The Great Gatsby — Page 5
"How do you get to West Egg village?" he asked helplessly.
"Come si arriva al villaggio di West Egg?" chiese senza speranza.
I told him.
Glielo dissi.
And as I walked on I was lonely no longer.
E mentre continuavo a camminare, non mi sentivo più solo.
I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler.
Ero una guida, un esploratore, un pioniere.
He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighbourhood.
Mi aveva conferito con disinvoltura la libertà del quartiere.
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.
E così, con il sole e le grandi esplosioni di foglie che crescevano sugli alberi, proprio come le cose crescono nei film accelerati, avevo quella familiare convinzione che la vita stesse ricominciando con l'estate.
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.
C'era così tanto da leggere, tra le altre cose, e così tanta buona salute da trarre dall'aria giovane e 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.
Comprai una dozzina di volumi su banche, credito e titoli d'investimento, e stavano sul mio scaffale in rosso e oro come denaro nuovo di zecca, promettendo di svelare i brillanti segreti che solo Mida, Morgan e Mecenate conoscevano.
And I had the high intention of reading many other books besides.
E avevo la ferma intenzione di leggere anche molti altri libri.
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."
All'università ero piuttosto letterario — un anno scrissi una serie di editoriali molto solenni e scontati per lo Yale News — e ora avrei riportato tutte queste cose nella mia vita e sarei diventato di nuovo il più limitato di tutti gli specialisti, l'"uomo completo".
This isn't just an epigram—life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all.
Non è solo un epigramma — la vita, dopotutto, si osserva molto meglio da una finestra sola.
It was a matter of chance that I should have rented a house in one of the strangest communities in North America.
Fu una questione di caso che mi ritrovassi ad aver affittato una casa in una delle comunità più strane del Nord America.
Vocabulary
- Come
- KO-me — How; used to ask manner or way
- si
- si — Reflexive pronoun; oneself, one another
- arriva
- ar-REE-va — One arrives; third person singular of arrivare
- al
- al — Contraction of 'a il'; to the
- villaggio
- vil-LAD-jo — A small rural settlement or village
- di
- di — Of, from; common Italian preposition
- chiese
- KYE-ze — He/she asked; past tense of chiedere
- senza
- SEN-tsa — Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- speranza
- spe-RAN-tsa — Hope; expectation of a positive outcome
- Glielo
- LYEL-lo — Combined pronoun meaning 'it to him/her'
- dissi
- DIS-si — I said; first person past of dire
- mentre
- MEN-tre — While; during the time that something happens
- continuavo
- kon-ti-NWAH-vo — I was continuing; imperfect of continuare
- sentivo
- sen-TEE-vo — I felt/heard; imperfect tense of sentire
- più
- pyoo — More; no longer (with non); comparative adverb
- solo
- SO-lo — Alone, only; without company or companions
- Ero
- E-ro — I was; first person imperfect of essere
- guida
- GWEE-da — Guide; one who leads or directs others
- esploratore
- es-plo-ra-TO-re — Explorer; someone who discovers unknown places
- pioniere
- pyo-NYE-re — Pioneer; one who leads the way in something
- conferito
- kon-fe-REE-to — Conferred, granted; past participle of conferire
- disinvoltura
- di-zin-vol-TOO-ra — Ease, nonchalance; relaxed and natural confidence
- libertà
- li-ber-TA — Freedom, liberty; state of being free
- quartiere
- kwar-TYE-re — Neighborhood, district; section of a city
- sole
- SO-le — Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
- esplosioni
- es-plo-ZYO-ni — Explosions, bursts; sudden outbreaks of energy
- foglie
- FOL-ye — Leaves; flat green parts of a plant
- crescevano
- kre-SHE-va-no — They were growing; imperfect of crescere
- alberi
- AL-be-ri — Trees; tall woody plants with branches
- accelerati
- at-che-le-RAH-ti — Accelerated, sped up; fast-forwarded in film context
- familiare
