The Great Gatsby — Page 5
"How do you get to West Egg village?" he asked helplessly.
«¿Cómo se llega al pueblo de West Egg?», preguntó él con aire de desamparo.
I told him.
Se lo indiqué.
And as I walked on I was lonely no longer.
Y mientras seguía caminando, ya no me sentía solo.
I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler.
Era un guía, un explorador, un pionero.
He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighbourhood.
Él me había otorgado sin más la libertad del vecindario.
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
Y así, con el sol y las grandes explosiones de hojas brotando en los árboles, igual que las cosas crecen en las películas aceleradas, tuve aquella familiar convicción de que la vida volvía a empezar con el verano.
There was so much to read, for one thing, and so much fine health to be pulled down out of the young breath-giving air.
Había tanto que leer, para empezar, y tanta salud magnífica que absorber del aire joven y vivificante.
I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew.
Compré una docena de volúmenes sobre banca, crédito y valores de inversión, y se erguían en mi estante en rojo y dorado como dinero recién acuñado, prometiendo desvelar los brillantes secretos que solo conocían Midas, Morgan y Mecenas.
And I had the high intention of reading many other books besides.
Y tenía el elevado propósito de leer además muchos otros libros.
I was rather literary in college—one year I wrote a series of very solemn and obvious editorials for the Yale News—and now I was going to bring back all such things into my life and become again that most limited of all specialists, the "well-rounded man."
En la universidad fui bastante literario —un año escribí una serie de editoriales muy solemnes y previsibles para el Yale News— y ahora iba a devolver todas esas cosas a mi vida y convertirme de nuevo en el más limitado de todos los especialistas, el «hombre polifacético».
This isn't just an epigram—life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all.
Esto no es solo un epigrama: la vida se contempla con mucho más acierto desde una sola ventana, al fin y al cabo.
It was a matter of chance that I should have rented a house in one of the strangest communities in North America.
Fue cosa del azar que yo hubiera alquilado una casa en una de las comunidades más extrañas de Norteamérica.
Vocabulary
- Cómo
- Used to ask how something is done
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with verbs
- llega
- One arrives or reaches a destination
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'el', meaning 'to the'
- pueblo
- A small town or village
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'
- preguntó
- He or she asked a question
- él
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun, meaning 'he'
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- aire
- Air; also used to express manner or attitude
- desamparo
- A feeling of helplessness or abandonment
- Se
- Reflexive pronoun used with verbs
- lo
- Direct object pronoun meaning 'it' or 'him'
- indiqué
- I indicated or showed the way to someone
- Y
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- mientras
- Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'as long as'
- seguía
- He or she continued or kept on doing something
- caminando
- Walking or moving on foot
- ya
- Adverb meaning 'already' or 'now'
- no
- Adverb of negation meaning 'no' or 'not'
- me
- First-person singular reflexive or object pronoun
- sentía
- I felt or was feeling a certain way
- solo
- Alone or lonely, without company
- Era
- Past tense of 'ser', meaning 'it was'
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- guía
- A guide who leads or directs others
- explorador
- An explorer who travels to discover new places
- pionero
- A pioneer who opens new paths or fields
- Él
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun, meaning 'he'
- había
- Auxiliary verb 'had' used in past perfect tense
- otorgado
- Granted or bestowed something upon someone
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- más
- More; also used in expressions meaning 'just like that'
- la
- Feminine definite article meaning 'the'
- libertad
- Freedom or liberty to act as one chooses
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el', meaning 'of the'
- vecindario
- A neighborhood or local residential area
- así
- Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'
- el
- Masculine definite article meaning 'the'
- sol
- The sun, the star at the center of our solar system
- y
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- las
- Feminine plural definite article meaning 'the'
- grandes
- Large or great in size or importance
- explosiones
- Explosions or sudden bursts of energy or growth
- hojas
- Leaves of a tree or pages of a book
- brotando
- Sprouting or budding from a plant or tree
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at'
- los
- Masculine plural definite article meaning 'the'
- árboles
- Trees, woody plants with trunks and branches
- igual
- Equal or the same; similarly
- que
- Conjunction or relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'
