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EnglishCEFR Level · B1Public Domain & Translation Note

A Christmas Carol Bilingual EPUB & Word List

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is famous for its vivid character portraits and atmospheric London scenes. Read Staves 1 and 2 with parallel translation and review six high-value descriptive words.

Original language
English · Charles Dickens
First published
1843
CEFR Level
B1
Public Domain & Translation Note
Full original EPUB on Project Gutenberg

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Download the two-chapter bilingual preview EPUB or the core vocabulary list for Anki right away, or open the LangBox EPUB reader to read and save words across the full book.

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Chapter 1 & 2 Bilingual Preview

Double-click any word in the excerpt to hear its pronunciation and see its dictionary meaning.

Stave I · Marley’s GhostEstrofa I · El fantasma de Marley

Original · English

Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to.

Parallel translation

Para empezar, Marley estaba muerto. No cabe la menor duda al respecto. El registro de su entierro fue firmado por el clérigo, el sacristán, el sepulturero y el doliente principal. Scrooge lo firmó, y el nombre de Scrooge era solvente en la Bolsa para cualquier negocio en que decidiera poner la mano.

Original · English

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.

Parallel translation

¡Oh, pero qué tacaño e implacable era Scrooge! ¡Un viejo pecador exprimidor, retorcedor, agarrado, rascador y codicioso! Duro y afilado como el pedernal, del que ningún acero había arrancado jamás un fuego generoso; reservado, hermético y solitario como una ostra.

Stave II · The First of the Three SpiritsEstrofa II · El primero de los tres espíritus

Original · English

When Scrooge awoke, it was so dark, that looking out of bed, he could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber. He was endeavouring to pierce the darkness with his ferret eyes, when the chimes of a neighbouring church struck the four quarters.

Parallel translation

Cuando Scrooge despertó, estaba tan oscuro que, mirando desde la cama, apenas podía distinguir la ventana transparente de las paredes opacas de su alcoba. Intentaba penetrar la oscuridad con sus ojos de hurón cuando las campanas de una iglesia vecina dieron los cuatro cuartos.

Original · English

So he listened for the hour. To his great astonishment the heavy bell went on from six to seven, and from seven to eight, and regularly up to twelve; then stopped. Twelve! It was past two when he went to bed. The clock was wrong.

Parallel translation

Así que escuchó para saber la hora. Para su gran asombro, la pesada campana siguió de las seis a las siete, de las siete a las ocho, y regularmente hasta las doce; luego se detuvo. ¡Las doce! Pasaban de las dos cuando se había acostado. El reloj tenía que estar mal.

Core Vocabulary from Chapters 1 & 2

Key words and phrases in context from the opening chapters, ready to review or import into Anki.

Word & PronunciationMeaning in ContextSentence in Book
tight-fisted/ˌtaɪt ˈfɪstɪd/adj.unwilling to spend or share money; stingyOh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge!
covetous/ˈkʌvɪtəs/adj.having a strong, greedy desire for wealth or possessionsA squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!
solitary/ˈsɒlɪtəri/adj.living or spending time alone; isolatedSecret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
opaque/əʊˈpeɪk/adj.not letting light pass through; not transparentHe could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber.
endeavour/ɪnˈdevər/v.to try hard or make a determined effort to do somethingHe was endeavouring to pierce the darkness with his ferret eyes.
astonishment/əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/n.great surprise and wonderTo his great astonishment the heavy bell went on from six to seven, and regularly up to twelve.