The Great Gatsby — Page 6

English → It Full Text Level 7/10

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 su quella sottile e tumultuosa isola che si estende esattamente a est di New York—e dove si trovano, tra le altre curiosità naturali, due insolite formazioni di terra.

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 venti miglia dalla città una coppia di enormi uova, identiche nel contorno e separate soltanto da una baia di cortesia, si protende nel tratto d'acqua salata più addomesticato dell'emisfero occidentale, il grande e umido cortile di 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.

Non sono ovali perfetti—come l'uovo nella storia di Colombo, entrambe sono schiacciate piatte all'estremità di contatto—ma la loro somiglianza fisica deve essere fonte di perenne meraviglia per i gabbiani che volano sopra di esse.

To the wingless a more interesting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.

Per chi è privo di ali, un fenomeno più interessante è la loro dissomiglianza in ogni aspetto eccetto la forma e le dimensioni.

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.

Abitavo a West Egg, la—beh, la meno alla moda delle due, sebbene questa sia un'etichetta del tutto superficiale per esprimere il contrasto bizzarro e non poco sinistro tra di esse.

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.

La mia casa si trovava all'estremità dell'uovo, a soli cinquanta metri dallo Sound, e stretta tra due enormi proprietà che si affittavano per dodici o quindicimila dollari a stagione.

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.

Quella alla mia destra era un'opera colossale per qualsiasi standard—era una fedele imitazione di un qualche Hôtel de Ville in Normandia, con una torre su un lato, sfavillosamente nuova sotto una sottile barba di edera fresca, una piscina di marmo e più di quaranta acri di prato e giardino.

It was Gatsby's mansion.

Era la villa di Gatsby.

Or, rather, as I didn't know Mr.

