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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Progressive Translation Books for Italian A1 Learners

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Progressive Translation Books for Italian A1 Learners

Unlock the potential of this modern translation approach, designed to enhance your language learning experience. By allowing you to choose your difficulty level, it guarantees a personalized challenge that's suited to your progress. This method promotes comprehension by encouraging you to infer the meaning of new words from context, rather than relying heavily on direct translations. Though some translations are obscured to stimulate guessing, it's perfectly fine to consult a dictionary when needed. This technique combines challenge and support, making language learning fun and effective. Explore these translated classics to enjoy literature while advancing your language skills.

I.ASCANDALINBOHEMIA
I.
ToSherlockHolmessheis
sempre
alwaysthewoman.
Ihaveseldom
sentito
heardhimmentionherunderany
altro
othername.
Inhiseyessheeclipses
e
andpredominatesthewholeofher
sesso
sex.
Itwasnotthathe
sentisse
feltanyemotionakintoloveforIreneAdler.
Tutte
Allemotions,andthatoneparticularly,wereabhorrenttohiscold,precise
ma
butadmirablybalancedmind.
Hewas,Itakeit,the
più
mostperfectreasoningandobservingmachine
che
thattheworldhasseen,
ma
butasaloverhewould
abbia
haveplacedhimselfinafalseposition.
Henever
parlava
spokeofthesofterpassions,savewith
una
agibeandasneer.
Theywereadmirablethingsfor
il
theobserver—excellentfordrawingtheveilfrommen’smotives
e
andactions.
Butforthetrainedreasonertoadmitsuchintrusionsintohisowndelicate
e
andfinelyadjustedtemperamentwastointroduce
un
adistractingfactorwhichmightthrow
un
adoubtuponallhismentalresults.
Gritinasensitiveinstrument,
o
oracrackinoneofhisownhigh-powerlenses,
sarebbero
wouldnotbemoredisturbingthanastrongemotioninanaturesuchashis.
E
Andyettherewasbut
una
onewomantohim,andthat
donna
womanwasthelateIreneAdler,ofdubious
e
andquestionablememory.
Ihad
visto
seenlittleofHolmeslately.
Mymarriage
aveva
haddriftedusawayfromeachother.
My
proprio
owncompletehappiness,andthehome-centredinterestswhichriseup
attorno
aroundthemanwhofirstfindshimself
padrone
masterofhisownestablishment,weresufficienttoabsorballmyattention,
mentre
whileHolmes,wholoathedeveryformofsocietywithhiswholeBohemiansoul,remainedinourlodgingsinBakerStreet,buriedamonghisoldbooks,
e
andalternatingfromweekto
settimana
weekbetweencocaineandambition,thedrowsinessofthedrug,
e
andthefierceenergyofhis
proprio
ownkeennature.
Hewas
ancora
still,asever,deeplyattractedby
le
thestudyofcrime,andoccupiedhisimmensefaculties
e
andextraordinarypowersofobservationin
seguire
followingoutthoseclues,andclearingupthosemysteries
che
whichhadbeenabandonedashopelessby
le
theofficialpolice.
FromtimetotimeI
sentivo
heardsomevagueaccountofhisdoings:
ofhissummonstoOdessain
la
thecaseoftheTrepoffmurder,ofhisclearingupof
la
thesingulartragedyoftheAtkinsonbrothersatTrincomalee,
e
andfinallyofthemission
che
whichhehadaccomplishedsodelicately
e
andsuccessfullyforthereigning
famiglia
familyofHolland.
Beyondthesesignsofhisactivity,however,
che
whichImerelysharedwith
tutti
allthereadersofthedailypress,I
sapevo
knewlittleofmyformer
amico
friendandcompanion.
Onenight—itwasonthetwentiethofMarch,1888—Iwasreturningfromajourneytoapatient(forIhad
ora
nowreturnedtocivilpractice),
quando
whenmywayledme
attraverso
throughBakerStreet.
AsIpassedthewell-remembered
porta
door,whichmustalwaysbeassociatedinmy
mente
mindwithmywooing,andwiththedarkincidentsoftheStudyinScarlet,Iwasseizedwith
un
akeendesiretoseeHolmes
di nuovo
again,andtoknowhowhewasemployinghisextraordinarypowers.
