Wuthering Heights — Page 5
Meanwhile, the young man had slung on to his person a decidedly shabby upper garment, and, erecting himself before the blaze, looked down on me from the corner of his eyes, for all the world as if there were some mortal feud unavenged between us.
Mientras tanto, el joven se había echado sobre su persona una prenda superior decididamente raída y, erguido ante el fuego, me miraba desde el rabillo del ojo, exactamente como si hubiera alguna enemistad mortal sin vengar entre nosotros.
I began to doubt whether he were a servant or not: his dress and speech were both rude, entirely devoid of the superiority observable in Mr. and Mrs. Heathcliff; his thick brown curls were rough and uncultivated, his whiskers encroached bearishly over his cheeks, and his hands were embrowned like those of a common labourer: still his bearing was free, almost haughty, and he showed none of a domestic's assiduity in attending on the lady of the house.
Comencé a dudar de si era un sirviente o no: su vestimenta y su habla eran ambas rudas, completamente desprovistas de la superioridad observable en el señor y la señora Heathcliff; sus espesos rizos castaños eran ásperos y descuidados, sus patillas invadían toscamente sus mejillas, y sus manos estaban curtidas como las de un simple obrero: sin embargo, su porte era libre, casi altivo, y no mostraba ninguna de la asiduidad de un doméstico al atender a la señora de la casa.
In the absence of clear proofs of his condition, I deemed it best to abstain from noticing his curious conduct; and, five minutes afterwards, the entrance of Heathcliff relieved me, in some measure, from my uncomfortable state.
Ante la ausencia de pruebas claras sobre su condición, consideré que lo mejor era abstenerme de señalar su curiosa conducta; y, cinco minutos después, la entrada de Heathcliff me alivió, en cierta medida, de mi incómoda situación.
"You see, sir, I am come, according to promise!" I exclaimed, assuming the cheerful; "and I fear I shall be weather-bound for half an hour, if you can afford me shelter during that space."
«Ya ve usted, señor, que he venido según lo prometido», exclamé, adoptando un aire jovial; «y me temo que quedaré retenido por el mal tiempo durante media hora, si puede usted concederme cobijo durante ese tiempo».
"Half an hour?" he said, shaking the white flakes from his clothes; "I wonder you should select the thick of a snow-storm to ramble about in.
«¿Media hora?», dijo, sacudiendo los blancos copos de su ropa; «Me sorprende que eligiera usted lo más recio de una tormenta de nieve para salir a pasear.
Do you know that you run a risk of being lost in the marshes?
¿Sabe usted que corre el riesgo de perderse en los pantanos?
Vocabulary
- Mientras
- While; during the time that something else occurs
- tanto
- So much; meanwhile; in the meantime
- joven
- Young person; youth; adjective meaning young
- había
- Past perfect auxiliary 'had'; third person singular
- echado
- Thrown or put on; past participle of echar
- sobre
- Over; on top of; about; above something
- persona
- Person; individual human being
- prenda
- Garment; article of clothing worn on body
- superior
- Upper; higher in position or quality
- decididamente
- Decidedly; in a clearly determined or definite manner
- raída
- Worn out; threadbare; shabby from heavy use
- erguido
- Standing upright; straight; holding oneself erect
- ante
- Before; in front of; faced with something
- fuego
- Fire; flames; source of heat and light
- miraba
- Was looking at; watched; imperfect tense of mirar
- desde
- From; since; indicating origin or starting point
- rabillo
- Corner of the eye; little tail or stem
- ojo
- Eye; organ of vision in humans and animals
- exactamente
- Exactly; precisely; in an exact manner
- hubiera
- Past subjunctive of haber; there had been
- alguna
- Some; any; feminine form of algún
- enemistad
- Enmity; hostility; state of being enemies
- mortal
- Deadly; fatal; of or relating to death
- sin
- Without; lacking; preposition indicating absence
- vengar
- To avenge; to take revenge for a wrong
- entre
- Between; among; in the midst of things
- Comencé
- I began; first person preterite of comenzar
- dudar
- To doubt; to be uncertain about something
- sirviente
- Servant; domestic worker employed in a household
- vestimenta
- Clothing; garments; the way a person dresses
- habla
- Speech; way of speaking; manner of talking
- ambas
- Both; referring to two feminine things together
- rudas
- Rough; crude; unrefined in manner or appearance
- completamente
- Completely; entirely; in a total or full manner
- desprovistas
- Lacking; devoid of; without a particular quality
- superioridad
- Superiority; quality of being above or better
- observable
- Observable; noticeable; able to be clearly seen
- señor
- Mister; sir; adult male; term of address
- señora
- Mrs.; ma'am; adult female; term of address
- espesos
- Thick; dense; describing hair or material
- rizos
- Curls; ringlets; coiled locks of hair
