Anna Karenina — Page 3
He pulled up the blind and rang the bell loudly.
Il releva le store et sonna la cloche bruyamment.
It was at once answered by the appearance of an old friend, his valet, Matvey, carrying his clothes, his boots, and a telegram.
On y répondit aussitôt par l'apparition d'un vieil ami, son valet, Matvey, portant ses vêtements, ses bottes et un télégramme.
Matvey was followed by the barber with all the necessaries for shaving.
Matvey était suivi du barbier avec tout le nécessaire pour se raser.
"Are there any papers from the office?" asked Stepan Arkadyevitch, taking the telegram and seating himself at the looking-glass.
« Y a-t-il des papiers du bureau ? » demanda Stépane Arcadiévitch, prenant le télégramme et s'installant devant le miroir.
"On the table," replied Matvey, glancing with inquiring sympathy at his master; and, after a short pause, he added with a sly smile, "They've sent from the carriage-jobbers."
« Sur la table », répondit Matvey, jetant un regard d'interrogative sympathie à son maître ; et, après une courte pause, il ajouta avec un sourire malicieux : « Ils ont envoyé de chez les loueurs de voitures. »
Stepan Arkadyevitch made no reply, he merely glanced at Matvey in the looking-glass.
Stépane Arcadiévitch ne répondit rien, il jeta simplement un regard à Matvey dans le miroir.
In the glance, in which their eyes met in the looking-glass, it was clear that they understood one another.
Dans ce regard, où leurs yeux se croisèrent dans le miroir, il était évident qu'ils se comprenaient.
Stepan Arkadyevitch's eyes asked: "Why do you tell me that? don't you know?"
Les yeux de Stépane Arcadiévitch demandaient : « Pourquoi me dites-vous cela ? Ne le savez-vous pas ? »
Matvey put his hands in his jacket pockets, thrust out one leg, and gazed silently, good-humoredly, with a faint smile, at his master.
Matvey mit les mains dans les poches de sa veste, avança une jambe et regarda son maître en silence, d'un air jovial, avec un léger sourire.
"I told them to come on Sunday, and till then not to trouble you or themselves for nothing," he said.
« Je leur ai dit de venir dimanche, et jusque-là de ne vous déranger ni eux-mêmes pour rien », dit-il.
He had obviously prepared the sentence beforehand.
Il avait manifestement préparé cette phrase à l'avance.
Stepan Arkadyevitch saw Matvey wanted to make a joke and attract attention to himself.
Stépane Arcadiévitch vit que Matvey voulait plaisanter et attirer l'attention sur lui.
Tearing open the telegram, he read it through, guessing at the words, misspelt as they always are in telegrams, and his face brightened.
Déchirant le télégramme, il le lut en entier, devinant les mots mal orthographiés comme ils le sont toujours dans les télégrammes, et son visage s'éclaira.
Vocabulary
- releva
- ruh-luh-vah — Past tense of relever: raised or lifted up.
- store
- stor — Window blind or roller shade.
- sonna
- so-nah — Past tense of sonner: rang a bell.
- cloche
- klosh — A bell used to produce a ringing sound.
- bruyamment
- brwee-ya-mahn — Adverb meaning loudly or noisily.
- répondit
- ray-pohn-dee — Past tense of répondre: replied or answered.
- aussitôt
- oh-see-toh — Adverb meaning immediately or right away.
- apparition
- ah-pah-ree-syohn — The sudden appearance of someone or something.
- vieil
- vyay — Form of vieux used before a vowel: old.
- valet
- vah-lay — A male personal servant attending to someone.
- portant
- por-tahn — Present participle of porter: carrying or bearing.
- vêtements
- vet-mahn — Clothing or garments worn on the body.
- bottes
- bot — Boots, sturdy footwear covering feet and ankles.
- télégramme
- tay-lay-gram — A written message sent rapidly by telegraph.
- suivi
- swee-vee — Past participle of suivre: followed or accompanied by.
- barbier
- bar-byay — A barber who shaves and cuts hair.
- nécessaire
- nay-say-sair — What is necessary or required for a task.
- raser
- rah-zay — To shave hair or beard from the face.
- papiers
- pah-pyay — Papers or documents, often official or written.
- bureau
- bü-roh — A desk or office used for work.
- demanda
- duh-mahn-dah — Past tense of demander: asked or inquired.
- prenant
- pruh-nahn — Present participle of prendre: taking or grabbing.
- installant
- an-sta-lahn — Present participle of installer: settling or sitting down.
- miroir
- meer-war — A mirror used for reflecting one's image.
- jetant
- zhuh-tahn — Present participle of jeter: throwing or casting.
