A Tale of Two Cities — Page 5
In the midst of them, the hangman, ever busy and ever worse than useless, was in constant requisition; now, stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals; now, hanging a housebreaker on Saturday who had been taken on Tuesday; now, burning people in the hand at Newgate by the dozen, and now burning pamphlets at the door of Westminster Hall; to-day, taking the life of an atrocious murderer, and to-morrow of a wretched pilferer who had robbed a farmer's boy of sixpence.
Au milieu de tout cela, le bourreau, toujours occupé et toujours plus inutile qu'autre chose, était en réquisition constante ; tantôt dressant de longues rangées de criminels de toutes sortes ; tantôt pendant un cambrioleur le samedi qui avait été pris le mardi ; tantôt marquant au fer des gens à la chaîne à Newgate, et tantôt brûlant des pamphlets à la porte de Westminster Hall ; aujourd'hui ôtant la vie à un meurtrier atroce, et demain à un misérable chapardeur qui avait dérobé six sous au garçon d'un fermier.
All these things, and a thousand like them, came to pass in and close upon the dear old year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five.
Toutes ces choses, et mille autres semblables, se passèrent au cours et aux abords de cette chère vieille année mil sept cent soixante-quinze.
Environed by them, while the Woodman and the Farmer worked unheeded, those two of the large jaws, and those other two of the plain and the fair faces, trod with stir enough, and carried their divine rights with a high hand.
Entourées par elles, tandis que le Bûcheron et le Laboureur travaillaient dans l'indifférence, ces deux personnages aux larges mâchoires, et ces deux autres aux visages ordinaire et avenant, marchaient avec assez d'agitation, et portaient leurs droits divins d'une main ferme.
Thus did the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five conduct their Greatnesses, and myriads of small creatures--the creatures of this chronicle among the rest--along the roads that lay before them.
C'est ainsi que l'année mil sept cent soixante-quinze conduisit leurs Grandeurs, et des myriades de petites créatures — les créatures de cette chronique entre autres — le long des chemins qui s'étendaient devant elles.
Vocabulary
- milieu
- mee-lyuh — Middle, center, or surrounding environment
- tout
- too — All, everything, or completely
- cela
- suh-lah — That, referring to something previously mentioned
- bourreau
- boo-ro — Executioner, one who carries out death sentences
- toujours
- too-zhoor — Always, still, or forever
- occupé
- o-kü-pay — Busy, occupied, or engaged in an activity
- plus
- plü — More, or no longer depending on context
- inutile
- ee-nü-teel — Useless, serving no practical purpose
- autre
- oh-truh — Other, another, or different thing or person
- chose
- shohz — Thing, object, or matter
- réquisition
- ray-kee-zee-syohn — Official demand or commandeering of services or goods
- constante
- kohn-stahnt — Constant, unceasing, or perpetual
- tantôt
- tahn-toh — Sometimes, now...then, indicating alternating actions
- dressant
- dreh-sahn — Setting up, arranging, or lining up in rows
- longues
- lohng — Long, feminine plural adjective describing length
- rangées
- rahn-zhay — Rows or lines of arranged people or objects
- criminels
- kree-mee-nel — Criminals, people who have committed crimes
- sortes
- sort — Sorts, kinds, or types of something
- pendant
- pahn-dahn — During, while, or hanging; preposition of time
- cambrioleur
- kahm-bree-o-luhr — Burglar, someone who breaks into buildings to steal
- samedi
- sam-dee — Saturday, the seventh day of the week
- pris
- pree — Taken or caught, past participle of 'prendre'
- mardi
- mar-dee — Tuesday, the third day of the week
- marquant
- mar-kahn — Marking, branding, leaving a visible sign on someone
- fer
- fair — Iron; also refers to a branding iron
- gens
- zhahn — People, persons, or folks in general
- chaîne
- shen — Chain, a series of linked metal rings
- brûlant
- brü-lahn — Burning, scorching, or setting fire to something
- pamphlets
- pahm-flet — Short printed texts, often political or controversial writings