Hisroomswerebrilliantly
illuminate
lit,and,evenasIlookedup,I
visto
sawhistall,sparefigurepasstwicein
una
adarksilhouetteagainsttheblind.
Hewaspacingtheroomswiftly,eagerly,
di
withhisheadsunkuponhischest
e
andhishandsclaspedbehindhim.
To
me
me,whoknewhiseverymood
e
andhabit,hisattitudeandmanner
raccontavano
toldtheirownstory.
Hewasat
lavoro
workagain.
Hehadrisenoutofhisdrug-createddreamsandwas
caldo
hotuponthescentofsome
nuovo
newproblem.
Irangthebellandwasshownupto
la
thechamberwhichhadformerlybeenin
parte
partmyown.
Hismannerwasnoteffusive.
Itseldomwas;
ma
buthewasglad,Ithink,toseeme.
Withhardlya
parola
wordspoken,butwithakindlyeye,hewavedmetoanarmchair,threwacrosshis
caso
caseofcigars,andindicatedaspirit
caso
caseandagasogenein
la
thecorner.
Thenhestoodbeforethe
fuoco
fireandlookedmeoverinhissingularintrospectivefashion.
“Wedlocksuitsyou,”heremarked.
“Ithink,Watson,
che
thatyouhaveputonseven
e
andahalfpoundssinceIsawyou.”
“Seven!”
I
risposto
answered.
“Indeed,Ishouldhavethought
un
alittlemore.
Justatriflemore,Ifancy,Watson.
E
Andinpracticeagain,Iobserve.
Youdidnot
detto
tellmethatyouintendedtogointoharness.”
“Then,
come
howdoyouknow?”
“I
visto
seeit,Ideduceit.
Come
HowdoIknowthatyou
hai
havebeengettingyourselfverywetlately,
e
andthatyouhaveamostclumsy
e
andcarelessservantgirl?”
“My
caro
dearHolmes,”saidI,“thisistoomuch.
Youwouldcertainly
avessi
havebeenburned,hadyou
vissuto
livedafewcenturiesago.
Itis
vero
truethatIhada
campagna
countrywalkonThursdayandcame
casa
homeinadreadfulmess,
ma
butasIhavechangedmyclothesIcan’timaginehowyoudeduceit.
AstoMaryJane,sheisincorrigible,
e
andmywifehasgivenhernotice,
ma
butthere,again,Ifailto
vedere
seehowyouworkitout.”
Hechuckledtohimself
e
andrubbedhislong,nervoushands
insieme
together.
“Itissimplicityitself,”
disse
saidhe;
“myeyestellme
che
thatontheinsideofyourleftshoe,
proprio
justwherethefirelightstrikesit,theleatherisscoredby
sei
sixalmostparallelcuts.
Obviouslythey
ha
havebeencausedbysomeone
che
whohasverycarelesslyscrapedroundtheedgesofthesoleinordertoremovecrustedmudfromit.
Hence,you
vedi
see,mydoubledeductionthatyou
avessi
hadbeenoutinvileweather,
e
andthatyouhadaparticularlymalignantboot-slittingspecimenof
la
theLondonslavey.
Astoyourpractice,
se
ifagentlemanwalksintomyroomssmellingofiodoform,witha
nero
blackmarkofnitrateofsilveruponhis
destro
rightforefinger,andabulgeonthe
destro
rightsideofhistop-hatto
mostrare
showwherehehassecretedhisstethoscope,I
devo
mustbedull,indeed,ifIdonotpronouncehimtobeanactivememberofthemedicalprofession.”
Icouldnothelplaughingat
il
theeasewithwhichheexplainedhisprocessofdeduction.
“WhenI
sento
hearyougiveyourreasons,”Iremarked,“the
cosa
thingalwaysappearstometobesoridiculouslysimple
che
thatIcouldeasilydoitmyself,
anche se
thoughateachsuccessiveinstanceofyourreasoningIambaffleduntilyouexplainyourprocess.
AndyetI
credo
believethatmyeyesareasgoodasyours.”
“Quiteso,”he
rispose
answered,lightingacigarette,andthrowinghimself
giù
downintoanarmchair.
“You
vedi
see,butyoudonotobserve.
La
Thedistinctionisclear.
