The Souls of Black Folk — Page 4

English → Spanish Full Text Level 8/10

they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town;

dicen: conozco a un excelente hombre de color en mi ciudad;

or, I fought at Mechanicsville; or, Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil?

o bien: luché en Mechanicsville; o bien: ¿acaso no hacen hervir tu sangre estos ultrajes del Sur?

At these I smile, or am interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require.

Ante estas palabras sonrío, o muestro interés, o reduzco el hervor a un suave borboteo, según lo requiera la ocasión.

To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem?

A la verdadera pregunta: ¿cómo se siente uno al ser un problema?

I answer seldom a word.

raramente respondo una sola palabra.

And yet, being a problem is a strange experience,—peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe.

Y sin embargo, ser un problema es una experiencia extraña, peculiar incluso para quien nunca ha sido otra cosa, salvo quizás en la primera infancia y en Europa.

It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation first bursts upon one, all in a day, as it were.

Es en los primeros días de la bulliciosa infancia cuando la revelación irrumpe por primera vez, de golpe, por así decirlo, en un solo día.

I remember well when the shadow swept across me.

Recuerdo bien el momento en que la sombra se extendió sobre mí.

I was a little thing, away up in the hills of New England, where the dark Housatonic winds between Hoosac and Taghkanic to the sea.

Era apenas un niño, allá arriba en las colinas de Nueva Inglaterra, donde el oscuro Housatonic serpentea entre Hoosac y Taghkanic hasta el mar.

In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys' and girls' heads to buy gorgeous visiting-cards—ten cents a package—and exchange.

En una pequeña escuela de madera, a los niños y las niñas se les ocurrió comprar hermosas tarjetas de visita —diez centavos el paquete— e intercambiarlas.

The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card,—refused it peremptorily, with a glance.

El intercambio fue alegre, hasta que una niña, una recién llegada de alta estatura, rechazó mi tarjeta, la rechazó de manera perentoria, con una sola mirada.

Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.

Entonces comprendí de repente que era diferente de los demás; o semejante, quizás, en corazón, en vida y en anhelos, pero excluido de su mundo por un inmenso velo.

Vocabulary

dicen: They say; people say.
conozco: I know; I am acquainted with.
un: A; an; one (masculine indefinite article).
excelente: Excellent; outstanding; of superior quality.
hombre: Man; male human being.
de: Of; from; made of; belonging to.
color: Color; hue; shade of pigmentation.
en: In; on; at; inside a location.
mi: My; possessive adjective (first person singular).
ciudad: City; urban municipality or large town.
bien: Well; good; properly; correctly.
luché: I fought; I struggled; I battled.
acaso: Perhaps; maybe; by chance; perchance.
no: No; not; negation particle.
hacen: They make; they do; they create.
hervir: To boil; to bubble; to seethe.
tu: Your; possessive adjective (second person singular).
sangre: Blood; kinship; family lineage.
estos: These; this one here (masculine plural).
ultrajes: Outrages; insults; grave offenses or wrongs.
del: Of the; from the (contraction).
Sur: South; southern direction or region.
Ante: Before; in front of; facing.
estas: These; this one here (feminine plural).
palabras: Words; spoken or written expressions.
sonrío: I smile; I grin slightly.
muestro: I show; I display; I demonstrate.
interés: Interest; curiosity; concern; financial gain.
reduzco: I reduce; I lower; I decrease.
el: The; definite article (masculine singular).
hervor: Boiling; ebullition; bubbling heat or passion.
suave: Soft; smooth; gentle; subtle or mild.
según: According to; as per; depending on.
lo: It; the; him (masculine definite article).
requiera: It requires; it demands; it needs.
la: The; her; it (feminine definite article).
ocasión: Occasion; opportunity; circumstance; event.
verdadera: True; genuine; real; authentic (feminine).
pregunta: Question; inquiry; interrogation.
cómo: How; in what way; what manner.
se: Oneself; himself; herself; itself; themselves.
siente: Feels; one feels; senses emotionally.
uno: One; a person; someone; you.
al: To the; at the; at (contraction).
ser: To be; to exist; essence.
problema: Problem; difficulty; issue; challenge.
raramente: Rarely; seldom; infrequently; uncommonly.
respondo: I respond; I answer; I reply.
una: A; an; one (feminine indefinite article).
sola: Alone; sole; single; only (feminine).
palabra: Word; spoken or written expression.
sin: Without; lacking; deprived of.
embargo: However; nevertheless; seizure of goods.
es: Is; to be (third person singular).
experiencia: Experience; practical knowledge; lived event.
extraña: Strange; odd; unusual; foreign (feminine).
peculiar: Peculiar; unique; distinctive; characteristic.
incluso: Even; including; moreover; furthermore.
para: For; in order to; towards.
quien: Who; whom; that which person.
nunca: Never; not ever; at no time.
ha: Has; have (auxiliary verb third person).
sido: Been; past participle of ser.
otra: Other; another; different one (feminine).
cosa: Thing; object; matter; something.
salvo: Except; save; unless; safe.
quizás: Perhaps; maybe; possibly; perchance.
primera: First; initial; primary; foremost (feminine).
infancia: Infancy; childhood; early years of life.
Europa: Europe; continent; proper noun.
Es: Is; to be (third person singular).
los: The; them (masculine plural definite article).
primeros: First; initial; earliest; primary (masculine).
días: Days; daylight periods; twenty-four hour cycles.
bulliciosa: Bustling; noisy; tumultuous (feminine).
cuando: When; at the time that.
revelación: Revelation; disclosure; unveiling of truth.
irrumpe: It breaks in; it bursts forth suddenly.

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