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Lección Treinta y seis (36)

 
  Unos chistes A few jokes.
     
1 (Mientras nuestro amigo está dando una vuelta por Madrid,
vamos a leer unos chistes en los periódicos (1).)
While our friend is taking [giving] a walk, through [by] M.,
let's [go to] read a few jokes in the papers.
2 Paciencia. - Hace diez minutos que estoy delante de esta ventanilla. Patience. - I have been 10 minutes before that ticket-window [it makes 10 m. that I am...]!
3 ¡Y yo, hace treinta años que estoy detrás de ella (2) ! And I have been behind it for 30 years!
     
4

Buscando un cuarto.
- Esta casa tiene el inconveniente
de que los vecinos ven por esa ventana todo lo que se hace dentro.

Looking for an apartment.
This house has the disadvantage
[of] that the neighbours (can) see by this window all that goes on [is done] inside.
5 Bien, señora; se tapará la ventana (3). Well, madam, (we) shall wall up the window.
6 Y entonces, ¿cómo haré yo (4) para ver lo que hacen los vecinos? Well then, how shall I do to see what the neighbours do?
     
7 El buen amigo. - ¿Me presta cinco duros? - No. The good friend. You lend me 5 douros ? - No.
8 Haces mal; un buen amigo debe ayudar al otro (5). You're wrong [do ill] ; a good friend must help [at] (an)other.
9 Sí; pero tú siempre quieres ser el otro. Yes, but you always want to be the other.

  EJERCICIOS EXERCISE :
1 Mientras usted estaba durmiendo,
yo he dado una vuelta por la ciudad.
While you were sleeping I took [gave] a stroll through
[by] the town.
2 ¿Por dónde ha estado usted? [By] where have you been?
3 En el barrio viejo, detrás de la catedral. In the old(er) district, behind the cathedral.
4 Yo lo vi ayer,
tiene pocas cosas interesantes

I saw it yesterday;
there are [it has] few interesting things.

5 A mí me han gustado sus tiendas pintorescas,
sus calles estrechas...
To me its picturesque shops have appealed,
its narrow streets...
6 ¿Y el olor a aceite frito? And the smell of [at] fried oil?
7 ¿Por qué no? No me disgusta el aceite. Why not? Oil does not displease me.
8 A mí me marea; en mi país se usa sólo mantequilla. It sickens [at] me; in my country, butter only is used.

  NOTES.
1

Mientras means while, but not during, which is durante.
During the journey : durante el viaje.
- While I travelled (was travelling) : Mientras viajaba, or mientras estaba viajando.
- The imperative of the 1st person plural (let's see!, let's pay!) is mostly formed with vamos, let's go :
¡ Vamos a ver!, ¡ Vamos a pagar!
- Un chiste : a joke, jest.

2 In detrás de : behind, note the cognation with retraso, delay.
3 La ventana : the window; la ventanilla : the ticket window,
or, in a railway-carriage, or a motor-car, the door or window-pane; it is the dimin. of ventana.
- Tapar is not: to tap, but to cover, stop up.
4 Hacer : to do; yo haré, I shall do; a redoubtable irreg. verb, that we shall master only with the help of time.
However, the forms : ¿ Qué hace usted?¿Qué hacen los vecinos?,
What do you do?. What do the neighbours do?
are regular, as is (sent. 8) : haces, you do.
5 Ayudar (pr. : ayoodarr).
- Un duro : a 5 peseta coin.
   
 

Disgustar : to displease, contrary of gustar.

Marear
: to nauseate, sicken, make sea-sick.
El mar : the sea: la marea, the tide.

Un olor a : a smell of.
Most nouns in or are masculine :
el calor, heal; el color, colour; el humor, humour; el dolor, pain, sorrow.
But : la flor, the flower.

   
 

In order to better assimilate, practice on the examples of less. 35, with :
1) dejar la ciudad, to leave the town;
2) aprender un idioma, to learn a language;
3) recibir cartas : to receive letters.

Do not neglect this easy exercise, which we shall renew for five more lessons;
if you write it down, it will be still better.