Forexample,you
avete
havefrequentlyseenthesteps
che
whichleadupfromthehallto
questa
thisroom.”
“Frequently.”
“Howoften?”
“Well,somehundredsoftimes.”
“Thenhowmanyarethere?”
“Howmany?
Idon’tknow.”
“Quiteso!
Youhavenotobserved.
Andyetyouhave
visto
seen.
Thatisjustmy
punto
point.
Now,Iknowthat
ci
thereareseventeensteps,becauseI
ho
havebothseenandobserved.
Bytheway,sinceyouareinterestedintheselittleproblems,
e
andsinceyouaregood
abbastanza
enoughtochronicleoneor
due
twoofmytriflingexperiences,youmaybeinterestedinthis.”
Hethrew
su
overasheetofthick,pink-tintednotepaper
che
whichhadbeenlyingopenuponthetable.
“Itcamebythelastpost,”
detto
saidhe.
“Readitaloud.”
Il
Thenotewasundated,and
senza
withouteithersignatureoraddress.
“Therewill
chiamerà
calluponyouto-night,ataquartertoeighto’clock,”it
disse
said,“agentlemanwhodesirestoconsultyouupona
questione
matteroftheverydeepest
momento
moment.
Yourrecentservicestooneof
i
theroyalhousesofEurope
hanno
haveshownthatyouareonewhomaysafelybe
fidare
trustedwithmatterswhichareofanimportancewhichcanhardlybeexaggerated.
Questo
Thisaccountofyouwehavefrom
tutte
allquartersreceived.
Beinyourchamberthenatthathour,
e
anddonottakeitamiss
se
ifyourvisitorwearamask.”
“Thisisindeed
un
amystery,”Iremarked.
“Whatdoyouimagine
che
thatitmeans?”
“Ihave
non
nodatayet.
Itisacapitalmistaketotheorisebeforeone
avere
hasdata.
Insensiblyonebeginstotwistfactstosuittheories,insteadoftheoriestosuitfacts.
Ma
Butthenoteitself.
Whatdoyoudeducefromit?”
Icarefullyexaminedthe
scritto
writing,andthepaperupon
cui
whichitwaswritten.
“Theman
che
whowroteitwaspresumablywelltodo,”Iremarked,endeavouringtoimitatemycompanion’sprocesses.
“Suchpapercouldnotbeboughtunderhalfacrownapacket.
Itispeculiarlystrong
e
andstiff.”
“Peculiar—thatistheveryword,”
disse
saidHolmes.
“Itisnot
un
anEnglishpaperatall.
Holdituptothelight.”
I
fatto
didso,andsawalarge“E”with
una
asmall“g,”a“P,”
e
andalarge“G”with
una
asmall“t”wovenintothetextureofthepaper.
“Whatdoyoumakeofthat?”
chiesto
askedHolmes.
“Thenameof
il
themaker,nodoubt;
orhismonogram,rather.”
“Notatall.
The‘G’withthesmall‘t’
sta
standsfor‘Gesellschaft,’whichistheGermanfor‘Company.’Itisacustomarycontraction
come
likeour‘Co.’‘P,’ofcourse,
sta
standsfor‘Papier.’Nowforthe‘Eg.’LetusglanceatourContinentalGazetteer.”
Hetook
giù
downaheavybrownvolumefromhisshelves.
“Eglow,Eglonitz—hereweare,Egria.
Itisin
un
aGerman-speakingcountry—inBohemia,not
lontano
farfromCarlsbad.
‘Remarkableasbeingthesceneofthe
morte
deathofWallenstein,andforitsnumerousglass-factories
e
andpaper-mills.’Ha,ha,my
ragazzo
boy,whatdoyoumakeofthat?”
Hiseyessparkled,
e
andhesentupa
grande
greatbluetriumphantcloudfromhiscigarette.
“Thepaperwas
fatto
madeinBohemia,”Isaid.
“Precisely.
E
Andthemanwhowrote
il
thenoteisaGerman.
Doyounotethepeculiarconstructionofthesentence—‘Thisaccountofyouwe
avrebbero
havefromallquartersreceived.’
Un
AFrenchmanorRussiancouldnot
avrebbero
havewrittenthat.
ItistheGerman
che
whoissouncourteoustohisverbs.
