Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 5

English → Fr Preface Level 5/10

" cried Alice, with a sudden burst of tears, "I do wish they _would_ put their heads down! I am so _very_ tired of being all alone here!"

« s'écria Alice, avec un soudain éclat de larmes, « Je voudrais tant qu'ils _veuillent bien_ baisser la tête ! Je suis si _vraiment_ fatiguée d'être toute seule ici ! »

As she said this she looked down at her hands, and was surprised to see that she had put on one of the Rabbit's little white kid gloves while she was talking.

En disant cela, elle baissa les yeux vers ses mains et fut surprise de constater qu'elle avait enfilé l'un des petits gants blancs de chevreau du Lapin pendant qu'elle parlait.

"How _can_ I have done that?" she thought.

« Comment _ai_-je pu faire cela ? » pensa-t-elle.

"I must be growing small again."

« Je dois être en train de rapetisser encore. »

She got up and went to the table to measure herself by it, and found that, as nearly as she could guess, she was now about two feet high, and was going on shrinking rapidly: she soon found out that the cause of this was the fan she was holding, and she dropped it hastily, just in time to avoid shrinking away altogether.

Elle se leva et alla à la table pour se mesurer par rapport à elle, et constata que, d'après ce qu'elle pouvait deviner, elle mesurait maintenant environ deux pieds de haut et continuait à rétrécir rapidement : elle découvrit bientôt que la cause en était l'éventail qu'elle tenait, et elle le laissa tomber à la hâte, juste à temps pour éviter de disparaître complètement.

"That _was_ a narrow escape!" said Alice, a good deal frightened at the sudden change, but very glad to find herself still in existence;

« C'_était_ vraiment moins une ! » dit Alice, passablement effrayée par ce changement soudain, mais très soulagée de se trouver encore en vie ;

"and now for the garden!" and she ran with all speed back to the little door: but, alas! the little door was shut again, and the little golden key was lying on the glass table as before,

« et maintenant, direction le jardin ! » et elle courut à toute vitesse vers la petite porte : mais, hélas ! la petite porte était de nouveau fermée, et la petite clé dorée se trouvait sur la table de verre comme auparavant,

"and things are worse than ever," thought the poor child, "for I never was so small as this before, never! And I declare it's too bad, that it is!"

« et les choses vont de mal en pis, » pensa la pauvre enfant, « car je n'ai jamais été aussi petite qu'à présent, jamais ! Et je dois dire que c'est vraiment trop fort, vraiment ! »

As she said these words her foot slipped, and in another moment, splash!

Comme elle prononçait ces mots, son pied glissa, et l'instant d'après, plouf !