- regard
- ruh-gar — A look or glance directed at someone.
- interrogative
- an-tay-ro-ga-teev — Expressing a question or inquiry through a look.
- sympathie
- sam-pah-tee — Sympathy or warm feeling toward another person.
- maître
- meh-truh — Master or employer; a person in authority.
- courte
- koort — Feminine form of court: short in duration.
- pause
- pohz — A brief stop or temporary break in activity.
- ajouta
- ah-zhoo-tah — Past tense of ajouter: added or said further.
- sourire
- soo-reer — A smile; the act of smiling pleasantly.
- malicieux
- mah-lee-syuh — Mischievous or playfully sly in expression.
- envoyé
- ahn-vwah-yay — Past participle of envoyer: sent a message or person.
- chez
- shay — Preposition meaning at the home or place of.
- loueurs
- loo-uhr — People who rent out vehicles or equipment.
- voitures
- vwah-tür — Cars or horse-drawn carriages used for transport.
- rien
- Nothing; not anything at all.
- jeta
- zhuh-tah — Past tense of jeter: threw or tossed something.
- simplement
- sam-pluh-mahn — Adverb meaning simply or just, without complication.
- yeux
- yuh — Eyes; the plural form of œil.
- croisèrent
- krwah-zair — Past tense of croiser: met or crossed each other.
- évident
- ay-vee-dahn — Evident or obvious; clearly apparent to everyone.
- comprenaient
- kohm-pruh-nay — Imperfect tense of comprendre: understood or were understanding.
- demandaient
- duh-mahn-day — Imperfect tense of demander: were asking or questioning.
- Pourquoi
- poor-kwah — Interrogative adverb meaning why or for what reason.
- dites-
- deet — Second person plural of dire: say or tell.
- cela
- suh-lah — Demonstrative pronoun meaning that or this thing.
- savez-
- sah-vay — Second person plural of savoir: do you know.
- mit
- mee — Past tense of mettre: put or placed something.
- mains
- man — Hands; the plural of main.
- poches
- posh — Pockets on clothing for carrying small items.
- veste
- vest — A jacket or short coat worn over a shirt.
- avança
- ah-vahn-sah — Past tense of avancer: moved or stepped forward.
- jambe
- zhamb — A leg; lower limb of the human body.
- regarda
- ruh-gar-dah — Past tense of regarder: looked at or observed.
- silence
- see-lahns — Absence of sound; complete quiet or stillness.
- air
- air — An expression or manner; the look on someone's face.
- jovial
- zhoh-vyal — Cheerful and friendly in manner or expression.
- léger
- lay-zhay — Light in weight or manner; not serious or heavy.
- dit
- dee — Past participle of dire: said or told.
- venir
- vuh-neer — Infinitive meaning to come or to arrive.
- dimanche
- dee-mahnsh — Sunday; the last day of the week.
- jusque-
- zhüsk — Preposition meaning until or up to a point.
- déranger
- day-rahn-zhay — To disturb or bother someone unnecessarily.
- ni
- nee — Negative conjunction meaning neither or nor.
- mêmes
- maym — Emphatic adjective meaning same or themselves.
- manifestement
- mah-nee-fest-mahn — Adverb meaning obviously or clearly to all observers.
- préparé
- pray-pah-ray — Past participle of préparer: prepared or readied in advance.
- phrase
- frahz — A sentence or turn of phrase in speech.
- avance
- ah-vahns — Advance; doing something ahead of time.
- vit
- vee — Past tense of voir: saw or noticed something.
- voulait
- voo-lay — Imperfect tense of vouloir: wanted or wished to.
- plaisanter
- play-zahn-tay — To joke or make a playful remark.
- attirer
- ah-tee-ray — To attract or draw someone's attention toward something.
- attention
- ah-tahn-syohn — Focused awareness or notice directed at something.
- Déchirant
- day-shee-rahn — Present participle of déchirer: tearing open something.
- lut
- lü — Past tense of lire: read a text.
- entier
- ahn-tyay — Adjective meaning entire or whole, complete.
- devinant
- duh-vee-nahn — Present participle of deviner: guessing or figuring out.
- mots
- moh — Words; units of language in written or spoken form.
- mal
- mal — Badly or poorly; not done correctly.
- orthographiés
- or-to-gra-fyay — Past participle of orthographier: spelled correctly or incorrectly.
- toujours
- too-zhoor — Adverb meaning always or still.
- télégrammes
- tay-lay-gram — Plural of télégramme: telegrams sent rapidly by wire.
- visage
- vee-zahzh — The face; front part of the human head.
- éclaira
- ay-klair-ah — Past tense of éclairer: lit up or brightened.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →