The Great Gatsby — Page 9
Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body—he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat.
Nicht einmal die weichliche Eleganz seiner Reitkleidung konnte die enorme Kraft dieses Körpers verbergen – er schien jene glänzenden Stiefel bis zum Zerreißen der oberen Schnürung auszufüllen, und man konnte sehen, wie ein mächtiges Muskelpaket sich verschob, wenn seine Schulter sich unter seinem dünnen Mantel bewegte.
It was a body capable of enormous leverage—a cruel body.
Es war ein Körper von enormer Hebelkraft – ein grausamer Körper.
His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.
Seine Sprechstimme, ein rauer, heiserer Tenor, verstärkte den Eindruck von Streitlust, den er vermittelte.
There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward people he liked—and there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts.
Es lag eine Spur väterlicher Verachtung darin, selbst gegenüber Menschen, die er mochte – und es gab Männer in New Haven, die ihn von Herzen gehasst hatten.
We were in the same senior society, and while we were never intimate I always had the impression that he approved of me and wanted me to like him with some harsh, defiant wistfulness of his own.
Wir gehörten derselben Abschlussverbindung an, und obwohl wir uns nie nahestanden, hatte ich stets das Gefühl, dass er mich schätzte und wollte, dass ich ihn mochte – mit einer ihm eigenen harten, trotzigen Sehnsucht.
We talked for a few minutes on the sunny porch.
Wir unterhielten uns ein paar Minuten lang auf der sonnigen Veranda.
Turning me around by one arm, he moved a broad flat hand along the front vista, including in its sweep a sunken Italian garden, a half acre of deep, pungent roses, and a snub-nosed motorboat that bumped the tide offshore.
Er drehte mich an einem Arm herum und fuhr mit einer breiten, flachen Hand die Aussicht entlang, die in ihrem Schwung einen versenkten italienischen Garten, einen halben Morgen tiefer, würziger Rosen und ein stumpfnasiges Motorboot einschloss, das draußen gegen die Gezeiten stieß.
Vocabulary
- Nicht
- Negation; not; denial of statement
- einmal
- Once; at one time; even
- die
- The (feminine singular article)
- Eleganz
- Elegance; refined and graceful style
- seiner
- His; of him (possessive pronoun)
- konnte
- Could; was able to (past tense)
- enorme
- Enormous; huge; very large in size
- Kraft
- Strength; power; force or energy
- dieses
- This; that (demonstrative pronoun)
- Körpers
- Body; of the body (genitive)
- verbergen
- To hide; to conceal; to cover up
- er
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- schien
- Seemed; appeared; looked (past tense)
- jene
- Those; that (over there); distant plural
- glänzenden
- Shining; gleaming; bright and lustrous
- Stiefel
- Boots; heavy footwear covering leg
- bis
- Until; till; up to point
- zum
- To the; until the (contraction)
- Zerreißen
- Tearing; ripping; bursting apart violently
- der
- The (feminine/plural article or pronoun)
- oberen
- Upper; above; higher positioned part
- auszufüllen
- To fill out; to stretch; to pad
- und
- And; plus; connecting two items
- man
- One; you; people (impersonal pronoun)
- sehen
- To see; to view; to perceive
- wie
- How; as; in what manner
- ein
- A; an; one (indefinite article)
- mächtiges
- Mighty; powerful; strong and commanding
- sich
- Himself; oneself; reflexive pronoun
- verschob
- Shifted; moved; displaced slightly
- wenn
- When; if; whenever; at time
- seine
- His; her (possessive feminine or plural)
- Schulter
- Shoulder; upper arm joint area
- unter
- Under; beneath; below something
- seinem
- His; of him (possessive dative)
- dünnen
- Thin; light; slender in thickness
- Mantel
- Coat; cloak; outer garment worn
- bewegte
- Moved; stirred; touched emotionally
- Es
- It; that thing (neuter pronoun)
- war
- Was; existed; past tense of be
- Körper
- Body; physical form of person
- von
- Of; from; by (preposition)
- enormer
- Enormous; huge; immense in size
- grausamer
- Cruel; harsh; merciless in manner
- Seine
- His; hers (possessive pronoun)
- rauer
- Rough; harsh; coarse in texture
- heiserer
- Hoarse; raspy; strained in voice
- Tenor
- Tenor; tone; general character or nature
- verstärkte
- Strengthened; reinforced; made stronger
- den
- The (masculine accusative article)
- Eindruck
- Impression; effect; feeling produced
- vermittelte
- Conveyed; communicated; transmitted information
- lag
- Lay; reclined; was positioned
- eine
- A; an (feminine indefinite article)
- Spur
- Trace; hint; slight indication
- väterlicher
- Paternal; fatherly; relating to father
- Verachtung
- Contempt; disdain; scorn for person
- darin
- In it; in that; therein
- selbst
- Self; even; himself or herself
- gegenüber
- Opposite; facing; across from something
- Menschen
- People; humans; men and women
- mochte
- Might; liked; preferred (past tense)
- es
- It; that (neuter pronoun)
- gab
- Gave; there were (past tense)
- Männer
- Men; male humans; adult males
- in
- In; inside; within location
- New
- New; recent; not old
- Haven
- Haven; harbor; safe place refuge
- ihn
- Him; objective case pronoun
- Herzen
- Heart; center; core of person
- gehasst
- Hated; despised; felt intense dislike
- hatten
- Had; possessed; held (past tense)
- Wir
- We; us; first person plural
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