O Livro Proibido
Num mundo onde os livros são proibidos, Marco esconde um livro e lê-o às escondidas todas as noites.
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Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation
No mundo de Marco, os livros são proibidos. Há dez anos que o governo os recolheu todos e os queimou na Praça Central. As pessoas só podem ler os comunicados oficiais nas paredes das ruas. Marco tem quinze anos e nunca tinha lido um livro — até agora.
In Marco's world, books are forbidden. Ten years ago the government collected them all and burned them in the Central Square. People can only read the official notices on the walls of the streets. Marco is fifteen years old and had never read a book — until now.
O livro estava escondido debaixo de uma tábua do soalho em casa do avô. Depois de o avô morrer, Marco encontrou-o quando ajudava a limpar a casa. Era um livro de contos com a capa azul e gasta. Leu o título: "Histórias de Longe e de Perto".
The book was hidden under a floorboard in his grandfather's house. After his grandfather died, Marco found it while helping to clean the house. It was a storybook with a worn blue cover. He read the title: "Stories from Far and Near".
The remaining 3 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| proibido | forbidden / prohibited |
| queimar | to burn |
| tábua do soalho | floorboard |
| lanterna | torch / flashlight |
| lençol | bedsheet |
| persianas | shutters / blinds |
| ler | to read |
| lê | reads (3rd person singular, present of ler) |
| lia | used to read / was reading (3rd person singular, imperfect of ler) |
| leu | read (3rd person singular, past of ler) |
| lido | read (past participle of ler) |
| nunca tinha lido | had never read (pluperfect) |
| mundo | world |
| livro | book |
| livros | books |
| governo | government |
| recolher | to collect / to gather |
| recolheu | collected (3rd person singular, past of recolher) |
| queimou | burned (3rd person singular, past of queimar) |
| praça | square / plaza |
| central | central |
| comunicados | official notices / announcements |
| oficiais | official (plural) |
| paredes | walls |
| ruas | streets |
| quinze | fifteen |
| anos | years / age |
| até agora | until now / up to now |
| escondido | hidden / concealed (masculine) |
| debaixo de | under / beneath |
| avô | grandfather |
| morrer | to die |
| morreu | died (3rd person singular, past of morrer) |
| ajudar | to help |
| ajudava | was helping / used to help (imperfect) |
| limpar | to clean |
| conto | short story / tale |
| contos | short stories / tales |
| capa | cover (of a book) |
| azul | blue |
| gasto | worn / worn-out (masculine) |
| título | title |
| noite | night |
| à noite | at night |
| simples | simple |
| pescador | fisherman |
| criança | child |
| perdida | lost (feminine) |
| velha | old woman / old (feminine) |
| sábia | wise (feminine) |
| água | water |
| deserto | desert |
| como água no deserto | like water in the desert (idiom: desperately needed) |
| devagar | slowly |
| durar | to last |
| durassem | would last (3rd plural, imperfect subjunctive of durar) |
| vizinho | neighbour (masculine) |
| luz | light |
| janela | window |
| professor | teacher / professor (masculine) |
| olhou | looked (3rd person singular, past of olhar) |
| percebeu | understood / realised (3rd person singular, past of perceber) |
| perceber | to understand / to realise |
| acenar | to nod / to wave |
| acenou | nodded / waved (3rd person singular, past of acenar) |
| cabeça | head |
| fechar | to close / to shut |
| fechou | closed (3rd person singular, past of fechar) |
| seguro | safe (masculine) |
| quando | when |
| acabar | to finish / to end |
| acabou | finished / ended (3rd person singular, past of acabar) |
| saber | to know |
| sabia | knew (3rd person singular, imperfect of saber) |
| voltar | to return / to go back |
| voltou | returned (3rd person singular, past of voltar) |
| princípio | beginning / principle |
| escrever | to write |
| escreveu | wrote (3rd person singular, past of escrever) |
| última | last / final (feminine) |
| página | page |
| guardar | to keep / to store / to save |
| guardou | kept / saved (3rd person singular, past of guardar) |
| palavras | words |
| já | already / now |
| também | also / too |
| nunca | never |
| ainda | still / yet |
| só | only / alone |
| depois | afterwards / after / then |
| outra vez | again / once more |
| há dez anos | ten years ago |
| praça central | central square |
| comunicados oficiais | official notices / announcements |
| nas paredes das ruas | on the walls of the streets |
| nunca tinha lido | had never read (pluperfect) |
| debaixo de uma tábua | under a floorboard |
| depois de morrer | after dying / after his death |
| quando ajudava a limpar | while helping to clean |
| capa azul e gasta | worn blue cover |
| debaixo do lençol | under the sheet |
| ler devagar | to read slowly |
| para que durassem mais | so that they would last longer |
| luz da lanterna | torchlight / flashlight beam |
| acenar com a cabeça | to nod |
| fechou as persianas | closed the shutters |
| estava seguro | was safe |
| voltou ao princípio | went back to the beginning |
| na última página | on the last page |
| que guardou as palavras | who kept the words |
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