Wilkie Collins’ The Haunted Hotel: Vocabulary, Comprehension and Discussion Activities
Vocabulary: English to Catalan
Word or phrase in English | Translation
Acknowledge
She acknowledged her mistake.
Va reconèixer el seu error.
Bewildered
He looked bewildered.
Semblava desconcertat.
Bribed
He bribed the officer.
Va subornar l’agent.
Burdensome
The job was burdensome.
La feina era feixuga.
Canopy
The canopy covered the bed.
El dosser cobria el llit.
Charlatan
He was a medical charlatan.
Era un fals metge.
Compelled
She felt compelled to leave.
Es va sentir obligada a marxar.
Complexion
She has a pale complexion.
Té la pell pàl·lida.
Contemptuously
He looked at me contemptuously.
Em va mirar amb menyspreu.
Crooked
The picture was crooked.
El quadre estava tort.
Day of reckoning
The day of reckoning came.
Va arribar el dia de retre comptes.
Deeds
His deeds were heroic.
Les seves accions van ser heroiques.
Dental plate
He wears a dental plate.
Porta una dentadura postissa.
Dilapidated
They lived in a dilapidated house.
Vivien en una casa en mal estat.
Dismissive
She gave a dismissive answer.
Va donar una resposta despectiva.
Distressing
The news was distressing.
La notícia va ser angoixant.
Ease
This medicine eases the pain.
Aquest medicament alleuja el dolor.
Entailed
The property was entailed.
La propietat tenia una herència limitada.
Four-poster bed
She slept in a four-poster bed.
Dormia en un llit amb dosser.
Gambler
He was a compulsive gambler.
Era un jugador compulsiu.
Get rid of
I want to get rid of it.
Me’n vull desfer.
Give herself away
She gave herself away by smiling.
Es va delatar somrient.
Governess
The governess taught the children.
La institutriu ensenyava els nens.
Grin
He gave me a big grin.
Em va dedicar un gran somriure.
Heavily insured
The house was heavily insured.
La casa estava molt assegurada.
Hollow
The sound was hollow.
El so era buit.
Income
His income is low.
Els seus ingressos són baixos.
Infatuated
He was infatuated with her.
Estava embadalit amb ella.
Insight
She has great insight.
Té una gran capacitat de comprensió.
Late
He arrived late.
Va arribar tard.
Loan sharks
Loan sharks threatened him.
Els prestamistes usurers el van amenaçar.
Mesmerised
She was mesmerised by the show.
Estava fascinada per l’espectacle.
Nemesis
He finally defeated his nemesis.
Finalment va derrotar el seu enemic.
Newlyweds
The newlyweds went on holiday.
Els nuvis van anar de vacances.
Nuisance
The noise was a nuisance.
El soroll era una molèstia.
Overwhelmed
She felt overwhelmed by emotion.
Es va sentir aclaparada per l’emoció.
Profitable
The business is profitable.
El negoci és rendible.
Reluctantly
He reluctantly agreed.
Va acceptar de mala gana.
Resentful
She felt resentful.
Se sentia ressentida.
Retribution
He feared retribution.
Temia represàlies.
Running an errand
I’m running an errand.
Estic fent un encàrrec.
Severed
His finger was severed.
Li van tallar el dit.
Siblings
I have two siblings.
Tinc dos germans.
Skull
The skull was on the table.
El crani era sobre la taula.
Startled
She was startled by the noise.
Es va espantar pel soroll.
Stench
There was a terrible stench.
Hi havia una pudor terrible.
Stuttered
He stuttered nervously.
Va tartamudejar nerviosament.
Tossed and turned
I tossed and turned all night.
Vaig donar voltes al llit tota la nit.
Valet
The valet served his master.
El criat servia el seu amo.
Vaults
The money was kept in the vaults.
Els diners es guardaven a les cambres subterrànies.
Wandered
He wandered around the town.
Va caminar sense rumb pel poble.
Wronged
She felt wronged.
Se sentia tractada injustament.
Vocabulary in Context
Newlyweds: The newlyweds went to Venice.
Compelled: She felt compelled to leave.
Deeds: His deeds were cruel.
Grin: He gave me a big grin.
Stench: There was a terrible stench in the room.
1. Answer the Following Questions
a. Why did Countess Narona go to visit Dr Victor Wybrow?
She wanted to know if she was in danger of going mad. She believed her strange feelings and thoughts might be signs of madness.
b. Who is Mrs Emily Ferrari? What do you know about her?
She is Mr Ferrari’s wife and Agnes Lockwood’s former maid. She helped her husband get a job as a courier in Venice. After he disappeared, she received £1,000 but did not know what had happened to him.
c. What was the first sign of Lord Montbarry’s disillusionment with his wife?
He noticed that the Countess’s voice was not as pleasant as it had been before their wedding.
d. What was the problem with room 14?
Guests who slept there experienced strange things, such as a terrible smell, sleeplessness and frightening dreams. It was also the room where Lord Montbarry had supposedly died.
e. How did Lord Montbarry really die?
The Countess and Baron Rivar murdered him. They put the dying Mr Ferrari in Montbarry’s bed, so the doctor believed that Ferrari was Lord Montbarry.
2. True or False
a. As a child, the Countess had nearly died of poisoning. TRUE.
b. Emily Ferrari was convinced her husband was dead. TRUE.
c. Agnes Lockwood went to Ireland to study.
FALSE. She went to Ireland to work as a governess.
d. Francis Westwick was in the theatre business. TRUE.
e. Countess Narona wrote a letter before dying.
FALSE. She wrote a play that revealed the truth about Lord Montbarry’s murder.
3. Discussion
Do you think the Countess deserved the punishment? Was there enough evidence for her to escape justice?
I think the Countess deserved punishment because she helped murder Lord Montbarry and then tried to hide the truth. However, there was not enough clear evidence for her to be legally punished at the time. The doctor believed that Montbarry had died naturally, and the real evidence was hidden. In my opinion, her guilt was eventually revealed through her own actions, especially her play. I also think her guilty conscience became a kind of punishment, because she was haunted by what she had done and finally killed herself.