O meglio, poiché non conoscevo il signor

Vocabulary

Era: Third person singular past tense of 'essere' (to be).
su: On, upon, or above a surface or place.
quella: That (feminine singular demonstrative adjective/pronoun).
sottile: Thin, slender, or subtle in quality.
tumultuosa: Tumultuous, turbulent, chaotic, or wildly disordered.
isola: Island; a landmass surrounded by water.
si: Reflexive pronoun; oneself, himself, herself, itself.
estende: Extends, stretches out over an area.
esattamente: Exactly, precisely, in a completely accurate manner.
est: East; the cardinal direction toward sunrise.
dove: Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place.
trovano: They find or are found; third person plural present.
tra: Among, between; preposition indicating position or choice.
altre: Other (feminine plural); additional or different things.
curiosità: Curiosities, oddities; things that arouse interest or wonder.
naturali: Natural; occurring in or relating to the natural world.
due: Two; the cardinal number between one and three.
insolite: Unusual, uncommon, out of the ordinary (feminine plural).
formazioni: Formations; structures or arrangements naturally or artificially made.
terra: Land, earth, ground; solid surface of the planet.
venti: Twenty; the cardinal number following nineteen.
miglia: Miles; plural of miglio, unit of distance.
dalla: From the (contraction of da + la).
città: City, town; an urban settlement or municipality.
coppia: Couple, pair; two of something considered together.
enormi: Enormous, huge, very large in size (plural).
uova: Eggs; plural of uovo, oval-shaped objects.
identiche: Identical; exactly alike in every detail (feminine plural).
nel: In the (contraction of in + il).
contorno: Outline, contour; the shape or border of something.
separate: Separated, divided apart from each other (feminine plural).
soltanto: Only, merely, just; limiting adverb of restriction.
baia: Bay; a body of water partially enclosed by land.
cortesia: Courtesy, kindness, politeness in behavior or manner.
protende: Extends, stretches forward or outward toward something.
tratto: Stretch, tract, portion of land or water.
acqua: Water; the liquid essential for life.
salata: Salty; containing or tasting of salt (feminine).
più: More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree.
addomesticato: Tamed, domesticated; made gentle or controlled.
emisfero: Hemisphere; half of the globe divided by equator.
occidentale: Western; relating to or situated in the west.
grande: Large, great, big; adjective describing size or importance.
umido: Humid, damp, moist; containing or characterized by moisture.
cortile: Courtyard, yard; an outdoor enclosed area near buildings.
sono: Are/am; first/third person plural of 'essere.'
ovali: Oval, egg-shaped; having an elongated rounded form (plural).
perfetti: Perfect; without flaw or defect (masculine plural).
come: Like, as, how; comparative or interrogative adverb.
uovo: Egg; oval-shaped object laid by birds or reptiles.
storia: Story, history; a narrative or historical account.
entrambe: Both (feminine); referring to two things together.
schiacciate: Flattened, squashed, pressed flat (feminine plural past participle).
piatte: Flat, level, lacking elevation (feminine plural adjective).
estremità: Extremity, tip, end; the outermost point of something.
contatto: Contact; a point or state of touching or meeting.
loro: Their, them; third person plural pronoun or adjective.
somiglianza: Resemblance, similarity; likeness between two or more things.
fisica: Physical; relating to the body or material appearance.
deve: Must, has to; third person singular of dovere.
essere: To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary and copular verb.
fonte: Source, fountain; origin or supply of something.
perenne: Perennial, perpetual, continually recurring or everlasting.
meraviglia: Wonder, marvel, amazement; a feeling of great admiration.
gabbiani: Seagulls; white coastal birds that typically fly over water.
volano: They fly; third person plural present of volare.
sopra: Above, over, on top of something.
esse: Them (feminine); third person plural feminine pronoun.
chi: Who, whoever; interrogative or relative pronoun.
privo: Devoid of, lacking, without (masculine singular adjective).
ali: Wings; plural of ala, appendages used for flying.
fenomeno: Phenomenon; a remarkable or observable fact or event.
interessante: Interesting; arousing curiosity, attention, or fascination.
dissomiglianza: Dissimilarity, difference; lack of resemblance between things.
ogni: Every, each; distributive adjective referring to all items.
aspetto: Aspect, appearance, look; a particular feature or side.
eccetto: Except, apart from; preposition indicating exclusion.
forma: Shape, form; the external outline or structure of something.
dimensioni: Dimensions, size; measurements indicating extent or magnitude.
Abitavo: I used to live; first person singular imperfect of abitare.
beh: Well; Italian interjection expressing hesitation or consideration.
meno: Less; comparative adverb indicating a smaller degree.
alla: To the (contraction of a + la); in the style of.
moda: Fashion, style, trend; prevailing custom in dress or behavior.
sebbene: Although, even though; concessive conjunction introducing a clause.
questa: This (feminine singular demonstrative adjective/pronoun).
sia: Is/be; third person singular subjunctive of essere.
etichetta: Label, tag, etiquette; a descriptive designation or social rule.
tutto: All, everything, completely; totality or entirety.
superficiale: Superficial; concerned only with surface appearance, not depth.
esprimere: To express; to convey thoughts, feelings, or ideas.
contrasto: Contrast; a striking difference between two compared things.
bizzarro: Bizarre, strange, odd; remarkably unusual or eccentric.
poco: Little, a bit, few; indicating a small amount.
sinistro: Sinister, ominous; suggesting evil or a threatening quality.
mia: My (feminine singular possessive adjective/pronoun).
casa: House, home; a building where people live.
trovava: Was located; third person singular imperfect of trovarsi.
soli: Only, alone; just a few (masculine plural adjective).
cinquanta: Fifty; the cardinal number between forty-nine and fifty-one.
metri: Meters; plural of metro, unit of length measurement.
dallo: From the (contraction of da + lo).
stretta: Narrow, tight, close; having little width (feminine adjective).
proprietà: Property, estate; land or buildings owned by someone.
affittavano: They rented; third person plural imperfect of affittare.
dodici: Twelve; the cardinal number between eleven and thirteen.
quindicimila: Fifteen thousand; the cardinal number 15,000.
dollari: Dollars; the currency unit of the United States.
stagione: Season; one of the four periods of the year.
destra: Right; the direction opposite to left; also right side.
era: Was; third person singular imperfect of essere.
opera: Work, opus; a creative or architectural achievement.
colossale: Colossal; extremely large, immense, gigantic in scale.
qualsiasi: Any, whatever, whichever; an indefinite adjective of generality.
standard: Standard; a level of quality used as a benchmark.
fedele: Faithful, loyal, accurate; true to an original model.
imitazione: Imitation, copy; a reproduction of something else.
qualche: Some, a few; indefinite adjective indicating an unspecified amount.
con: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
torre: Tower; a tall narrow structure rising above surroundings.
lato: Side; one of the surfaces or edges of something.
sfavillosamente: Dazzlingly, sparklingly; in a gleaming or shimmering manner.
nuova: New; recently made or recently arrived (feminine adjective).
sotto: Under, below, beneath; indicating a lower position.
barba: Beard; hair growing on a man's chin and cheeks.
edera: Ivy; a climbing or creeping evergreen plant.
fresca: Fresh, cool; recently made or pleasantly cool (feminine).
piscina: Swimming pool; an artificially constructed body of water.
marmo: Marble; a hard crystalline rock used in construction.
quaranta: Forty; the cardinal number between thirty-nine and forty-one.
acri: Acres; plural of acre, a unit of land area.
prato: Lawn, meadow; an area of grass kept short and neat.
giardino: Garden; a cultivated area with plants, flowers, or shrubs.
villa: Villa; a large, luxurious country or suburban residence.
meglio: Better; comparative adverb indicating a higher degree of good.
poiché: Since, because; causal conjunction explaining a reason.
conoscevo: I knew; first person singular imperfect of conoscere.
signor: Mister, Mr.; polite title used before a man's surname.

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