- porte
- port — Door or gate of a building or place
- aujourd'hui
- o-zhoor-dwee — Today, on the current day
- ôtant
- oh-tahn — Taking away or removing, present participle of 'ôter'
- vie
- vee — Life, the state of being alive
- meurtrier
- muhr-tree-ay — Murderer, one who has committed homicide
- atroce
- ah-tros — Atrocious, extremely cruel or horrifying
- demain
- duh-mahn — Tomorrow, the day after today
- misérable
- mee-zay-rahbl — Wretched, pitiable, or contemptible person
- chapardeur
- shah-par-duhr — Petty thief who pilfers small items
- dérobé
- day-ro-bay — Stolen or taken secretly without permission
- sous
- soo — Old French coins of very little value
- garçon
- gar-sohn — Boy, young man, or waiter in a café
- fermier
- fair-myay — Farmer, one who cultivates agricultural land
- ces
- say — These or those; demonstrative adjective
- choses
- shohz — Things, objects, or matters of various kinds
- mille
- meel — One thousand; the number 1000
- autres
- oh-truh — Others, additional or different things or people
- semblables
- sahm-blahbl — Similar, alike, or resembling one another
- passèrent
- pah-sair — Passed, happened, or occurred during a time period
- cours
- koor — Course or flow; used in 'au cours de' meaning during
- abords
- ah-bor — Surroundings, vicinity, or outskirts of a place
- cette
- set — This or that; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- chère
- shair — Dear, beloved, or cherished (feminine form)
- vieille
- vyay — Old, elderly (feminine form of 'vieux')
- année
- ah-nay — Year, a period of twelve months
- mil
- meel — One thousand; used in dates before hundreds
- sept
- set — Seven; the number 7
- cent
- sahn — One hundred; the number 100
- soixante
- swah-sahnt — Sixty; the number 60
- quinze
- kahnz — Fifteen; the number 15
- Entourées
- ahn-too-ray — Surrounded, encircled, or encompassed by things
- tandis
- tahn-dee — While, whereas; used in 'tandis que' construction
- Bûcheron
- büsh-rohn — Woodcutter, one who chops or fells trees
- Laboureur
- lah-boo-ruhr — Ploughman or farm laborer working the land
- travaillaient
- trah-vah-yay — Were working, imperfect tense of 'travailler'
- indifférence
- ahn-dee-fay-rahns — Indifference, lack of interest or concern
- personnages
- pair-so-nahzh — Characters or notable figures in a story
- larges
- larzh — Wide, broad, or large in size
- mâchoires
- mah-shwahr — Jaws, the bony structure forming the mouth
- visages
- vee-zahzh — Faces, the front part of a person's head
- ordinaire
- or-dee-nair — Ordinary, common, or unremarkable in appearance
- avenant
- ahv-nahn — Pleasant-looking, agreeable in appearance or manner
- marchaient
- mar-shay — Were walking, imperfect tense of 'marcher'
- assez
- ah-say — Enough, sufficiently, or rather (as intensifier)
- agitation
- ah-zhee-tah-syohn — Agitation, restless excitement or nervous movement
- portaient
- por-tay — Were carrying or bearing something, imperfect tense
- leurs
- luhr — Their, possessive adjective for plural owners
- droits
- drwah — Rights or entitlements; also means straight
- divins
- dee-vahn — Divine, godly, or bestowed by a higher power
- main
- mahn — Hand, the body part at the end of an arm
- ferme
- fairm — Firm, steady, resolute; also means a farm
- ainsi
- ahn-see — Thus, in this way, or so
- conduisit
- kohn-dwee-zee — Led or drove, simple past of 'conduire'
- Grandeurs
- grahn-duhr — Greatnesses or grandeurs; majesty and splendor
- myriades
- mee-ryad — Myriads, vast uncountable numbers of things
- petites
- puh-teet — Small, little (feminine plural adjective)
- créatures
- kray-ah-tür — Creatures, living beings of any kind
- chronique
- kro-neek — Chronicle, a detailed historical record of events
- entre
- ahn-truh — Between, among, or within two or more things
- long
- lohn — Long, extending a great distance in space
- chemins
- shuh-mahn — Roads or paths leading somewhere
- étendaient
- ay-tahn-day — Stretched or extended, imperfect tense of 'étendre'
- devant
- duh-vahn — In front of, ahead of, or before
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