The Scarlet Letter — Page 6
In my native town of Salem, at the head of what, half a century ago, in the days of old King Derby, was a bustling wharf,—but which is now burdened with decayed wooden warehouses, and exhibits few or no symptoms of commercial life; except, perhaps, a bark or brig, half-way down its melancholy length, discharging hides; or, nearer at hand, a Nova Scotia schooner, pitching out her cargo of firewood,—at the head, I say, of this dilapidated wharf, which the tide often overflows, and along which, at the base and in the rear of the row of buildings, the track of many languid years is seen in a border of unthrifty grass,—here, with a view from its front windows adown this not very enlivening prospect, and thence across the harbor, stands a spacious edifice of brick.
Nella mia città natale di Salem, in cima a quello che, mezzo secolo fa, ai tempi del vecchio re Derby, era un molo animato,—ma che ora è gravato da magazzini di legno in rovina, e mostra pochi o nessun segno di vita commerciale; eccetto, forse, un brigantino o una goletta, a metà della sua malinconica lunghezza, che scarica pelli; o, più vicino, uno schooner della Nuova Scozia, che getta fuori il suo carico di legna da ardere,—in cima, dico, a questo molo cadente, che la marea spesso inonda, e lungo il quale, alla base e sul retro della fila di edifici, il passaggio di molti anni languidi si vede in una striscia di erba misera,—qui, con la vista dalle sue finestre anteriori su questo panorama non molto vivificante, e da lì attraverso il porto, si erge un ampio edificio di mattoni.
From the loftiest point of its roof, during precisely three and a half hours of each forenoon, floats or droops, in breeze or calm, the banner of the republic; but with the thirteen stripes turned vertically, instead of horizontally, and thus indicating that a civil, and not a military post of Uncle Sam's government is here established.
Dal punto più alto del suo tetto, per precisamente tre ore e mezza di ogni mattinata, sventola o pende, nella brezza o nella calma, il vessillo della repubblica; ma con le tredici strisce disposte verticalmente, invece che orizzontalmente, indicando così che un posto civile, e non militare, del governo dello Zio Sam è qui stabilito.
Its front is ornamented with a portico of half a dozen wooden pillars, supporting a balcony, beneath which a flight of wide granite steps descends towards the street.
La sua facciata è ornata da un portico di una mezza dozzina di pilastri di legno, che sorreggono un balcone, sotto il quale una serie di ampi gradini di granito scende verso la strada.
Vocabulary
- mia
- My, first-person singular feminine possessive adjective
- città
- City, town, urban settlement
- natale
- Native, of birth, relating to one's birthplace
- cima
- Top, summit, highest point of something
- quello
- That, demonstrative pronoun or adjective, masculine singular
- mezzo
- Half, middle, halfway through a period
- secolo
- Century, a period of one hundred years
- fa
- Ago, used to indicate past time elapsed
- tempi
- Times, periods, plural of tempo meaning era
- vecchio
- Old, aged, of great age or antiquity
- re
- King, male monarch ruling a kingdom
- era
- Was, third-person singular imperfect of essere
- molo
- Pier, dock, wharf extending into water
- animato
- Lively, animated, full of activity and bustle
- ora
- Now, at the present moment in time
- gravato
- Burdened, weighed down, laden with something heavy
- magazzini
- Warehouses, storage buildings for goods and merchandise
- legno
- Wood, timber, material derived from trees
- rovina
- Ruin, decay, state of collapse or deterioration
- mostra
- Shows, displays, third-person singular of mostrare
- pochi
- Few, not many, a small number of
- nessun
- No, none, not any, negative adjective masculine
- segno
- Sign, indication, mark, evidence of something
- vita
- Life, living activity, vitality and existence
- commerciale
- Commercial, relating to trade and business activity
- eccetto
- Except, apart from, excluding a particular item
- forse
- Perhaps, maybe, expressing uncertainty or possibility
- brigantino
- Brigantine, a two-masted sailing vessel
- goletta
- Schooner, a small sailing vessel with multiple masts
- metà
- Half, midpoint, one of two equal parts
- malinconica
- Melancholic, sad, expressing or evoking deep sadness
- lunghezza
- Length, the measurement of something from end to end
- scarica
- Unloads, discharges cargo from a vessel or vehicle
- pelli
- Hides, skins, animal pelts used for trade
- più
- More, further along, additionally or beyond
- vicino
- Near, close, nearby in distance or proximity
- Nuova
- New, feminine adjective indicating something newly established
- getta
