manages; third person singular of riuscire.
distrarmi: dee-STRAHR-mee — Distract me; infinitive of distrarre with pronoun.
minuto: mee-NOO-toh — Minute; a unit of sixty seconds.
o: oh — Or; disjunctive coordinating conjunction.
farmi: FAHR-mee — Make me; infinitive of fare with pronoun.
ridere: REE-deh-reh — To laugh; infinitive of the verb ridere.
tutto: TOOT-toh — Everything/all; pronoun or adjective of totality.
riesco: RYEHS-koh — I manage; first person singular of riuscire.
dargli: DAHR-lyee — Give him; infinitive of dare with pronoun.
nemmeno: nehm-MEH-noh — Not even; adverb of negation or emphasis.
schiaffo: SKYAHF-foh — Slap; a blow delivered with an open hand.
sto: stoh — I am; first person singular present of stare.
facendo: fah-CHEHN-doh — Doing; gerund of fare used in present progressive.
mio: MEE-oh — My; masculine singular first person possessive.
dovere: doh-VEH-reh — Duty/must; obligation or infinitive of must.
verso: VEHR-soh — Toward; preposition indicating direction or regard.
quel: kwehl — That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective.
questa: KWEHS-tah — This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
pura: POO-rah — Pure; feminine adjective meaning absolute or clean.
verità: veh-ree-TAH — Truth; that which is true or factual.
Signore: see-NYOH-reh — Lord/Sir; respectful title for God or man.
Dio: DEE-oh — God; the supreme divine being.
Chi: kee — Who; interrogative or relative pronoun.
risparmia: rees-PAHR-myah — Spares; third person singular of risparmiare.
rovina: roh-VEE-nah — Ruins; causes harm or destruction.
figlio: FEEL-yoh — Son; a male child of a parent.
dice: DEE-cheh — Says; third person singular present of dire.
Buon: bwohn — Good; masculine singular adjective before a noun.
Libro: LEE-broh — Book; a written or printed literary work.

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