Vocabulary

s': Reflexive pronoun 'oneself' before a vowel.
écria: ay-kree-ah — Exclaimed or cried out suddenly.
avec: ah-vek — Preposition meaning 'with' someone or something.
un: uhn — Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
soudain: soo-dan — Suddenly or all at once, unexpectedly.
éclat: ay-klah — A burst or outburst of emotion or sound.
de: duh — Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'.
larmes: larm — Tears shed from eyes when crying.
Je: zhuh — First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
voudrais: voo-dray — Conditional form of 'want'; would like.
tant: tahn — So much or so many, emphasizing degree.
qu': k — Conjunction 'that' before a vowel sound.
ils: eel — Third person plural pronoun meaning 'they'.
_veuillent bien_: vuh-ee-yen byan — Subjunctive: kindly agree or deign to do.
baisser: bay-say — To lower or bow something downward.
la: lah — Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her'.
tête: tet — Head, the upper part of the body.
suis: swee — First person singular of 'être'; am.
si: see — So, as in to such a degree; or 'if'.
_vraiment_: vray-mahn — Truly or really, used for emphasis.
fatiguée: fah-tee-gay — Tired or exhausted, feminine adjective form.
d': d — Preposition 'de' contracted before a vowel.
être: etr — Infinitive meaning 'to be'.
toute: toot — Feminine form of 'all' or 'completely alone'.
seule: suhl — Alone or by oneself, feminine adjective.
ici: ee-see — Here, indicating this place or location.
En: ahn — Preposition used with gerund meaning 'while' doing.
disant: dee-zahn — Present participle of 'dire'; saying or speaking.
cela: suh-lah — That, referring to something previously mentioned.
elle: el — Third person feminine pronoun meaning 'she'.
baissa: bay-sah — Lowered or cast downward, past tense.
les: lay — Definite plural article meaning 'the'.
yeux: yuh — Eyes, the plural of 'œil'.
vers: vair — Toward or in the direction of something.
ses: say — Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
mains: man — Hands, the plural of 'main'.
et: ay — Conjunction meaning 'and'.
fut: few — Simple past of 'être'; was.
surprise: soor-preez — Surprised or astonished, feminine adjective form.
constater: kon-stah-tay — To notice or observe something factually.
avait: ah-vay — Imperfect tense of 'avoir'; had.
enfilé: ahn-fee-lay — Put on or slipped on clothing or gloves.
l': l — Definite article 'le' or 'la' before vowel.
des: day — Partitive or plural article meaning 'some'.
petits: puh-tee — Small or little, masculine plural adjective.
gants: gahn — Gloves worn on the hands.
blancs: blahn — White, masculine plural adjective describing color.
chevreau: shuh-vroh — Kidskin, soft leather made from young goat.
du: dew — Contraction of 'de le' meaning 'of the'.
Lapin: lah-pan — Rabbit, a small furry animal with long ears.
pendant: pahn-dahn — During or while, indicating a time period.
parlait: par-lay — Imperfect tense of 'parler'; was speaking.
Comment: koh-mahn — How, used to ask about manner or method.
_ai_: ay — First person singular present of 'avoir'; have.
je: zhuh — First person singular subject pronoun; I.
pu: pew — Past participle of 'pouvoir'; been able to.
faire: fair — Infinitive meaning 'to do' or 'to make'.
pensa: pahn-sah — Thought, past tense of 'penser'.
dois: dwah — First person present of 'devoir'; must or owe.
en: ahn — Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in' or 'of it'.
train: tran — Used in 'en train de' meaning in the process.
rapetisser: rah-puh-tee-say — To shrink or become smaller again.
encore: ahn-kor — Again or still, indicating repetition or continuation.
Elle: el — Third person feminine pronoun meaning 'she'.
se: suh — Reflexive pronoun meaning 'herself' or 'himself'.
leva: luh-vah — Rose or got up, past tense of 'lever'.
alla: ah-lah — Went, simple past tense of 'aller'.
à: ah — Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'.
table: tah-bl — Table, a flat-surfaced piece of furniture.
pour: poor — For or in order to, indicating purpose.
mesurer: muh-zew-ray — To measure size or dimensions of something.
par: par — By or through, indicating means or manner.
rapport: rah-por — Relation or comparison; 'par rapport à' means compared to.
constata: kon-stah-tah — Noted or observed, simple past of 'constater'.
que: kuh — Conjunction meaning 'that' or comparative 'than'.
après: ah-pray — After, indicating time or sequence of events.
ce: suh — Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this' or 'it'.
pouvait: poo-vay — Imperfect of 'pouvoir'; could or was able.
deviner: duh-vee-nay — To guess or figure out something.
mesurait: muh-zew-ray — Imperfect of 'mesurer'; was measuring or measured.
