Anne of Green Gables — Page 2

English → Fr CHAPTER I. Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Surprised Level 6/10

Rachel found abundant time to sit for hours at her kitchen window, knitting "cotton warp" quilts--she had knitted sixteen of them, as Avonlea housekeepers were wont to tell in awed voices--and keeping a sharp eye on the main road that crossed the hollow and wound up the steep red hill beyond.

Rachel trouvait amplement le temps de s'asseoir des heures à la fenêtre de sa cuisine, à tricoter des courtepointes en « coton chaîne » -- elle en avait tricoté seize, comme les ménagères d'Avonlea avaient coutume de le dire d'une voix admirative -- et à surveiller d'un œil attentif la grand-route qui traversait le creux et s'enroulait au-delà autour de l'escarpée colline rouge.

Since Avonlea occupied a little triangular peninsula jutting out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with water on two sides of it, anybody who went out of it or into it had to pass over that hill road and so run the unseen gauntlet of Mrs. Rachel's all-seeing eye.

Comme Avonlea occupait une petite péninsule triangulaire avançant dans le golfe du Saint-Laurent, avec de l'eau sur deux de ses côtés, quiconque en sortait ou y entrait devait emprunter cette route de colline et ainsi courir le risque invisible d'être épié par l'œil omniscient de Mme Rachel.

She was sitting there one afternoon in early June.

Elle était assise là un après-midi du début du mois de juin.

The sun was coming in at the window warm and bright; the orchard on the slope below the house was in a bridal flush of pinky-white bloom, hummed over by a myriad of bees.

Le soleil entrait par la fenêtre, chaud et lumineux ; le verger sur le versant en contrebas de la maison resplendissait d'une floraison nuptiale blanc rosé, bourdonnante d'une myriade d'abeilles.

Thomas Lynde--a meek little man whom Avonlea people called "Rachel Lynde's husband"--was sowing his late turnip seed on the hill field beyond the barn; and Matthew Cuthbert ought to have been sowing his on the big red brook field away over by Green Gables.

Thomas Lynde -- un petit homme doux que les gens d'Avonlea appelaient « le mari de Rachel Lynde » -- semait ses graines de navet tardives dans le champ de la colline derrière la grange ; et Matthew Cuthbert aurait dû semer les siennes dans le grand champ rouge du ruisseau, là-bas du côté de Green Gables.

Mrs. Rachel knew that he ought because she had heard him tell Peter Morrison the evening before in William J. Blair's store over at Carmody that he meant to sow his turnip seed the next afternoon.

Mme Rachel savait qu'il aurait dû le faire parce qu'elle l'avait entendu dire à Peter Morrison la veille au soir, dans le magasin de William J. Blair à Carmody, qu'il avait l'intention de semer ses graines de navet l'après-midi suivant.

Peter had asked him, of course, for Matthew Cuthbert had never been known to volunteer information about anything in his whole life.

Peter le lui avait demandé, bien sûr, car on n'avait jamais connu Matthew Cuthbert offrir spontanément la moindre information sur quoi que ce soit de toute sa vie.

