surround [sq'raVnd], judge [GAG], wrong [rON]

I would like to tell the reader a little about the countryside which surrounded the city I was living in. I saw a good deal of it, since I always went with the King and Queen on their journeys and I often went into the city with Glumdalclitch.

As far as I could judge, Brobdingnag is about six thousand miles long and between three and five thousand miles wide. This vast mass of land must be joined to north-west America. European geographers are quite wrong in thinking that there is no land mass between Japan and California.

The country is a peninsula (страна /эта/ есть полуостров) surrounded on three sides by the ocean (окруженный с трех сторон океаном). There are very high mountains to the north (на севере расположены очень высокие горы). Nobody in the kingdom knows (никто в королевстве не знает) whether these mountains or the regions beyond them are inhabited (обитаемы ли эти горы или = и области за их пределами; to inhabit — жить, обитать; населять, заселять), since there are volcanoes in them (так как в них = в горах находятся вулканы).

There is no seaport in the kingdom (в королевстве нет ни одного морского порта), although a lot of ships and smaller boats sail the large rivers (несмотря на то, что по крупным рекам плавает множество кораблей и малых судов). The parts of the coast (/те/ части побережья) into which the rivers flow (в которые = куда текут реки = где реки впадают в море) are full of sharp and pointed rocks (полны = усеяны острыми скалами; sharp — острый; pointed — заостренный, остроконечный). These people therefore have no trade with the rest of the world (таким образом, эти люди не имеют торговых сношений с остальным миром).

peninsula [pI'nInsjVlq], ocean ['qVS(q)n], region ['rJG(q)n], inhabited [In'hxbItId], volcano [vOl'keInqV]

The country is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the ocean. There are very high mountains to the north. Nobody in the kingdom knows whether these mountains or the regions beyond them are inhabited, since there are volcanoes in them.

There is no seaport in the kingdom, although a lot of ships and smaller boats sail the large rivers. The parts of the coast into which the rivers flow are full of sharp and pointed rocks. These people therefore have no trade with the rest of the world.

There is a good deal of fine fishing in the rivers (в реках много и успешно занимаются рыболовством). The salt-water fish, however, are the same size as those in Europe (морская же рыба такой же величины, как и в Европе; salt — соль) and are considered too small to be worth catching (и считается слишком мелкой для того, чтобы ее ловить: «быть заслуживающей ловли»). This is probably the only land area in the world (вероятно, это единственная территория в мире) where plants and animals of such extraordinary size are to be found (где можно найти/встретить = существуют растения и животные такой необычайной величины). I leave it to the scholars to explain this fact (объяснить этот факт я предоставляю ученым).

The country seems to have a large population (страна имеет, по-видимому, большое население). It has fifty-one cities (в ней есть пятьдесят один большой город) and almost a hundred walled towns (и почти сто городов-крепостей; walled — окруженный /крепостной/ стеной, валом), as well as a great number of small towns and villages (а также большое число маленьких городков и деревень). The city of Lorbrulgrud is built on both sides of a river (город Лорбрулгруд построен = расположен по обоим берегам реки) and has more than eighty thousand houses (и имеет больше/свыше восьмидесяти тысяч домов).

salt-water ["sLlt'wLtq], worth [wWT], probably ['prObqblI], extraordinary [Ik'strLd(q)n(q)rI]

There is a good deal of fine fishing in the rivers. The salt-water fish, however, are the same size as those in Europe and are considered too small to be worth catching. This is probably the only land area in the world where plants and animals of such extraordinary size are to be found. I leave it to the scholars to explain this fact.

The country seems to have a large population. It has fifty-one cities and almost a hundred walled towns, as well as a great number of small towns and villages. The city of Lorbrulgrud is built on both sides of a river and has more than eighty thousand houses.

The King's palace is not a building as such (королевский дворец — не одно определенное: «здание как таковое»). It is a number of buildings (это несколько зданий) surrounded by a wall seven miles long (окруженных стеной длиною в семь миль). We used to go outside the walls of the palace and into the city quite often (мы весьма часто выходили/выезжали за дворцовую стену и в город; used to используется при описании событий, которые регулярно происходили в прошлом; иметь обыкновение, обычно). Glumdalclitch had been given a coach (для Глюмдалклич была предоставлена карета). She and her teacher used to take me with them (она и ее учительница/гувернантка брали меня с собой) on their shopping trips to the city (в своих поездках за покупками в город; shop — лавка, магазин; to shop — ходить по магазинам, делать покупки). I always travelled in my box (я всегда путешествовал/ездил в своем ящике), from which I had a clear view through the windows (из которого я имел ясный = хороший обзор через окна). If I asked her, Glumdalclitch would take me out (если я просил, Глюмдалклич вынимала меня /оттуда/) and hold me in her hand (и держала в руке).