- Throws, casts, discharges something outward
- fuori
- Out, outside, beyond an enclosed or defined space
- carico
- Cargo, load, goods carried by a vessel
- ardere
- To burn, to combust, used as firewood infinitive
- dico
- I say, I mean, first-person singular of dire
- questo
- This, demonstrative pronoun or adjective masculine singular
- cadente
- Crumbling, falling, decaying, in a state of collapse
- marea
- Tide, periodic rise and fall of sea level
- spesso
- Often, frequently, occurring many times
- inonda
- Floods, inundates, covers with water
- lungo
- Along, beside, or long in spatial measurement
- quale
- Which, that, a relative pronoun or adjective
- base
- Base, bottom, foundation of a structure
- retro
- Back, rear, the posterior part of something
- fila
- Row, line, series of objects arranged in sequence
- edifici
- Buildings, structures, plural of edificio
- passaggio
- Passage, corridor, a narrow path or walkway
- molti
- Many, numerous, a large quantity masculine plural
- anni
- Years, plural of anno, unit of time
- languidi
- Languid, sluggish, lacking energy or vitality
- vede
- One sees, is seen, third-person singular of vedere
- striscia
- Strip, streak, a narrow band or ribbon
- erba
- Grass, herb, low-growing green vegetation
- misera
- Miserable, wretched, poor in quality or condition
- qui
- Here, in this place, at this location
- vista
- View, sight, what is seen from a vantage point
- finestre
- Windows, openings in walls fitted with glass
- anteriori
- Front, forward-facing, located at the front side
- panorama
- Panorama, wide scenic view of a landscape
- molto
- Very, much, a lot, degree adverb
- vivificante
- Invigorating, life-giving, stimulating, cheering the spirit
- lì
- There, in that place, at that location
- attraverso
- Across, through, from one side to another
- porto
- Harbor, port, sheltered area for docking ships
- erge
- Rises, stands tall, third-person singular of ergere
- ampio
- Ample, wide, spacious, large in extent
- edificio
- Building, structure, a constructed architectural work
- mattoni
- Bricks, rectangular blocks used in construction
- punto
- Point, spot, a specific location or position
- alto
- High, tall, elevated above the ground
- tetto
- Roof, the top covering of a building
- precisamente
- Precisely, exactly, with perfect accuracy and correctness
- ore
- Hours, plural of ora meaning unit of time
- mezza
- Half, feminine form of mezzo in time expressions
- ogni
- Every, each, referring to all members of a group
- mattinata
- Morning, the entire span of morning hours
- sventola
- Flutters, waves, flaps in the wind
- pende
- Hangs, droops, suspends from above
- brezza
- Breeze, a light gentle wind
- calma
- Calm, still, tranquil, without agitation or wind
- vessillo
- Banner, flag, standard carried as a symbol
- repubblica
- Republic, a state governed by elected representatives
- tredici
- Thirteen, the cardinal number between twelve and fourteen
- strisce
- Stripes, narrow bands of color on a surface
- disposte
- Arranged, positioned, organized in a particular layout
- verticalmente
- Vertically, in an upright direction perpendicular to ground
- invece
- Instead, rather, on the contrary or in contrast
- orizzontalmente
- Horizontally, in a direction parallel to the ground
- indicando
- Indicating, signaling, showing by means of a sign
- così
- So, thus, in this way or manner
- posto
- Place, position, a specific location or office
- civile
- Civil, civilian, relating to citizens and civil authority
- militare
- Military, relating to armed forces and defense
- governo
- Government, the authority ruling a state or country
- Zio
- Uncle, a parent's brother or family title
- stabilito
- Established, set up, founded in a particular place
- facciata
- Facade, front face of a building
- ornata
- Adorned, decorated, embellished with ornamental features
- portico
- Portico, a covered entrance porch with columns
- dozzina
- Dozen, a group or set of twelve items
- pilastri
- Pillars, columns, upright structural supports of a building
- sorreggono
- Support, hold up, third-person plural of sorreggere
- balcone
- Balcony, a platform projecting from a building wall
- sotto
- Under, below, beneath a surface or structure
- serie
- Series, sequence, a number of things in succession
- ampi
- Wide, broad, spacious, masculine plural of ampio
- gradini
- Steps, stairs, plural of gradino meaning a step
- granito
- Granite, a hard igneous rock used in construction
- scende
- Descends, goes down, third-person singular of scendere
- verso
- Toward, in the direction of, a preposition
- strada
- Street, road, a path for vehicles and pedestrians
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