Vocabulary

trouvait: Found or considered (imperfect tense of trouver).
amplement: Amply, more than sufficiently, abundantly.
temps: Time; also weather, depending on context.
asseoir: To sit down; an irregular reflexive verb.
heures: Hours; units of time, plural of heure.
fenêtre: Window; an opening in a wall for light.
cuisine: Kitchen; room where food is prepared.
tricoter: To knit; to create fabric by looping yarn.
courtepointes: Quilts; stitched bed coverings made of layered fabric.
coton: Cotton; a natural textile fiber from cotton plants.
chaîne: Chain; here refers to chain stitch in knitting/sewing.
tricoté: Knitted; past participle of tricoter.
seize: Sixteen; the cardinal number 16.
ménagères: Housewives; women who manage a household.
coutume: Custom, habit; a traditional or habitual practice.
dire: To say, to tell; a common irregular French verb.
voix: Voice; sound produced by a person speaking or singing.
admirative: Admiring; expressing admiration or wonder.
surveiller: To watch, to monitor; keep a close eye on something.
œil: Eye; the organ of sight (plural: yeux).
attentif: Attentive, watchful; paying close careful attention.
grand-route: Main road, highway; a principal public thoroughfare.
traversait: Crossed through, passed across (imperfect of traverser).
creux: Hollow, valley; a low depression in the landscape.
enroulait: Wound, coiled (imperfect of enrouler); curved around something.
au-delà: Beyond; on the other side of a given point.
autour: Around; encircling or on all sides of something.
escarpée: Steep; a sharply inclined slope or hillside.
colline: Hill; a natural elevation of land, smaller than a mountain.
rouge: Red; the color of blood or ripe tomatoes.
occupait: Occupied, took up (imperfect of occuper).
petite: Small, little (feminine form of petit).
péninsule: Peninsula; land surrounded by water on three sides.
triangulaire: Triangular; having the shape of a triangle.
avançant: Advancing, jutting out (present participle of avancer).
golfe: Gulf; a large inlet of sea into the land.
eau: Water; the liquid essential to life.
côtés: Sides; lateral edges or flanks of something.
quiconque: Whoever, anyone who; an indefinite relative pronoun.
sortait: Was leaving, went out (imperfect of sortir).
y: There; a pronoun replacing a previously mentioned place.
entrait: Was entering (imperfect tense of entrer).
devait: Had to, must (imperfect of devoir); expressing obligation.
emprunter: To use, to take (a road); also to borrow something.
ainsi: Thus, so, in this way; an adverb of manner.
courir: To run; to move quickly on foot.
risque: Risk; the possibility of something harmful happening.
invisible: Invisible; not able to be seen by the eye.
être: To be; the fundamental French auxiliary and linking verb.
épié: Spied upon; past participle of épier, to spy on.
omniscient: All-knowing; having complete or unlimited knowledge.
assise: Seated (feminine past participle of asseoir).
après-midi: Afternoon; the period of day after noon.
début: Beginning, start; the first part of something.
mois: Month; one of twelve divisions of the calendar year.
juin: June; the sixth month of the year.
soleil: Sun; the star at the center of our solar system.
chaud: Warm, hot; having a high or pleasant temperature.
lumineux: Bright, luminous; emitting or reflecting much light.
verger: Orchard; a garden or area planted with fruit trees.
versant: Slope, hillside; the slanting side of a hill or valley.
contrebas: Below, at a lower level; situated at a lower elevation.
maison: House, home; a building where people live.
resplendissait: Was shining, gleaming (imperfect of resplendir).
floraison: Bloom, flowering; the period when flowers blossom.
nuptiale: Nuptial, bridal; relating to marriage or weddings.
blanc: White; the lightest color, opposite of black.
rosé: Pinkish, rosy; having a light pink color.
bourdonnante: Buzzing, humming; making a continuous low droning sound.
myriade: Myriad; an extremely large, countless number of things.
abeilles: Bees; flying insects that produce honey and pollinate flowers.
petit: Small, little; of less than average size.
homme: Man; an adult male human being.
doux: Gentle, soft, mild; calm and agreeable in manner.
gens: People, folks; persons in general or a community.
appelaient: Called, referred to as (imperfect of appeler).
mari: Husband; a man in relation to his spouse.
semait: Was sowing (imperfect of semer); planting seeds in soil.
graines: Seeds; small plant embryos used to grow new plants.
navet: Turnip; a round root vegetable with white or purple skin.
tardives: Late, belated (feminine plural); occurring later than expected.
champ: Field; an open area of land used for farming.
derrière: Behind, at the back of; a preposition indicating position.
grange: Barn; a large farm building for storing crops or animals.
aurait: Would have; conditional tense of avoir.
dû: Should have, ought to; past participle of devoir.
semer: To sow, to plant seeds; scattering seeds in soil.
siennes: Hers; feminine plural possessive pronoun.
grand: Large, big, great; of above-average size or importance.
ruisseau: Stream, brook; a small flowing body of water.
là-bas: Over there, yonder; at or in that place over there.
côté: Side; one of two or more lateral parts of something.
savait: Knew (imperfect of savoir); had knowledge of a fact.
faire: To do, to make; a very common irregular French verb.
entendu: Heard; past participle of entendre, to hear.
veille: Eve, the day before; also means to stay awake.
soir: Evening; the latter part of the day before night.
magasin: Store, shop; a place where goods are sold to customers.
intention: Intention, plan; a deliberate aim or purpose.
suivant: Following, next; the one coming immediately after another.
demandé: Asked, requested; past participle of demander.
bien: Well, good; an adverb expressing quality or degree.
sûr: Sure, certain; confident that something is true.
car: Because, for; a coordinating conjunction giving a reason.
on: One, we, people; an indefinite subject pronoun in French.
jamais: Never (with ne); ever; at no point in time.
connu: Known; past participle of connaître (to know a person/thing).
offrir: To offer, to give; to present something to someone.
spontanément: Spontaneously; acting without external prompting or planning.
moindre: Least, slightest; the smallest or least significant amount.
information: Information; knowledge or facts communicated to others.
quoi: What; an interrogative or relative pronoun in French.
soit: Be (subjunctive of être); used in expressions like quoi que ce soit.
toute: All, entire, whole (feminine singular form of tout).
vie: Life; the state of being alive, one's existence.

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