Henry Cavill, que interpreta al brujo titular en la serie de Netflix, lee en inglés un fragmento del libro Last Wish, de Andrzej Sapkowski: conoce el texto y escucha la aterciopelada voz del actor inglés. Y luego están las preguntas sobre la escucha para los avanzados.
The Witcher
En un continente lleno de monstruos, se cruzan los caminos de un cazador de monstruos, una hechicera y una princesa dotada de poderes sobrenaturales. La Saga de Geralt de Rivia (The Witcher), del escritor polaco Andrzej Sapkowski, ha ganado fama mundial primero a través del juego de ordenador de culto y ahora -tan popular como controvertida entre los aficionados- con una serie en Netflix.
Por supuesto, podemos utilizar este colorido cuento para enseñar inglés.
Aunque Henry Cavill tiene una voz y un acento lo suficientemente agradables que da gusto escucharle incluso sin entender -y si conocemos The Witcher podríamos adivinar de qué va, ¡y siempre hay algo extra que escuchar en inglés!
Preguntas de comprensión oral, es decir, de lectura en inglés
Esta vez intentaremos aprender inglés de otra forma que no sea analizando la traducción literal de un texto. Capta las respuestas a las siguientes preguntas de un fragmento de The Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia), leído en inglés:
- Who usually spotted The Whitcher first as he approached a town?
- Was Witcher in a hurry? What makes you think so?
- What was unusual about Witcher’s appearance?
- How did the fight break out?
- Why did the guards obey Witcher’s demand instead of arresting him?
Henry Cavill lee fragmentos de «El último deseo» (Last Wish) en inglés
Lo mejor es simplemente escuchar el texto, que Henry Cavill lee maravillosamente en inglés. Los extractos de la serie de Netflix que aparecen en el vídeo a continuación, además de The Witcher, te ayudarán a entender el texto.
No te preocupes si no captas todas las respuestas de inmediato. A continuación encontrará un glosario y una transcripción de los pasajes leídos, que podrá seguir antes o después de escuchar el texto por segunda vez.
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Glosario de extractos de The Last Wish de la saga The Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia), que Henry Cavill lee en inglés
He decidido no traducir todo el texto esta vez. Sin embargo, como el texto es bastante avanzado, a continuación proporciono un glosario con cada palabra más difícil que está a punto de desplazarse a través de extractos de lectura de Henry Cavill de The Witcher, más concretamente del libro El último deseo (The Last Wish).
La primera parte de The Witcher
- notice – notó
- striped tomcat shuddered – gato rayado se estremeció
- stack of wood – pila de madera
- hissed and bolted off into the nettles – silbó y salió disparado hacia las ortigas
- hut’s threshold – umbral de la cabaña (possessive ‘s)
- he fixed his tearful eyes on the passing rider – fijó sus ojos llorosos en el jinete que pasaba
- ride-rode-ridden – montar (verbo irregular)
- overtake the hay-cart obstructing the road – adelantar al carro de heno que obstruye la carretera
- laden donkey trotted- burro cargado trotó
- pommel –pomo, silla-arco
- to lug – arrastrar
- saddlecloth – tela de sillín
- flanks of the ass – flancos del culo (¡sí, sí, eso es lo que significa originalmente la palabra ass!)
- streak – racha, banda
Segundo extracto leído en inglés de El último deseo (The Last Wish) de The Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia)
- beneath – forma antigua de under = below
- a worn leather jerkin laced up at the neck – un jubón de cuero desgastado atado al cuello
- strapped – atado
- quiver – aljaba
- piercing the innkeeper with his gaze – atravesando al posadero con la mirada
- tankard – jarra de metal con tapa
Tercer fragmento de The Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia) leído en inglés
- pockmark – marca de viruela, cicatriz de viruela, lepra
- diagonally – en diagonal
- to curl up – acurrucarse, esquivar
- sheath – vaina de espada
- glisten – brillar, resplandecer
- dim light – luz tenue
- to seethe – hervir a fuego lento
- to tumble – caer, tropezar
- earthenware smacked hollowly – la loza sonaba hueca, las vasijas de barro arrullaban huecas
- slashed – acuchillado, cortado, destrozado
- to writhe – enroscarse, retorcerse
- puddle – charco
- thuds and clangs – ruidos y zumbidos
- truncheon – porra, bastón, maza
- thug – zbój, opryszek
- swiftly – rápido, animado
- clout-nails, studs – clavos de influencia, semental
- to dart – lanzarse (uno mismo) [darts son dardos].
- castellan -castellan
- mumble – murmurar, balbucear
- tentatively – tentativamente, con incertidumbre, explorando
- hastily – apresuradamente
Henry Cavill lee The Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia) en inglés – segunda escucha
Ahora que ya conoces la mayor parte del vocabulario difícil, escucha a Henry Cavill una vez más y comprueba si estás seguro de haber acertado las respuestas a las preguntas:
Transcripción de extractos de Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia) leídos en inglés por Henry Cavill
Ahora, en cambio, puedes rastrear por ti mismo el texto, que fue leído en inglés por la aterciopelada voz del brujo de Netflix Henry Cavill:
[0:17]
As usual, cats and children noticed him first. A striped tomcat sleeping on a sun-warmed stack of wood, shuddered, raised his round head, pulled back his ears, hissed and bolted off into the nettles. Three-year-old Dragomir, fisherman Trigla’s son, who was sitting on the hut’s threshold doing his best to make dirtier an already dirty shirt, started to scream as he fixed his tearful eyes on the passing rider.
