Wuthering Heights — Page 5
Such an individual seated in his arm-chair, his mug of ale frothing on the round table before him, is to be seen in any circuit of five or six miles among these hills, if you go at the right time after dinner.
Un tale individuo seduto nella sua poltrona, con il boccale di birra che spumeggia sul tavolo rotondo davanti a lui, si può vedere in qualsiasi giro di cinque o sei miglia tra queste colline, se vi andate al momento giusto dopo cena.
But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living.
Ma il signor Heathcliff forma un singolare contrasto con la sua dimora e il suo stile di vita.
He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire: rather slovenly, perhaps, yet not looking amiss with his negligence, because he has an erect and handsome figure; and rather morose.
È uno zingaro dalla pelle scura nell'aspetto, nel vestire e nei modi un gentiluomo: vale a dire, tanto gentiluomo quanto molti proprietari terrieri di campagna: piuttosto trasandato, forse, eppure non stonando con la sua negligenza, poiché ha una figura eretta e avvenente; e piuttosto cupo.
Possibly, some people might suspect him of a degree of under-bred pride; I have a sympathetic chord within that tells me it is nothing of the sort: I know, by instinct, his reserve springs from an aversion to showy displays of feeling—to manifestations of mutual kindliness.
Forse, alcuni potrebbero sospettarlo di un certo orgoglio da villano; ho una corda simpatica dentro di me che mi dice che non è nulla del genere: so, per istinto, che la sua riservatezza nasce da un'avversione per le ostentate manifestazioni di sentimento—per le manifestazioni di reciproca gentilezza.
He'll love and hate equally under cover, and esteem it a species of impertinence to be loved or hated again.
Amerà e odierà ugualmente in segreto, e considererà una sorta di impertinenza essere amato o odiato a sua volta.
No, I'm running on too fast: I bestow my own attributes over-liberally on him.
No, vado troppo in fretta: attribuisco i miei stessi attributi in modo fin troppo generoso a lui.
Mr. Heathcliff may have entirely dissimilar reasons for keeping his hand out of the way when he meets a would-be acquaintance, to those which actuate me.
Il signor Heathcliff può avere ragioni del tutto diverse per tenersi in disparte quando incontra un aspirante conoscente, rispetto a quelle che animano me.
Let me hope my constitution is almost peculiar: my dear mother used to say I should never have a comfortable home; and only last summer I proved myself perfectly unworthy of one.
Spero che il mio carattere sia quasi peculiare: la mia cara madre era solita dire che non avrei mai avuto una casa confortevole; e solo la scorsa estate ho dimostrato di essere del tutto indegno di averla.
Vocabulary
- tale
- Such, of that kind, that sort of
- individuo
- Individual, person, particular human being
- seduto
- Seated, sitting down in a position
- poltrona
- Armchair, comfortable upholstered chair with armrests
- boccale
- Mug, large drinking vessel typically used for beer
- birra
- Beer, alcoholic beverage brewed from malted grain
- spumeggia
- Foams, froths, produces bubbling frothy surface
- tavolo
- Table, flat-surfaced piece of furniture for objects
- rotondo
- Round, circular in shape without corners
- davanti
- In front of, ahead, facing a specific direction
- qualsiasi
- Any, whatever, whichever, any kind whatsoever
- giro
- Turn, tour, round trip, circular route
- miglia
- Miles, plural of miglio, unit of distance
- tra
- Between, among, within, preposition indicating position
- colline
- Hills, plural of collina, gently elevated landforms
- vi
- There, to you, reflexive or locative pronoun
- momento
- Moment, instant, a specific point in time
- giusto
- Right, correct, exact, appropriate for the situation
- dopo
- After, following, later than a given time
- cena
- Dinner, the evening meal of the day
- signor
- Mister, sir, title of address for a man
- forma
- Forms, constitutes; also shape, form as a noun
- singolare
- Singular, remarkable, unusual, out of the ordinary
- contrasto
- Contrast, striking difference between two elements
- dimora
- Dwelling, residence, home, place where one lives
- stile
- Style, manner, distinctive way of doing something
- vita
- Life, existence; also waist as body part
- zingaro
- Gypsy, Romani person, wandering nomadic individual
- pelle
- Skin, hide, outer covering of the body
- scura
- Dark, deep in color, not light or pale
- aspetto
- Appearance, look, aspect, outward visual impression
- vestire
- To dress, to wear clothes; manner of dressing
- modi
- Manners, ways, modes of behavior or conduct
- gentiluomo
- Gentleman, man of good breeding and refined manners
- vale
- Is worth, is valid; used in 'vale a dire' meaning 'that is'
- tanto
- So much, as much, a great deal, plenty
- quanto
- How much, as much as, to what degree
- molti
- Many, a large number of, plural of molto
- proprietari
- Owners, proprietors, those who possess property
- terrieri
- Landowners, relating to land ownership and territory
- campagna
