The Great Gatsby — Page 12
I looked back at my cousin, who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice.
Guardai di nuovo mia cugina, che cominciò a farmi domande con la sua voce bassa e avvincente.
It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again.
Era il tipo di voce che l'orecchio segue su e giù, come se ogni discorso fosse un'armonia di note che non verranno mai più suonate.
Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget:
Il suo viso era triste e bello, con qualcosa di luminoso in esso, occhi luminosi e una bocca luminosa e appassionata, ma c'era un'eccitazione nella sua voce che gli uomini che avevano tenuto a lei trovavano difficile dimenticare:
a singing compulsion, a whispered "Listen," a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.
una compulsione canora, un sussurrato "Ascolta", una promessa che aveva fatto cose allegre ed eccitanti poco tempo prima e che cose allegre ed eccitanti aleggiavano nell'ora successiva.
I told her how I had stopped off in Chicago for a day on my way East, and how a dozen people had sent their love through me.
Le raccontai come mi fossi fermato a Chicago per un giorno durante il mio viaggio verso Est, e come una dozzina di persone mi avessero mandato i loro saluti attraverso di me.
"Do they miss me?" she cried ecstatically.
«Mi manco loro?» esclamò estasiata.
"The whole town is desolate. All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath, and there's a persistent wail all night along the north shore."
«L'intera città è desolata. Tutte le macchine hanno la ruota posteriore sinistra dipinta di nero come una corona funebre, e c'è un lamento persistente tutta la notte lungo la riva nord.»
"How gorgeous! Let's go back, Tom. Tomorrow!" Then she added irrelevantly: "You ought to see the baby."
«Che meraviglia! Torniamo indietro, Tom. Domani!» Poi aggiunse senza pertinenza: «Dovresti vedere la bambina.»
"I'd like to."
«Mi piacerebbe.»
"She's asleep. She's three years old. Haven't you ever seen her?"
«Sta dormendo. Ha tre anni. Non l'hai mai vista?»
"Never."
«Mai.»
"Well, you ought to see her. She's—"
«Beh, dovresti vederla. È—»
Tom Buchanan, who had been hovering restlessly about the room, stopped and rested his hand on my shoulder.
Tom Buchanan, che aveva girovagato irrequieto per la stanza, si fermò e posò la mano sulla mia spalla.
"What you doing, Nick?
«Cosa stai facendo, Nick?
Vocabulary
- Guardai
- I looked; past tense of guardare.
- di
- Of; preposition indicating possession or origin.
- nuovo
- New; again; indicates something repeated or fresh.
- mia
- My; feminine singular possessive adjective.
- cugina
- Cousin; female relative of same generation.
- che
- That; which; relative pronoun connecting clauses.
- cominciò
- Began; started; past tense of cominciare.
- farmi
- To make me; infinitive with indirect object pronoun.
- domande
- Questions; plural of domanda.
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- sua
- Her; his; possessive adjective feminine singular.
- voce
- Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing.
- bassa
- Low; soft; feminine singular adjective.
- avvincente
- Captivating; engaging; holding one's attention strongly.
- Era
- Was; past tense of essere.
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- tipo
- Type; kind; fellow; guy; sort.
- orecchio
- Ear; organ of hearing.
- segue
- Follows; continues; third person singular of seguire.
- su
- Up; on; upward; preposition or adverb.
- giù
- Down; downward; adverb indicating downward direction.
- come
- Like; as; how; conjunction or preposition.
- se
- If; whether; conditional conjunction.
- ogni
- Every; each; all; distributive adjective.
- discorso
- Speech; conversation; discourse; topic of discussion.
- fosse
- Were; subjunctive past tense of essere.
- un
- A; an; masculine singular indefinite article.
- armonia
- Harmony; pleasant combination of sounds or elements.
- note
- Notes; musical tones; plural of nota.
- non
- Not; negation particle.
- verranno
- Will come; future tense of venire.
- mai
- Never; ever; adverb of negation or emphasis.
- più
- More; anymore; comparative adverb.
- suonate
- Played; sounded; feminine plural past participle.
- Il
- The; masculine singular definite article capitalized.
- suo
- His; her; its; possessive adjective.
- viso
- Face; countenance; visage.
- triste
- Sad; sorrowful; melancholy; adjective.
- bello
- Beautiful; handsome; fine; attractive adjective.
- qualcosa
- Something; anything; something indefinite.
- luminoso
- Luminous; bright; shining; glowing with light.
- in
- In; into; preposition indicating location or state.
- esso
- It; masculine singular pronoun or demonstrative.
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio.
- bocca
- Mouth; opening for eating and speaking.
- appassionata
- Passionate; fervent; impassioned; feminine singular adjective.
- ma
- But; however; conjunction indicating contrast.
- eccitazione
- Excitement; agitation; emotional arousal or stimulation.
- nella
- In the; preposition plus feminine article contraction.
- gli
- To him; to them; indirect object pronoun.
- uomini
- Men; male persons; plural of uomo.
- avevano
- Had; past tense plural of avere.
- tenuto
- Held; kept; past participle of tenere.
- lei
- Her; she; feminine pronoun.
- trovavano
- Found; discovered; past tense of trovare.
- difficile
- Difficult; hard; challenging; adjective.
- dimenticare
- To forget; to cease remembering.
- sussurrato
- Whispered; murmured softly; past participle.
- Ascolta
- Listen; imperative form of ascoltare.
- promessa
- Promise; pledge; commitment to do something.
- fatto
- Done; made; fact; past participle of fare.
- cose
- Things; objects; plural of cosa.
- allegre
- Happy; cheerful; joyful; feminine plural adjective.
- eccitanti
- Exciting; thrilling; stimulating; plural adjective.
- poco
- Little; small amount; adjective or adverb.
- tempo
- Time; weather; period; duration of moment.
- prima
- Before; first; previously; adverb.
- ora
- Hour; now; time; moment.
- successiva
- Following; next; subsequent; feminine singular adjective.
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