maintenant: man-tuh-nahn — Now, at the present moment in time.
environ: ahn-vee-rohn — About or approximately a given amount.
deux: duh — The number two.
pieds: pyay — Feet, units of measurement or body parts.
haut: oh — High or tall, indicating vertical measurement.
continuait: kon-tee-nweh — Imperfect of 'continuer'; was continuing or kept on.
rétrécir: ray-tray-seer — To shrink, get smaller, or narrow.
rapidement: rah-peed-mahn — Quickly or rapidly, adverb of speed.
découvrit: day-koo-vree — Discovered, simple past tense of 'découvrir'.
bientôt: byan-toh — Soon, in a short time from now.
cause: kohz — Cause or reason behind an event.
était: ay-tay — Imperfect of 'être'; was.
éventail: ay-vahn-tye — A fan used for cooling oneself.
tenait: tuh-nay — Imperfect of 'tenir'; was holding.
le: luh — Definite masculine singular article meaning 'the'.
laissa: lay-sah — Let go or dropped, past tense of 'laisser'.
tomber: tohn-bay — To fall or drop down.
hâte: aht — Haste or hurry, done quickly in urgency.
juste: zhewst — Just or barely, indicating narrow margin.
temps: tahn — Time, in 'juste à temps' meaning just in time.
éviter: ay-vee-tay — To avoid or prevent something from happening.
disparaître: dees-pah-retr — To disappear or vanish completely.
complètement: kom-plet-mahn — Completely or entirely, to the fullest extent.
C': s — Contraction of 'ce' before 'était'; it.
_était_: ay-tay — Imperfect of 'être'; was, with emphasis.
vraiment: vray-mahn — Really or truly, used for emphasis.
moins: mwan — Less; 'moins une' means a close call.
une: ewn — Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
dit: dee — Said, simple past tense of 'dire'.
passablement: pah-sah-bluh-mahn — Rather or fairly, moderately to a notable degree.
effrayée: ef-fray-ay — Frightened or scared, feminine past participle.
changement: shahnzh-mahn — Change or alteration in state or condition.
mais: may — But, conjunction indicating contrast or opposition.
très: tray — Very, intensifying adverb modifying adjectives.
soulagée: soo-lah-zhay — Relieved, feeling less stressed or worried.
trouver: troo-vay — To find or discover something.
vie: vee — Life, the state of being alive.
direction: dee-rek-syohn — Direction or way toward a destination.
jardin: zhar-dan — Garden, an outdoor area with plants.
courut: koo-rew — Ran, simple past tense of 'courir'.
vitesse: vee-tes — Speed or velocity, how fast something moves.
petite: puh-teet — Small or little, feminine singular adjective.
porte: port — Door, an entrance to a room or building.
hélas: ay-lahs — Alas, expressing regret or disappointment.
nouveau: noo-voh — New; 'de nouveau' means again or once more.
fermée: fair-may — Closed or shut, feminine past participle.
clé: klay — Key used to lock or unlock a door.
dorée: doh-ray — Golden or gold-colored, feminine adjective.
trouvait: troo-vay — Imperfect of 'trouver'; was found or located.
sur: sewr — On or upon a surface.
verre: vair — Glass, the material or a drinking glass.
comme: kom — As or like, indicating comparison or manner.
auparavant: oh-pah-rah-vahn — Before or previously, earlier in time.
choses: shohz — Things, plural of 'chose'.
vont: vohn — Third person plural present of 'aller'; go.
mal: mal — Badly or wrong, indicating poor condition.
pis: pee — Worse, comparative indicating greater degree of bad.
pauvre: pohvr — Poor or unfortunate, expressing sympathy.
enfant: ahn-fahn — Child, a young person or kid.
car: kar — Because or for, introducing a reason.
n': n — Negation particle 'ne' before a vowel.
ai: ay — First person singular present of 'avoir'; have.
jamais: zhah-may — Never, used with negation 'ne...jamais'.
été: ay-tay — Past participle of 'être'; been.
aussi: oh-see — Also, too, or as much as comparison.
présent: pray-zahn — Present, referring to the current moment now.
Et: ay — Conjunction meaning 'and'.
dire: deer — Infinitive meaning 'to say' or 'to tell'.
c': s — Contraction of 'ce' before vowel; this or it.
est: ay — Third person singular present of 'être'; is.
trop: troh — Too much or too many, excessive degree.
fort: for — Strong; 'c'est trop fort' means it's too much.
Comme: kom — As or just as, introducing a temporal clause.
prononçait: proh-nohn-say — Imperfect of 'prononcer'; was pronouncing or uttering.
ces: say — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'.
mots: moh — Words, units of language used in speech.
son: sohn — Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
pied: pyay — Foot, the lower body part used for walking.
glissa: glee-sah — Slipped, past tense of 'glisser'.
instant: an-stahn — Instant or moment, a very brief time period.
plouf: ploof — Splash, onomatopoeia for falling into water.

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