- fa-mi-LYA-re — Familiar; well known, resembling something known before
- convinzione
- kon-vin-TSYO-ne — Conviction, belief; strong personal certainty
- vita
- VEE-ta — Life; the condition of being alive
- ricominciando
- ri-ko-min-CHAN-do — Starting again; gerund of ricominciare
- estate
- es-TA-te — Summer; the warmest season of the year
- leggere
- LED-je-re — To read; the infinitive of reading
- buona
- BWO-na — Good; feminine form of buono
- salute
- sa-LOO-te — Health; the state of physical wellbeing
- trarre
- TRAR-re — To draw, extract; to derive benefit from
- aria
- AH-rya — Air; the invisible gaseous substance we breathe
- giovane
- JO-va-ne — Young; in early period of life
- vivificante
- vi-vi-fi-KAN-te — Invigorating, life-giving; that which revitalizes
- Comprai
- kom-PRAI — I bought; first person past of comprare
- dozzina
- dot-TSEE-na — A dozen; a group of twelve items
- volumi
- vo-LOO-mi — Volumes, books; published works or tomes
- banche
- BAN-ke — Banks; financial institutions handling money
- credito
- KRE-di-to — Credit; financial trust or borrowed money
- titoli
- TEE-to-li — Securities, titles; financial instruments or headlines
- investimento
- in-ves-ti-MEN-to — Investment; committing money for future returns
- stavano
- STA-va-no — They were; third person imperfect of stare
- scaffale
- skaf-FA-le — Shelf, bookcase; furniture for storing books
- rosso
- ROS-so — Red; the color of blood and fire
- oro
- O-ro — Gold; precious yellow metal or its color
- denaro
- de-NA-ro — Money; currency used for buying and selling
- zecca
- TSEK-ka — Mint; place where coins are manufactured
- promettendo
- pro-met-TEN-do — Promising; gerund of promettere
- svelare
- zve-LA-re — To reveal, unveil; to disclose hidden information
- brillanti
- bril-LAN-ti — Brilliant, shining; very bright or clever
- segreti
- se-GRE-ti — Secrets; things kept hidden from others
- conoscevano
- ko-NO-she-va-no — They knew; imperfect of conoscere
- ferma
- FER-ma — Firm, steady; resolute and unwavering
- intenzione
- in-ten-TSYO-ne — Intention; a planned purpose or goal
- libri
- LEE-bri — Books; written or printed works
- università
- u-ni-ver-si-TA — University; institution of higher education
- piuttosto
- pyut-TOS-to — Rather, quite; to a considerable degree
- letterario
- let-te-RAH-ryo — Literary; relating to literature or writing
- anno
- AN-no — Year; a period of twelve months
- scrissi
- SKRIS-si — I wrote; first person past of scrivere
- serie
- SE-rye — Series; a sequence of related things
- editoriali
- e-di-to-RYA-li — Editorials; opinion articles in a publication
- solenni
- so-LEN-ni — Solemn, serious; formal and grave in tone
- scontati
- skon-TAH-ti — Predictable, trite; also discounted in commerce
- avrei
- av-REI — I would have; conditional of avere
- riportato
- ri-por-TAH-to — Brought back; past participle of riportare
- diventato
- di-ven-TAH-to — Become; past participle of diventare
- limitato
- li-mi-TAH-to — Limited; restricted in scope or extent
- specialisti
- spe-cha-LIS-ti — Specialists; experts in a particular field
- uomo
- WO-mo — Man; an adult male human being
- completo
- kom-PLE-to — Complete, whole; fully developed in all aspects
- dopotutto
- do-po-TUT-to — After all; when everything is considered
- osserva
- os-SER-va — Observes; to watch or notice carefully
- meglio
- MEL-yo — Better; superior to another in quality
- finestra
- fi-NES-tra — Window; an opening in a wall for light
- Fu
- fu — It was; third person past of essere
- questione
- kwes-TYO-ne — Matter, question; issue under discussion
- caso
- KA-zo — Chance, case; coincidence or circumstance
- ritrovassi
- ri-tro-VAS-si — I found myself; past subjunctive of ritrovarsi
- affittato
- af-fit-TAH-to — Rented; past participle of affittare
- casa
- KA-za — House, home; a place where one lives
- comunità
- ko-mu-ni-TA — Community; a group sharing a location or interest
- strane
- STRAH-ne — Strange, odd; unusual or peculiar
- Nord
- nord — North; the cardinal direction opposite to south
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