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.
Era en esa delgada y bulliciosa isla que se extiende justo al este de Nueva York, y donde hay, entre otras curiosidades naturales, dos formaciones inusuales de tierra.
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.
A veinte millas de la ciudad, un par de enormes huevos, idénticos en contorno y separados únicamente por una bahía de cortesía, se adentran en la masa de agua salada más domesticada del hemisferio occidental, el gran corral mojado del 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.
No son óvalos perfectos; como el huevo de la historia de Colón, ambos están aplastados en el extremo de contacto, pero su parecido físico debe de ser una fuente de asombro perpetuo para las gaviotas que vuelan por encima.
To the wingless a more interesting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.
Para los que no tienen alas, un fenómeno más interesante es su disimilitud en todo detalle excepto en forma y tamaño.
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.
Yo vivía en West Egg, el, bueno, el menos elegante de los dos, aunque esta es una etiqueta muy superficial para expresar el extraño y no poco siniestro contraste entre ellos.
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.
Mi casa estaba en la punta misma del huevo, a apenas cincuenta metros del Sound, y apretujada entre dos enormes propiedades que se alquilaban por doce o quince mil dólares por temporada.
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.
La que estaba a mi derecha era un asunto colosal por cualquier medida: era una imitación fiel de algún Hôtel de Ville de Normandía, con una torre en un lado, reluciente de nueva bajo una delgada barba de hiedra sin madurar, y una piscina de mármol, y más de cuarenta acres de césped y jardín.
It was Gatsby's mansion.
Era la mansión de Gatsby.
Or, rather, as I didn't know Mr.
O, más bien, como no conocía al Sr.
Vocabulary
- Era
- Past tense of 'ser'; it was, she/he was
- en
- Preposition meaning in, on, or at
- esa
- Demonstrative adjective meaning that (feminine)
- delgada
- Adjective meaning thin or slender (feminine)
- bulliciosa
- Adjective meaning noisy, bustling, or lively (feminine)
- isla
- Noun meaning island
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or passive verbs
- extiende
- Third person singular of extender; stretches or extends
- justo
- Adverb or adjective meaning just, right, or fair
- al
- Contraction of a and el meaning to the
- este
- Noun or adjective meaning east or this (masculine)
- Nueva
- Adjective meaning new (feminine), as in Nueva York
- donde
- Relative adverb meaning where
- hay
- Impersonal form of haber meaning there is or there are
- entre
- Preposition meaning between, among, or amid
- otras
- Adjective meaning other or another (feminine plural)
- curiosidades
- Noun meaning curiosities, oddities, or interesting features
- naturales
- Adjective meaning natural (plural)
- dos
- Number meaning two
- formaciones
- Noun meaning formations or shapes
- inusuales
- Adjective meaning unusual or uncommon (plural)
- tierra
- Noun meaning land, earth, or soil
- veinte
- Number meaning twenty
- millas
- Noun meaning miles (unit of distance)
- ciudad
- Noun meaning city or town
- par
- Noun meaning pair or couple
- enormes
- Adjective meaning enormous, huge, or very large (plural)
- huevos
- Noun meaning eggs (plural)
- idénticos
- Adjective meaning identical or exactly alike (masculine plural)
- contorno
- Noun meaning contour, outline, or shape
- separados
- Adjective meaning separated or apart (masculine plural)
- únicamente
- Adverb meaning only, solely, or exclusively
- por
- Preposition meaning by, for, or through
- bahía
- Noun meaning bay (body of water)
- cortesía
- Noun meaning courtesy, kindness, or politeness
- adentran
- Third person plural of adentrarse; they go into or penetrate
- masa
- Noun meaning mass, body, or large amount
- agua
- Noun meaning water
- salada
- Adjective meaning salty or salted (feminine)
- más
- Adverb meaning more or most
- domesticada
- Adjective meaning tamed or domesticated (feminine)
- del
- Contraction of de and el meaning of the
- hemisferio
- Noun meaning hemisphere
- occidental
- Adjective meaning western or occidental
- gran
- Adjective meaning great or large (before noun)
- corral
- Noun meaning corral, pen, or enclosed yard
- mojado
- Adjective meaning wet or soaked (masculine)
- son
- Third person plural of ser; they are
- óvalos
- Noun meaning ovals or elliptical shapes (plural)
- perfectos
- Adjective meaning perfect or flawless (masculine plural)
- como
- Conjunction or adverb meaning like, as, or how
- huevo
- Noun meaning egg
- historia
- Noun meaning history or story
- ambos
- Adjective or pronoun meaning both (masculine plural)
- están
