The Great Gatsby — Page 6
It was on that slender riotous island which extends itself due east of New York—and where there are, among other natural curiosities, two unusual formations of land.
Es war auf jener schmalen, lebhaften Insel, die sich genau östlich von New York erstreckt – und wo es unter anderen natürlichen Kuriositäten zwei ungewöhnliche Landformationen gibt.
Twenty miles from the city a pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay, jut out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western hemisphere, the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound.
Zwanzig Meilen von der Stadt ragen zwei riesige Eier, in ihrer Kontur identisch und nur durch eine schmale Bucht getrennt, in das zivilisierteste Salzwassergebiet der westlichen Hemisphäre hinaus – den großen, nassen Hof des Long Island Sound.
They are not perfect ovals—like the egg in the Columbus story, they are both crushed flat at the contact end—but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual wonder to the gulls that fly overhead.
Sie sind keine perfekten Ovale – wie das Ei in der Kolumbus-Geschichte sind beide am Berührungsende flach gedrückt –, aber ihre physische Ähnlichkeit muss eine Quelle ewigen Staunens für die Möwen sein, die darüber hinwegfliegen.
To the wingless a more interesting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.
Für die Flügellosen ist ein noch interessanteres Phänomen ihre Ungleichheit in jeder Hinsicht, außer in Form und Größe.
I lived at West Egg, the—well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them.
Ich wohnte in West Egg, dem – nun ja, dem weniger modischen der beiden, obwohl dies ein höchst oberflächliches Etikett ist, um den bizarren und nicht wenig unheilvollen Kontrast zwischen ihnen auszudrücken.
My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season.
Mein Haus befand sich an der äußersten Spitze des Eies, nur fünfzig Meter vom Sound entfernt, eingezwängt zwischen zwei riesigen Anwesen, die für zwölf oder fünfzehntausend pro Saison vermietet wurden.
The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.
Das auf meiner rechten Seite war nach jedem Maßstab ein kolossales Gebilde – es war eine getreue Nachahmung eines Hôtel de Ville in der Normandie, mit einem Turm auf einer Seite, funkelnagelneu unter einem dünnen Bart aus frischem Efeu, einem Marmorschwimmbecken und mehr als vierzig Morgen Rasen und Garten.
It was Gatsby's mansion.
Es war Gatsbys Herrenhaus.
Or, rather, as I didn't know Mr.
Oder vielmehr, da ich Mr.
Vocabulary
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be)
- auf
- On, upon, or onto a surface
- jener
- That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something distant
- schmalen
- Narrow; adjective describing limited width
- lebhaften
- Lively, vivid; full of activity or energy
- Insel
- Island; a landmass surrounded by water
- sich
- Itself/themselves; reflexive pronoun for third person
- genau
- Exactly, precisely; with complete accuracy
- östlich
- Eastern, eastward; located toward the east
- von
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or possession
- erstreckt
- Extends, stretches; spreads out over an area
- wo
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- unter
- Under, among; preposition indicating position or inclusion
- anderen
- Other, others; referring to additional items or people
- natürlichen
- Natural; occurring in or caused by nature
- Kuriositäten
- Curiosities; unusual or interesting natural phenomena
- ungewöhnliche
- Unusual, uncommon; deviating from what is normal
- Landformationen
- Land formations; naturally shaped geographic structures
- gibt
- Gives; third-person singular of 'geben,' also 'there are'
- Zwanzig
- Twenty; the cardinal number 20
- Meilen
- Miles; unit of distance measurement
- Stadt
- City, town; an urban settlement
- ragen
- Protrude, jut out; to rise prominently above surroundings
- riesige
- Huge, enormous; of very great size
- Eier
- Eggs; oval objects laid by birds or reptiles
- ihrer
- Their, her; possessive pronoun in genitive/dative case
- Kontur
- Contour, outline; the outer shape of something
- identisch
- Identical; exactly the same in every detail
- nur
- Only, just; limiting to a single thing or degree
- durch
- Through, by means of; indicating passage or agency
- schmale
- Narrow; of little width
- Bucht
- Bay; a body of water partially enclosed by land
- getrennt
- Separated, divided; kept apart from each other
- zivilisierteste
- Most civilized; superlative of 'zivilisiert'
- Salzwassergebiet
- Saltwater area; a region of saline water
- westlichen
- Western; situated in or relating to the west
- Hemisphäre
- Hemisphere; half of the earth's sphere
- hinaus
- Out, beyond; extending outward past a boundary
- großen
- Large, great; of considerable size or importance
- nassen
- Wet; covered with or soaked in liquid
- Hof
- Court, yard; an enclosed outdoor area
- Sie
- They/You; third-person plural or formal second-person pronoun
- keine
- No, not any; negating article before a noun
- perfekten
- Perfect; without any flaws or defects
- Ovale
- Ovals; egg-shaped or elliptical figures
- wie
- Like, as, how; used for comparison or questions
- Ei
- Egg; an oval reproductive body laid by birds
- Kolumbus-Geschichte
- Columbus story; tale of Columbus standing egg upright
- beide
- Both; referring to two things together
- am
- At the, on the; contraction of 'an dem'
- Berührungsende
- Contact end; the end where two things meet
- flach
- Flat; having a level, even surface
- gedrückt
- Pressed, flattened; compressed by applied force
- aber
