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viaggio al centro della terra
journey to the center of the earth
CAPITOLO UNO
CHAPTER ONE
MIO ZIO FA UNA GRANDE SCOPERTA
MY UNCLE MAKES A GREAT DISCOVERY
Mio padre era morto.
My father had died.
Vivevo con mio zio in Germania.
I lived with my uncle in Germany.
La casa era in una grande città.
His home was in a large town.
Mio zio era un professore di geologia, filosofia, chimica e mineralogia.
My uncle was a professor of geology, philosophy, chemistry and mineralogy.
Mi aveva invitato a fargli da assistente.
He invited me to study under him.
Un giorno ero in laboratorio.
One day I was in the laboratory.
Mio zio non c’era.
My uncle was not there.
Mi era venuta fame.
I became hungry.
Stavo per chiamare la nostra cuoca francese.
I was going to call for our French cook.
All’improvviso, mio zio entrò dalla porta d’ingresso.
Suddenly my uncle came through the front door.
Si precipitò di sopra.
He rushed upstairs.
Mio zio non è un uomo cattivo.
My uncle is not a bad man.
Ha però un brutto carattere.
However, he is bad tempered.
Non ha molta pazienza.
He is very impatient.
Si aspetta di essere obbedito.
He expects to be obeyed.
Mi chiamò urlando.
He shouted for me.
Corsi su dalle scale.
I climbed the stairs.
Prima che potessi raggiungere la sua camera, urlò di nuovo.
Before I could reach his room he shouted for me again.
Pestava il piede sul pavimento.
He was stamping his foot on the floor.
“Allora, sali?!” gridava.
“Are you coming upstairs?!” he shouted.
Mio zio era un uomo di grande cultura.
My uncle was a very learned man.
Studiava di continuo.
He studied constantly.
Leggeva molti libri.
He read many books.
A volte leggeva tutta la notte.
Sometimes he read all night.
La sua materia preferita era mineralogia.
His favorite subject was mineralogy.
Condividevo la sua passione.
I shared his interest.
Speravo di diventare bravo come lui.
I hoped to become as learned as he was.
Assistevo a tutte le sue lezioni.
I attended all his lectures.
Avevamo raccolto molti esempi di minerali.
We had collected many mineral specimens.
Mio zio conosceva molti grandi scienziati.
My uncle communicated with many great scientists.
Mio zio aveva cinquant’anni.
My uncle was fifty years old.
Era alto e magro.
He was tall and thin.
Aveva grandi occhiali.
He had large spectacles.
Aveva occhi sporgenti.
He had goggle eyes.
Il naso era molto sottile.
His nose was very thin.
Gli piaceva il tabacco.
He liked tobacco.
Viveva in una bella casa.
He lived in a nice house.
La casa era in una bellissima strada.
The house was on a very nice street.
Era nel centro della città.
It was in the center of town.
Era ad Amburgo.
It was in Hamburg.
Era una casa vecchia.
It was an old house.
Era metà di legno e metà di mattoni.
It was half brick and half wood.
Ci cresceva sopra dell’edera rampicante.
Wandering ivy grew on the house.
Davanti alla porta c’era un magnifico vecchio albero.
A magnificent old tree grew over the door.
Mio zio era ricco.
My uncle was rich.
La casa era di sua proprietà.
He owned his house.
Guadagnava molto bene.
He had considerable private income.
Aveva una figlioccia.
He had a god daughter.
Si chiamava Gretchen.
Her name was Gretchen.
Viveva insieme a noi e alla vecchia cuoca.
She lived with us and the old cook.
Amavo la mineralogia.
I loved mineralogy.
Amavo la geologia.
I loved geology.
Amavo i sassi.
I loved pebbles.
Insieme saremmo stati molto felici se mio zio non fosse stato così impaziente.
We would all be very happy together if my uncle was not so impatient.
Mio zio era molto impaziente.
My uncle was very impatient.
Avevamo dei fiori.
We had flowers.
Mio zio si svegliava presto la mattina.
My uncle would get up early in the morning.
Tirava le foglie dei fiori.
He would pull on the flower’s leaves.
Pensava che li facesse crescere più velocemente.
He thought he could make the flowers grow faster.
Lo studio di mio zio era come un museo.
My uncle’s study was like a museum.
Aveva moltissimi minerali.
It had lots of minerals.
Io li conoscevo tutti.
I knew all of the minerals.
Entrai nello studio.
I entered the study.
Mio zio stava leggendo un libro.
My uncle was reading a book.
Era un libro vecchio.
It was an old book.
Il libro era scritto in antico islandese.
The book was written in ancient Icelandic.
Dal libro uscì una pergamena.
A piece of paper fell out of the book.
Sopra la pergamena erano scarabocchiati segni misteriosi.
There were mysterious scribbles on the paper.
La cuoca ci chiamò per la cena.
The cook called us for dinner.
“Stasera non mangio!” urlò mio zio.
“I am not eating dinner!” shouted my uncle.
Avevo fame.
I was hungry.
Scesi in sala da pranzo.
I went to the dining room.
Mi sedetti al tavolo.
I sat down at the table.
Aspettai mio zio per tre minuti.
I waited three minutes for my uncle.
Mangiai il vitello.
I ate veal.
Mangiai la frutta.
I ate fruit.
Bevvi il vino.
I drank wine.
Mio zio non mangiò.
My uncle did not eat.