The witcher rode slowly, without trying to overtake the hay-cart obstructing the road. A laden donkey trotted behind him, stretching its neck and constantly pulling the cord tied to the witcher’s pommel tight. In addition to the usual bags, the long-eared animal was lugging a large shape, wrapped in a saddlecloth, on its back. The gray-white flanks of the ass were covered with black streaks of dried blood.
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[1:14]
The stranger was not old but his hair was almost entirely white. Beneath his coat he wore a worn leather jerkin laced up at the neck and shoulders. As he took off his coat, those around him noticed that he carried a sword — not something unusual in itself, nearly every man in Wyzim carried a weapon — but no one carried a sword strapped to his back as if it were a bow or a
quiver.
The stranger did not sit at the table with the few other guests. He remained standing at the counter, piercing the innkeeper with his gaze. He drew from the tankard.
[1:51]
“We’ll give you a hand,” the pockmarked man hissed. He knocked the tankard from the stranger’s hand and simultaneously grabbing him by the shoulder, dug his fingers into the leather strap which ran diagonally across the outsider’s chest. One of the men behind him raised a fist to strike. The outsider curled up on the spot, throwing the pockmarked man off balance.
The sword hissed in its sheath and glistened briefly in the dim light. The place seethed. There was a scream, and one of the few remaining customers tumbled toward the exit. A chair fell with a crash and earthenware smacked hollowly against the floor. The innkeeper, his lips trembling, looked at the horribly slashed face of the pocked man, who, clinging with his fingers to the
edge of the counter, was slowly sinking from sight. The other two were lying on the floor, one motionless, the other writhing and convulsing in a dark, spreading puddle. A woman’s hysterical scream vibrated in the air, piercing the ears as the innkeeper shuddered, caught his breath, and vomited.
The stranger retreated toward the wall, tense and alert. He held the sword in both hands, sweeping the blade through the air. No one moved. Terror, like cold mud, was clear on their faces, paralyzing limbs and blocking throats. Three guards rushed into the tavern with thuds and clangs. They must have been close by. They had truncheons wound with leather straps at the
ready, but at the sight of the corpses, drew their swords.
The Rivian pressed his back against the wall and, with his left hand, pulled a dagger from his boot.
“Throw that down!” one of the guards yelled with a trembling voice. “Throw that down, you thug! You’re coming with us!”
The second guard kicked aside the table between himself and the Rivian.
“Go get the men, Treska!” he shouted to the third guard, who had stayed closer to the door.
“No need,” said the stranger, lowering his sword. “I’ll come by myself.”
“You’ll go, you son of a bitch, on the end of a rope!” yelled the trembling guard. “Throw that sword down or I’ll smash your head in!”
The Rivian straightened. He quickly pinned his blade under his left arm and with his right hand raised toward the guards, swiftly drew a complicated sign in the air. The clout-nails which studded his tunic from his wrists to elbows flashed.
The guards drew back, shielding their faces with their arms. One of the customers sprang up while another darted to the door. The woman screamed again, wild and earsplitting.
“I’ll come by myself,” repeated the stranger in his resounding, metallic voice. “And the three of you will go in front of me. Take me to the castellan. I don’t know the way.”
“Yes, sir,” mumbled the guard, dropping his head. He made toward the exit, looking around tentatively. The other two guards followed him out backward, hastily. The stranger followed in their tracks, sheathing his sword and dagger.
As they passed the tables, the remaining customers hid their faces from the dangerous stranger.
Respuestas a las preguntas de escucha con Henry Cavill y The Witcher (Saga de Geralt de Rivia)
- Who usually spotted The Whitcher first as he approached a town?
It were usually cats and children who spotted him first.
- Was Witcher in a hurry? What makes you think so?
He apparently was not in a hurry as he did not even try to overtake the slow cart obstructing the road in front of him.
- What was unusual about Witcher’s appearance?
He had a sword strapped to his back like a quiver.
- How did the fight break out?
The pockmarked man knocked tankard from Witcher’s hand and attacked him.
- Why did the guards obey Witcher’s demand instead of arresting him?
Witcher made a magic trick, his studs started to emit lights, so the guards got scared of his magical abilities.
¡Habla inglés como Henry Caville de The Witcher!
Aunque ya te estés familiarizando con el inglés, siempre merece la pena seguir practicando.
Los dos últimos niveles del curso de inglés en línea de Speakingo contienen mucha gramática y vocabulario interesantes, ¡cuyo aprendizaje te resultará sin duda útil!
En un curso de Speakingo, aprendes hablando con un ordenador o un teléfono que te entiende, te elogia y te corrige. Y toda la gramática y el vocabulario que necesita están contenidos en las frases que pronuncia. De este modo, no sólo se aprende la teoría, sino que se adquiere el hábito de utilizarlos en la práctica.
De todos modos, pruébelo preferiblemente durante una semana de forma gratuita y sin compromiso – ¡y al hacerlo, también recibirá noticias del blog de Speakingo!
¿Te ha gustado este fragmento del libro de Andrzej Sapkowski traducido al inglés? ¿O era demasiado difícil?