- But, however; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- ihre
- Their, her; possessive pronoun referring to feminine or plural
- physische
- Physical; relating to the body or material nature
- Ähnlichkeit
- Similarity, resemblance; the quality of being alike
- muss
- Must; modal verb expressing obligation or necessity
- Quelle
- Source, spring; origin or wellspring of something
- ewigen
- Eternal, endless; lasting forever without end
- Staunens
- Amazement, wonder; genitive of 'Staunen'
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose or recipient
- Möwen
- Seagulls; common coastal birds of the gull family
- sein
- To be; infinitive of the main auxiliary verb
- darüber
- Over it, about it; pronominal adverb of position
- hinwegfliegen
- To fly over; to pass over something while flying
- Für
- For; preposition indicating benefit or purpose
- Flügellosen
- Wingless ones; those lacking wings, i.e. humans
- noch
- Still, yet, even; indicating continuation or addition
- interessanteres
- More interesting; comparative of 'interessant'
- Phänomen
- Phenomenon; a remarkable or observable occurrence
- Ungleichheit
- Inequality, disparity; the state of being unequal
- jeder
- Every, each; referring to all members individually
- Hinsicht
- Respect, regard; a particular aspect or consideration
- außer
- Except, besides; excluding something from a group
- Form
- Form, shape; the visible structure of something
- Größe
- Size, greatness; the physical dimensions of something
- wohnte
- Lived, resided; past tense of 'wohnen'
- West
- West; the cardinal direction opposite east
- nun
- Now, well; indicating current time or transition
- ja
- Yes, indeed; affirmative particle or filler word
- weniger
- Less, fewer; comparative of 'wenig' (little)
- modischen
- Fashionable, trendy; following current style or fashion
- beiden
- Both, of the two; referring to two specific things
- obwohl
- Although, even though; subordinating concessive conjunction
- dies
- This; demonstrative pronoun for something nearby
- höchst
- Highly, most; superlative adverb intensifying an adjective
- oberflächliches
- Superficial; lacking depth or thoroughness
- Etikett
- Label, tag; a word or phrase describing something briefly
- um
- Around, in order to; preposition or conjunction of purpose
- bizarren
- Bizarre, strange; very unusual or odd in character
- wenig
- Little, few; a small amount or degree
- unheilvollen
- Ominous, sinister; foreboding evil or disaster
- Kontrast
- Contrast; a striking difference between two things
- zwischen
- Between; in the space separating two things
- ihnen
- Them, to them; third-person plural dative pronoun
- auszudrücken
- To express; to convey meaning through words or signs
- Mein
- My; first-person singular possessive pronoun
- Haus
- House; a building where people live
- befand
- Was located; past tense of 'befinden sich'
- an
- At, on, to; preposition indicating location or direction
- äußersten
- Outermost, utmost; at the furthest extreme
- Spitze
- Tip, peak, top; the pointed or extreme end
- Eies
- Of the egg; genitive form of 'Ei'
- fünfzig
- Fifty; the cardinal number 50
- Meter
- Meters; standard metric unit of length
- vom
- From the; contraction of 'von dem'
- entfernt
- Away, distant; at a specified distance from something
- eingezwängt
- Squeezed in, wedged; tightly confined between things
- riesigen
- Huge, gigantic; of extraordinarily large size
- Anwesen
- Estate, property; a large house with surrounding land
- zwölf
- Twelve; the cardinal number 12
- oder
- Or; coordinating conjunction offering an alternative
- fünfzehntausend
- Fifteen thousand; the cardinal number 15,000
- pro
- Per; preposition indicating rate or distribution
- Saison
- Season; a period of the year for a specific activity
- vermietet
- Rented out; past participle of 'vermieten'
- wurden
- Were; past tense passive auxiliary of 'werden'
- meiner
- My; genitive/dative form of possessive pronoun 'mein'
- rechten
- Right; located on the right-hand side
- Seite
- Side, page; a surface or direction
- nach
- After, according to, toward; multifunctional preposition
- jedem
- Every, each; dative form of 'jeder'
- Maßstab
- Standard, scale, criterion; a measure for comparison
- kolossales
- Colossal; of enormous or overwhelming size
- Gebilde
- Structure, formation; a constructed or formed object
- getreue
- Faithful, accurate; true to an original model
- Nachahmung
- Imitation, copy; reproduction of something's appearance
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- Turm
- Tower; a tall, narrow structure rising above a building
- funkelnagelneu
- Brand new; completely new, just made or acquired
- dünnen
- Thin; of little thickness or density
- Bart
- Beard; facial hair growing on the chin and cheeks
- aus
- Out of, from; preposition indicating origin or material
- frischem
- Fresh, new; recently grown or produced
- Efeu
- Ivy; a climbing evergreen plant with dark leaves
- Marmorschwimmbecken
- Marble swimming pool; a pool built of marble stone
- mehr
- More; a greater amount or degree of something
- als
- Than, as; used in comparisons or time clauses
- vierzig
- Forty; the cardinal number 40
- Morgen
- Acres or morning; unit of land area or time of day
- Rasen
- Lawn, grass; an area of closely mowed grass
- Garten
- Garden; a cultivated outdoor area with plants
- Herrenhaus
- Manor house, mansion; a large impressive residence
- Oder
- Or; coordinating conjunction offering an alternative
- vielmehr
- Rather, more precisely; used to correct or clarify
- da
- There, since, as; adverb of place or causal conjunction
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