It
solo
onlyremains,therefore,todiscoverwhatiswantedby
questo
thisGermanwhowritesuponBohemianpaper
e
andpreferswearingamaskto
mostrare
showinghisface.
Andherehecomes,
se
ifIamnotmistaken,toresolve
tutti
allourdoubts.”
Ashe
parlava
spoketherewasthesharp
suono
soundofhorses’hoofsandgratingwheels
contro
againstthecurb,followedby
un
asharppullatthebell.
Holmeswhistled.
“Apair,bythesound,”
disse
saidhe.
“Yes,”hecontinued,glancing
fuori
outofthewindow.
“Anice
piccolo
littlebroughamandapairofbeauties.
Ahundredandfiftyguineasapiece.
There’s
soldi
moneyinthiscase,Watson,
se
ifthereisnothingelse.”
“Ithink
che
thatIhadbettergo,Holmes.”
“Notabit,
Dottore
Doctor.
Staywhereyouare.
Iamlost
senza
withoutmyBoswell.
Andthis
promette
promisestobeinteresting.
It
sarebbe
wouldbeapitytomissit.”
“Butyourclient—”.
“Nevermind
lui
him.
Imaywantyour
aiuto
help,andsomayhe.
Herehecomes.
Sieda
Sitdowninthatarmchair,
Dottore
Doctor,andgiveusyour
migliore
bestattention.”
Aslowandheavystep,
che
whichhadbeenhearduponthestairs
e
andinthepassage,pausedimmediately
fuori
outsidethedoor.
Thentherewas
un
aloudandauthoritativetap.
“Comein!”
detto
saidHolmes.
Amanenteredwhocouldhardlyhavebeenlessthan
sei
sixfeetsixinchesinheight,with
il
thechestandlimbsof
un
aHercules.
Hisdresswasrichwith
una
arichnesswhichwould,inEngland,belookeduponasakinto
cattivo
badtaste.
Heavybandsofastrakhanwereslashedacross
il
thesleevesandfrontsofhisdouble-breastedcoat,
mentre
whilethedeepbluecloak
che
whichwasthrownoverhisshoulderswaslinedwithflame-colouredsilk
e
andsecuredattheneckwithabrooch
che
whichconsistedofasingleflamingberyl.
Boots
che
whichextendedhalfwayuphiscalves,
e
andwhichweretrimmedat
il
thetopswithrichbrownfur,completed
il
theimpressionofbarbaricopulence
che
whichwassuggestedbyhiswholeappearance.
Hecarriedabroad-brimmedhatinhis
mano
hand,whileheworeacrosstheupper
parte
partofhisface,extendingdownpastthecheekbones,a
nero
blackvizardmask,whichhe
aveva
hadapparentlyadjustedthatvery
momento
moment,forhishandwas
ancora
stillraisedtoitasheentered.
Fromthelower
parte
partofthefaceheappearedtobe
un
amanofstrongcharacter,with
un
athick,hanginglip,and
un
along,straightchinsuggestiveofresolutionpushedtothelengthofobstinacy.
“You
avevi
hadmynote?”
heaskedwithadeepharshvoice
e
andastronglymarkedGermanaccent.
“I
detto
toldyouthatIwouldcall.”
He
guardato
lookedfromonetotheotherofus,as
se
ifuncertainwhichtoaddress.
“Praytakeaseat,”
disse
saidHolmes.
“Thisismy
amico
friendandcolleague,Dr.Watson,
che
whoisoccasionallygoodenoughtohelpmeinmycases.
Whom
ho
haveIthehonourtoaddress?”
“YoumayaddressmeastheCountVonKramm,
un
aBohemiannobleman.
Iunderstand
che
thatthisgentleman,yourfriend,isa
uomo
manofhonouranddiscretion,whomImaytrustwitha
questione
matterofthemostextremeimportance.
Ifnot,Ishouldmuchprefertocommunicatewithyoualone.”
Iroseto
andare
go,butHolmescaughtmeby
il
thewristandpushedmebackintomychair.
“Itis
entrambe
both,ornone,”saidhe.
“Youmay
dire
saybeforethisgentlemananything
che
whichyoumaysaytome.”
TheCountshruggedhisbroadshoulders.
“ThenI
devo
mustbegin,”saidhe,“bybindingyou
entrambi
bothtoabsolutesecrecyfor
due
twoyears;
attheendofthattime
la
thematterwillbeof
non
noimportance.