- Third person plural of estar; they are (state/location)
- aplastados
- Adjective meaning flattened or crushed (masculine plural)
- extremo
- Noun or adjective meaning extreme, end, or tip
- contacto
- Noun meaning contact or touch
- pero
- Conjunction meaning but or however
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning his, her, its, or their
- parecido
- Noun or adjective meaning resemblance or similar
- físico
- Adjective or noun meaning physical or physicist
- debe
- Third person singular of deber; must, should, or owes
- ser
- Infinitive meaning to be (permanent or essential qualities)
- fuente
- Noun meaning source, fountain, or origin
- asombro
- Noun meaning astonishment, amazement, or wonder
- perpetuo
- Adjective meaning perpetual, eternal, or constant
- para
- Preposition meaning for, in order to, or by
- gaviotas
- Noun meaning seagulls or gulls (plural)
- vuelan
- Third person plural of volar; they fly
- encima
- Adverb meaning above, on top, or overhead
- Para
- Preposition meaning for or in order to
- tienen
- Third person plural of tener; they have
- alas
- Noun meaning wings (plural)
- fenómeno
- Noun meaning phenomenon or remarkable occurrence
- interesante
- Adjective meaning interesting or engaging
- es
- Third person singular of ser; is
- disimilitud
- Noun meaning dissimilarity or difference
- todo
- Adjective or pronoun meaning all, every, or everything
- detalle
- Noun meaning detail or particular feature
- excepto
- Preposition meaning except or excluding
- forma
- Noun meaning form, shape, or way
- tamaño
- Noun meaning size or dimension
- vivía
- First person singular imperfect of vivir; I used to live
- bueno
- Adjective meaning good or well (masculine)
- menos
- Adverb meaning less, fewer, or minus
- elegante
- Adjective meaning elegant, stylish, or refined
- aunque
- Conjunction meaning although, even though, or even if
- esta
- Demonstrative adjective meaning this (feminine singular)
- etiqueta
- Noun meaning label, tag, or etiquette
- muy
- Adverb meaning very or quite
- superficial
- Adjective meaning superficial, shallow, or surface-level
- expresar
- Verb meaning to express or convey
- extraño
- Adjective or noun meaning strange, odd, or stranger
- poco
- Adjective or adverb meaning little, few, or a bit
- siniestro
- Adjective meaning sinister, ominous, or threatening
- contraste
- Noun meaning contrast or difference
- ellos
- Personal pronoun meaning they (masculine or mixed group)
- Mi
- Possessive adjective meaning my
- casa
- Noun meaning house or home
- estaba
- First/third person singular imperfect of estar; was located
- punta
- Noun meaning tip, point, or end
- misma
- Adjective meaning same or herself/itself (feminine)
- apenas
- Adverb meaning barely, hardly, or just
- cincuenta
- Number meaning fifty
- metros
- Noun meaning meters (unit of measurement, plural)
- apretujada
- Adjective meaning squeezed, crammed, or packed tightly (feminine)
- propiedades
- Noun meaning properties, estates, or real estate (plural)
- alquilaban
- Third person plural imperfect of alquilar; they rented out
- doce
- Number meaning twelve
- quince
- Number meaning fifteen
- mil
- Number meaning one thousand
- dólares
- Noun meaning dollars (currency, plural)
- temporada
- Noun meaning season, period, or time of year
- mi
- Possessive adjective meaning my
- derecha
- Noun or adjective meaning right side or right (direction)
- era
- Past tense of ser; was (imperfect)
- asunto
- Noun meaning matter, affair, or subject
- colosal
- Adjective meaning colossal, enormous, or massive
- cualquier
- Adjective meaning any or whatever (before noun)
- medida
- Noun meaning measure, measurement, or standard
- imitación
- Noun meaning imitation or copy
- fiel
- Adjective meaning faithful, loyal, or accurate
- algún
- Adjective meaning some or any (masculine before noun)
- con
- Preposition meaning with
- torre
- Noun meaning tower or turret
- lado
- Noun meaning side or flank
- reluciente
- Adjective meaning shining, gleaming, or sparkling
- nueva
- Adjective meaning new (feminine singular)
- bajo
- Preposition or adjective meaning under, below, or low
- barba
- Noun meaning beard or chin
- hiedra
- Noun meaning ivy (climbing plant)
- sin
- Preposition meaning without
- madurar
- Verb meaning to mature, ripen, or grow
- piscina
- Noun meaning swimming pool
- mármol
- Noun meaning marble (stone material)
- cuarenta
- Number meaning forty
- acres
- Noun meaning acres (unit of land area, plural)
- césped
- Noun meaning lawn, grass, or turf
- jardín
- Noun meaning garden or yard
- mansión
- Noun meaning mansion or large house
- bien
- Adverb meaning well or fine
- conocía
- First/third person singular imperfect of conocer; knew or used to know
- Sr
- Abbreviation for señor meaning Mr.
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