- castaños
- Chestnut brown; a medium brown hair color
- ásperos
- Rough; coarse; harsh to the touch or manner
- descuidados
- Neglected; unkempt; not properly cared for
- patillas
- Sideburns; facial hair growing along the cheeks
- invadían
- Invaded; encroached upon; imperfect tense of invadir
- toscamente
- Roughly; coarsely; in a crude or unrefined manner
- mejillas
- Cheeks; the fleshy sides of the face
- manos
- Hands; the body part at the end of arms
- curtidas
- Tanned; hardened; roughened by outdoor work exposure
- simple
- Simple; plain; ordinary; without complexity or adornment
- obrero
- Worker; laborer; blue-collar working class person
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo' meaning however; nevertheless
- porte
- Bearing; posture; manner of carrying oneself
- libre
- Free; unrestrained; independent in manner or movement
- casi
- Almost; nearly; not quite fully or completely
- altivo
- Haughty; proud; arrogant in bearing or attitude
- mostraba
- Showed; displayed; imperfect tense of mostrar
- ninguna
- None; no; not any; feminine negative adjective
- asiduidad
- Assiduousness; diligence; devoted and attentive service
- doméstico
- Domestic; relating to the home or household service
- atender
- To attend to; to serve; to take care of
- casa
- House; home; place where someone lives
- Ante
- Before; faced with; in the presence of
- ausencia
- Absence; lack; state of being missing or away
- pruebas
- Evidence; proofs; tests demonstrating a fact
- claras
- Clear; obvious; easily understood or visible
- condición
- Condition; status; social standing or circumstance
- consideré
- I considered; first person preterite of considerar
- mejor
- Better; best; superior in quality or outcome
- abstenerme
- To refrain; to abstain from doing something
- señalar
- To point out; to indicate; to draw attention to
- curiosa
- Curious; strange; unusual in an interesting way
- conducta
- Conduct; behavior; the way a person acts
- minutos
- Minutes; units of time equal to sixty seconds
- después
- After; afterwards; later in time or order
- entrada
- Entrance; entry; arrival into a place
- alivió
- Relieved; eased; reduced discomfort or tension
- cierta
- Certain; some degree of; a particular amount
- medida
- Measure; degree; extent to which something occurs
- incómoda
- Uncomfortable; awkward; causing unease or discomfort
- situación
- Situation; circumstance; set of conditions one faces
- Ya
- Already; now; used for emphasis or acknowledgment
- ve
- Sees; you see; present tense of ver
- usted
- You; formal second person singular pronoun
- venido
- Come; past participle of venir; arrived here
- según
- According to; as; depending on circumstances
- prometido
- Promised; past participle of prometer; committed to
- exclamé
- I exclaimed; preterite of exclamar; said loudly
- adoptando
- Adopting; taking on; assuming a manner or attitude
- aire
- Air; manner; attitude; appearance one puts on
- jovial
- Jovial; cheerful; good-humored in a lively way
- temo
- I fear; I'm afraid; present tense of temer
- quedaré
- I will remain; future tense of quedarse
- retenido
- Detained; held back; kept from leaving a place
- por
- By; for; because of; through; due to
- mal
- Bad; evil; poor; ill; unfavorable condition
- tiempo
- Time; weather; a period or atmospheric condition
- durante
- During; throughout; for the duration of a period
- media
- Half; medium; stocking; feminine form of medio
- hora
- Hour; a unit of time equal to sixty minutes
- puede
- Can; is able to; third person present of poder
- concederme
- To grant me; to give me; to allow me
- cobijo
- Shelter; refuge; protection from weather or danger
- ese
- That; demonstrative adjective pointing to nearby thing
- Media
- Half; referring to half an hour here
- dijo
- Said; he or she said; preterite of decir
- sacudiendo
- Shaking off; brushing away; present participle of sacudir
- blancos
- White; pale; describing color of snow flakes
- copos
- Flakes; snowflakes; light pieces falling from above
- ropa
- Clothing; clothes; garments worn by a person
- sorprende
- Surprises; astonishes; present tense of sorprender
- eligiera
- Chose; past subjunctive of elegir; selected
- más
- More; most; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- recio
- Strong; harsh; severe; intense in force or nature
- tormenta
- Storm; tempest; severe weather with wind and precipitation
- nieve
- Snow; frozen precipitation falling from the sky
- para
- For; in order to; indicating purpose or destination
- salir
- To go out; to leave; to exit a place
- pasear
- To stroll; to walk leisurely for pleasure
- Sabe
- Knows; you know; third person present of saber
- corre
- Runs; there is; implies the existence of risk
- riesgo
- Risk; danger; chance of something bad happening
- perderse
- To get lost; to lose oneself in unfamiliar terrain
- pantanos
- Swamps; marshes; boggy areas of soft wet ground
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