Atpresentitisnottoomuchto
dire
saythatitisof
tale
suchweightitmayhave
un
aninfluenceuponEuropeanhistory.”
“Ipromise,”
disse
saidHolmes.
“AndI.”
“Youwillexcuse
questa
thismask,”continuedourstrangevisitor.
“Theaugustpersonwhoemploysme
desidera
wisheshisagenttobeunknowntoyou,
e
andImayconfessatoncethat
il
thetitlebywhichIhave
appena
justcalledmyselfisnot
esattamente
exactlymyown.”
“Iwasawareofit,”
disse
saidHolmesdryly.
“Thecircumstancesareof
grande
greatdelicacy,andeveryprecautionhastobetakentoquenchwhat
potrebbe
mightgrowtobeanimmensescandal
e
andseriouslycompromiseoneof
le
thereigningfamiliesofEurope.
To
parlare
speakplainly,thematterimplicates
la
thegreatHouseofOrmstein,hereditarykingsofBohemia.”
“Iwasalsoawareofthat,”murmuredHolmes,settlinghimselfdowninhisarmchair
e
andclosinghiseyes.
Ourvisitorglancedwithsomeapparentsurpriseatthelanguid,loungingfigureoftheman
che
whohadbeennodoubtdepictedtohimasthe
più
mostincisivereasonerandmostenergeticagentinEurope.
Holmesslowlyreopenedhiseyes
e
andlookedimpatientlyathisgiganticclient.
“IfyourMajesty
vuole
wouldcondescendtostateyourcase,”heremarked,“Ishouldbe
meglio
betterabletoadviseyou.”
La
Themansprangfromhischair
e
andpacedupanddown
la
theroominuncontrollableagitation.
Then,with
un
agestureofdesperation,hetorethemaskfromhis
viso
faceandhurleditupontheground.
“Youareright,”hecried;
“Iam
il
theKing.
WhyshouldIattempttoconcealit?”
“Why,indeed?”
murmuredHolmes.
“YourMajesty
aveva
hadnotspokenbeforeIwasaware
che
thatIwasaddressingWilhelmGottsreichSigismondvonOrmstein,GrandDukeofCassel-Felstein,
e
andhereditaryKingofBohemia.”
“Butyoucanunderstand,”
disse
saidourstrangevisitor,sittingdown
volta
oncemoreandpassinghis
mano
handoverhishighwhiteforehead,“youcan
capire
understandthatIamnotaccustomedto
fare
doingsuchbusinessinmyownperson.
Yetthe
questione
matterwassodelicatethatIcouldnotconfideitto
un
anagentwithoutputtingmyselfinhispower.
Ihave
venuto
comeincognitofromPragueforthepurposeofconsultingyou.”
“Then,prayconsult,”
detto
saidHolmes,shuttinghiseyes
volta
oncemore.
“Thefactsarebrieflythese:
Some
cinque
fiveyearsago,duringalengthyvisittoWarsaw,I
fa
madetheacquaintanceofthewell-knownadventuress,IreneAdler.
Il
Thenameisnodoubtfamiliartoyou.”
“Kindly
cerchi
lookherupinmyindex,Doctor,”murmuredHolmes
senza
withoutopeninghiseyes.
For
molti
manyyearshehadadoptedasystemofdocketing
tutti
allparagraphsconcerningmenandthings,sothatitwasdifficulttonameasubject
o
orapersononwhichhecouldnotatoncefurnishinformation.
In
questo
thiscaseIfoundherbiographysandwichedin
tra
betweenthatofaHebrewrabbi
e
andthatofastaff-commanderwhohad
scritto
writtenamonographuponthedeep-seafishes.
“Letmesee!”
detto
saidHolmes.
“Hum!
BorninNewJerseyintheyear1858.
Contralto—hum!
LaScala,hum!
PrimadonnaImperialOperaofWarsaw—yes!
Retiredfromoperaticstage—ha!
Vivere
LivinginLondon—quiteso!
YourMajesty,asI
capito
understand,becameentangledwiththis
giovane
youngperson,wrotehersomecompromisingletters,
e
andisnowdesirousofgettingthoselettersback.”
“Preciselyso.
Ma
Buthow—”.