- Countryside, rural area, land outside the city
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite, somewhat, fairly, to a considerable degree
- trasandato
- Slovenly, unkempt, carelessly dressed or maintained
- forse
- Perhaps, maybe, possibly, expressing uncertainty or doubt
- eppure
- Yet, nevertheless, and yet, expressing surprising contrast
- stonando
- Being out of tune, clashing, seeming incongruous or discordant
- negligenza
- Negligence, carelessness, lack of care or attention
- poiché
- Since, because, given that, causal conjunction
- figura
- Figure, build, physical form or appearance of person
- eretta
- Upright, erect, standing straight in posture
- avvenente
- Attractive, good-looking, pleasing in appearance
- cupo
- Gloomy, dark, somber, having a brooding expression
- alcuni
- Some, a few, certain ones among a group
- potrebbero
- Could, might, third person plural conditional of potere
- sospettarlo
- To suspect him or it, to have suspicion about
- certo
- Certain, sure, a certain degree of something
- orgoglio
- Pride, strong sense of self-worth or dignity
- villano
- Peasant, rude person, boor, person of low breeding
- corda
- Rope, cord, string; also a sympathetic chord
- simpatica
- Sympathetic, congenial, likeable, agreeable in nature
- dentro
- Inside, within, in the interior of something
- nulla
- Nothing, not anything, complete absence of something
- genere
- Kind, type, sort, genre, category of things
- istinto
- Instinct, innate impulse or natural intuitive feeling
- riservatezza
- Reserve, discretion, tendency to keep to oneself
- nasce
- Is born, arises, originates, comes into being
- avversione
- Aversion, strong dislike, feeling of opposition toward something
- ostentate
- Ostentatious, showy, done for display to impress others
- manifestazioni
- Manifestations, demonstrations, outward expressions of feeling
- sentimento
- Sentiment, feeling, emotion, inner emotional state
- reciproca
- Reciprocal, mutual, shared between two parties equally
- gentilezza
- Kindness, gentleness, politeness, gracious considerate behavior
- Amerà
- Will love, third person singular future tense of amare
- odierà
- Will hate, third person singular future tense of odiare
- ugualmente
- Equally, in the same way, to the same degree
- segreto
- Secret, secret manner, done privately without disclosure
- considererà
- Will consider, will regard, future tense of considerare
- sorta
- Sort, kind, type, a certain variety of something
- impertinenza
- Impertinence, rudeness, inappropriately forward or intrusive behavior
- amato
- Loved, beloved, past participle of amare (to love)
- odiato
- Hated, despised, past participle of odiare (to hate)
- volta
- Time, occasion, instance; also vault or turn
- troppo
- Too much, excessively, more than is appropriate
- fretta
- Hurry, haste, rushing, acting with too much speed
- attribuisco
- I attribute, I ascribe, first person singular of attribuire
- stessi
- Same, very, myself, emphatic or reflexive adjective
- attributi
- Attributes, qualities, characteristics belonging to something or someone
- modo
- Way, manner, method of doing or approaching something
- fin
- Until, up to, even, as far as (truncated fino)
- generoso
- Generous, liberal, giving freely without restraint
- ragioni
- Reasons, justifications, plural of ragione (reason)
- tutto
- All, everything, completely, entire, without exception
- diverse
- Different, various, diverse, not all the same
- tenersi
- To keep oneself, to hold back, to stay apart
- disparte
- Aside, apart, to one side, away from others
- quando
- When, at the time that, temporal conjunction
- incontra
- Meets, encounters, comes across another person
- aspirante
- Aspiring, hopeful, someone seeking to become acquainted
- conoscente
- Acquaintance, someone known but not a close friend
- rispetto
- Respect, regard; also 'with respect to' as preposition
- animano
- Animate, motivate, drive, inspire with life or purpose
- Spero
- I hope, first person singular present of sperare
- carattere
- Character, personality, nature, defining personal traits
- sia
- Is, may be, subjunctive of essere expressing uncertainty
- quasi
- Almost, nearly, approximately, not quite fully
- peculiare
- Peculiar, distinctive, particular to a specific individual
- cara
- Dear, beloved, precious, term of affection for someone
- madre
- Mother, female parent, matriarch of a family
- solita
- Used to, accustomed to, in the habit of doing
- avrei
- I would have, first person singular conditional of avere
- mai
- Never, ever, at no time, emphatic negation
- casa
- House, home, dwelling place where one lives
- confortevole
- Comfortable, cozy, providing ease and physical comfort
- solo
- Only, alone, sole, just one without others
- scorsa
- Last, past, most recent (as in 'last summer')
- estate
- Summer, the warmest season of the year
- dimostrato
- Demonstrated, proved, shown to be true or valid
- indegno
- Unworthy, undeserving, not meriting something valuable
- averla
- To have it or her, infinitive with clitic pronoun
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