- cosas
- Things or objects in general
- crecen
- They grow or increase in size
- películas
- Films or movies shown in a cinema
- aceleradas
- Accelerated or sped up in motion
- tuve
- I had; past tense of 'tener'
- aquella
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (distant)
- familiar
- Familiar or well-known from past experience
- convicción
- A strong belief or firmly held opinion
- vida
- Life or the state of being alive
- volvía
- Was returning or starting again
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to' or 'at'
- empezar
- To begin or start something new
- verano
- Summer, the warmest season of the year
- Había
- There was or there were; imperfect of 'haber'
- tanto
- So much or so many of something
- leer
- To read books or written material
- para
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- tanta
- So much; feminine form of 'tanto'
- salud
- Health or wellbeing of the body
- magnífica
- Magnificent or splendid in quality
- absorber
- To absorb or take in knowledge or substances
- joven
- Young in age or youthful in spirit
- vivificante
- Invigorating or life-giving in effect
- Compré
- I bought something in the past
- una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- docena
- A dozen, a group of twelve items
- volúmenes
- Volumes or books in a collection
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'about', 'on', or 'over'
- banca
- Banking or the financial banking industry
- crédito
- Credit or financial trust extended to someone
- valores
- Securities, stocks, or moral values
- inversión
- Investment of money for financial return
- erguían
- They stood upright or rose up tall
- mi
- First-person singular possessive adjective meaning 'my'
- estante
- A shelf or bookcase for storing items
- rojo
- The color red
- dorado
- Golden in color or made of gold
- como
- Conjunction meaning 'like' or 'as'
- dinero
- Money used for buying goods and services
- recién
- Recently or just now done or made
- acuñado
- Freshly minted or coined, as money
- prometiendo
- Promising or pledging to deliver something
- desvelar
- To reveal or uncover hidden secrets
- brillantes
- Brilliant, shining, or very intelligent
- secretos
- Secrets or hidden pieces of information
- conocían
- They knew or were acquainted with someone
- Mecenas
- A wealthy patron who supports artists or scholars
- tenía
- I or he/she had something in the past
- elevado
- Elevated, high, or lofty in nature
- propósito
- A purpose or intention behind an action
- además
- Adverb meaning 'furthermore' or 'in addition'
- muchos
- Many or a large number of things
- otros
- Others or different ones besides the first
- libros
- Books used for reading and learning
- En
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at'
- universidad
- A university or institution of higher education
- fui
- I was or I went; past tense of 'ser'/'ir'
- bastante
- Quite or fairly; a sufficient amount
- literario
- Literary or relating to literature and writing
- año
- A year, a period of twelve months
- escribí
- I wrote something in the past
- serie
- A series or sequence of related items
- editoriales
- Editorials or opinion articles in a publication
- muy
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'quite'
- solemnes
- Solemn or serious in tone or manner
- previsibles
- Predictable or foreseeable in outcome
- ahora
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this moment'
- iba
- I was going or about to do something
- devolver
- To return or give back something to someone
- todas
- All or every one of a group of things
- esas
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'those' (nearby)
- convertirme
- To become or transform myself into something
- nuevo
- New or recently made or started
- limitado
- Limited or restricted in scope or ability
- todos
- All or everyone in a group
- especialistas
- Specialists or experts in a particular field
- hombre
- A man or adult male person
- polifacético
- Multifaceted or versatile person with many abilities
- Esto
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' (neutral)
- es
- Third-person singular present of 'ser', meaning 'is'
- epigrama
- A short witty saying or inscription
- contempla
- To contemplate or observe thoughtfully
- mucho
- Much or a great amount of something
- acierto
- A correct answer or a wise decision
- desde
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'since'
- sola
- Alone or only one, feminine form
- ventana
- A window in a wall or building
- fin
- End or conclusion of something
- cabo
- End or tip; used in 'al fin y al cabo'
- Fue
- It was or he/she went; past tense
- cosa
- A thing or object
- azar
- Chance or fate, random occurrence
- yo
- First-person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- hubiera
- Past subjunctive of 'haber', meaning 'had'
- alquilado
- Rented or leased a property from someone
- casa
- A house or home where people live
- comunidades
- Communities or groups of people living together
- extrañas
- Strange or unfamiliar, odd in character
- Norteamérica
- North America, the continent north of Central America
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