Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar — Constance e Imran Episode 34 (learn through a novel)
- The story episode in Spanish.
- The translation into English.
- A grammar explanation with examples from the story.
Llegan a casa de Eleanor por la tarde. En la mesa hay té, galletas y tres libros abiertos.
They arrive at Eleanor’s house in the afternoon. There is tea, biscuits and three open books on the table.
—Abuela, esto parece una emboscada —dice Constance.
“Grandma, this looks like an ambush,” says Constance.
Eleanor sonríe.
Eleanor smiles.
—Lo es, querida. Pero una emboscada cultural.
“It is, dear. But a cultural ambush.”
Imran se sienta con cuidado.
Imran sits down carefully.
—¿Por qué quería verme?
“Why did you want to see me?”
Eleanor lo mira con ternura.
Eleanor looks at him kindly.
—Porque creo que necesitas una historia. Imran, la gente suele hablar de la homosexualidad como si hubiera aparecido ayer. Pero hace más de dos mil años, una de las unidades militares más famosas de Grecia estaba formada por parejas de hombres que luchaban juntas.
“Because I think you need a story. Imran, people often talk about homosexuality as if it had appeared yesterday. But more than two thousand years ago, one of the most famous military units in Greece was made up of pairs of men who fought together.”
—¿Parejas de hombres?
“Couples of men?”
—Sí. El Batallón Sagrado de Tebas. Siglo IV antes de Cristo. Eran trescientos soldados: ciento cincuenta parejas de amantes masculinos. La idea era que un soldado lucharía con más valentía al lado de la persona que amaba. Fueron una unidad militar de élite muy eficaz. Lucharon contra Esparta y, finalmente, murieron casi todos en la batalla de Queronea, contra Filipo II de Macedonia.
“Yes. The Sacred Band of Thebes. Fourth century BC. There were three hundred soldiers: one hundred and fifty pairs of male lovers. The idea was that a soldier would fight more bravely alongside the person he loved. They were a highly effective elite military unit. They fought against Sparta and, eventually, almost all of them died at the Battle of Chaeronea, against Philip II of Macedon.”
—¿Y nadie pensaba que eran menos hombres? —pregunta Imran.
“And nobody thought they were less of a man?” asks Imran.
Eleanor se ríe suavemente.
Eleanor laughs softly.
—¿Menos hombres? Querido, intenta ser más valiente que uno de esos soldados griegos. Intenta ser mejor amigo, mejor compañero, mejor persona. Luego hablamos.
“Less manly? My dear, try to be braver than one of those Greek soldiers. Try to be a better friend, a better companion, a better person. Then we’ll talk.”
Imran baja la mirada, pero sonríe ligeramente.
Imran lowers his eyes, but smiles slightly.
—La cobardía es el miedo consentido; el valor es el miedo dominado —dice Eleanor—. Y tú tienes miedo, claro. Miedo de ser rechazado por ser quien eres. Pero no eres cobarde. En Grecia existían relaciones afectivas y eróticas entre hombres. Ellos no pensaban la sexualidad como nosotros. No usaban nuestras categorías modernas. Muchos hombres podían amar a otros hombres y también casarse con mujeres. Era otro mundo, otra estructura social, otra manera de entender el deseo.
“Cowardice is fear accepted; courage is fear mastered,” says Eleanor. “And you are afraid, of course. Afraid of being rejected for who you are. But you are not a coward. In Greece there were emotional and erotic relationships between men. They did not think about sexuality the way we do. They did not use our modern categories. Many men could love other men and also marry women. It was a different world, a different social structure, a different way of understanding desire.”
—¿Y de qué me sirve saberlo? —pregunta Imran.
“And what good does it do me to know that?” asks Imran.
—Te sirve para abandonar una mentira —responde Eleanor—. La mentira de que tú eres una rareza moderna, un error o una vergüenza.
“It helps you to quit a lie,” replies Eleanor. “The lie that you are some modern oddity, a mistake or a source of shame.”
Imran traga saliva.
Imran swallows hard.
—Mi madre no lo vería así.
“My mother wouldn’t see it that way.”
—Quizás no ahora. Quizás nunca. Pero pregúntate esto: ¿para quién estás viviendo, Imran? ¿Por qué tienes que pedir permiso para existir? El gran escritor irlandés Oscar Wilde fue llevado a la cárcel porque era homosexual. Él escribió esta frase: “Amarse a sí mismo es el comienzo de una aventura que dura toda la vida”. Acéptate y ámate. Siempre habrá gente que verá las cosas de otro modo. Es su problema.
“Perhaps not now. Perhaps never. But ask yourself this: whose life are you living for, Imran? Why do you need permission to exist? The great Irish writer Oscar Wilde was sent to prison because he was homosexual. He wrote this sentence: ‘To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.’ Accept yourself and love yourself. There will always be people who see things differently. That is their problem.”
Constance mira a Imran. Parece más tranquilo, pero también más triste.
Constance looks at Imran. He seems calmer, but also sadder.
—No puedo quitarte el miedo —dice Eleanor—. Pero puedo contarte historias. Y las historias, a veces, sirven para recordar que nadie está solo del todo.
“I can’t remove your fear,” says Eleanor. “But I can tell you stories. And stories sometimes help us remember that nobody is ever completely alone.”
Imran respira hondo.
Imran takes a deep breath.
—Entonces no soy el primero.
“So I’m not the first.”
—No, querido —responde Eleanor—. Ni serás el último.
“No, dear,” replies Eleanor. “And you won’t be the last.”
We continue discussing interrogative words today. Remember that we started with this topic in episode 33. Let’s break it down, starting with quién, which you already know:
- 🟤¿Quién es él? Who is he?
- 🟤¿De quién es la bicicleta? Whose is the bike?
- 🟤¿Con quién vas de vacaciones? With whom are you going on holiday? Who are you going on holiday with?
- 🟤¿Para quién es esto? For whom is this? Who is this for?
- 🟤¿Por quién haces esto? For whom are you doing this? Who are you doing this for?
Let’s see now more questions, this time with dónde:
- 🟨¿Dónde estás ahora? Where are you now?
- 🟨¿De dónde eres? Where are you from?
- 🟨¿Adónde vas mañana? Where are you going tomorrow? Destination
- 🟨¿Hacia dónde/para dónde va este tren? Which direction is this train heading in? Direction
- 🟨¿Por dónde conviene ir: por el parque o por esta calle? Which way is it better to go: through the park or along this street?
- 🟨¿De qué es la puerta, de madera o de vidrio? What is the door made of: wood or glass?
For more clarification, you have many examples in our episode and also this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKhgrXjy-HM&t=487s
Here you have more similar words with different meanings. In our episode, you see clearly that quitar is not to quit:
- ⚪Te sirve para abandonar una mentira. It helps you to quit a lie.
- ⚪No puedo quitarte el miedo. I can’t remove your fear.
Una mosca is an insect (a fly), but a mosque es una mezquita.
The date is la fecha (meaning “calendar date”), but data are datos.
A driver es un conductor, but the conductor of an orchestra es el director.
Find all the episodes here: Contents – GCSE Spanish
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We post two new episodes every week — keep up with Constance and Imran’s story!
