Anne of Green Gables — Page 3

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

And yet here was Matthew Cuthbert, at half-past three on the afternoon of a busy day, placidly driving over the hollow and up the hill;

Et pourtant, voilà que Matthew Cuthbert, à trois heures et demie de l'après-midi d'une journée chargée, conduisait paisiblement son attelage dans le creux du chemin et remontait la colline ;

moreover, he wore a white collar and his best suit of clothes, which was plain proof that he was going out of Avonlea;

qui plus est, il portait un col blanc et son meilleur costume, ce qui constituait la preuve évidente qu'il sortait d'Avonlea ;

and he had the buggy and the sorrel mare, which betokened that he was going a considerable distance.

et il avait pris le boghei et la jument alezane, ce qui annonçait qu'il allait parcourir une distance considérable.

Now, where was Matthew Cuthbert going and why was he going there?

Alors, où donc Matthew Cuthbert allait-il, et pourquoi y allait-il ?

Had it been any other man in Avonlea, Mrs. Rachel, deftly putting this and that together, might have given a pretty good guess as to both questions.

Si cela avait été n'importe quel autre homme d'Avonlea, Mme Rachel, habilement en recoupant les indices, aurait pu hasarder une assez bonne réponse aux deux questions.

But Matthew so rarely went from home that it must be something pressing and unusual which was taking him;

Mais Matthew sortait si rarement de chez lui que ce devait être quelque chose d'urgent et d'inhabituel qui l'y contraignait ;

he was the shyest man alive and hated to have to go among strangers or to any place where he might have to talk.

c'était l'homme le plus timide qui soit et il détestait se retrouver parmi des inconnus ou en quelque endroit où il pourrait être amené à parler.

Matthew, dressed up with a white collar and driving in a buggy, was something that didn't happen often.

Matthew, endimanché avec un col blanc et conduisant un boghei, c'était quelque chose qui n'arrivait pas souvent.

Mrs. Rachel, ponder as she might, could make nothing of it and her afternoon's enjoyment was spoiled.

Mme Rachel avait beau réfléchir, elle n'y comprenait rien et le plaisir de son après-midi en était gâché.

"I'll just step over to Green Gables after tea and find out from Marilla where he's gone and why," the worthy woman finally concluded.

« Je vais simplement passer à Green Gables après le thé et demander à Marilla où il est allé et pourquoi », conclut finalement la digne femme.

Vocabulary

pourtant: Adverb meaning 'yet' or 'however', expressing contrast.
voilà: Expression meaning 'there is' or 'here we go'.
demie: Adjective meaning 'half', used in telling time.
après-midi: Noun meaning 'afternoon', the period after noon.
journée: Noun meaning 'day', emphasizing the duration of a day.
chargée: Adjective meaning 'busy' or 'loaded', full of activity.
conduisait: Imperfect tense of 'conduire', meaning 'was driving'.
paisiblement: Adverb meaning 'peacefully' or 'calmly', without disturbance.
attelage: Noun meaning 'horse-drawn vehicle' or 'team of horses'.
creux: Noun or adjective meaning 'hollow' or 'dip' in terrain.
chemin: Noun meaning 'path', 'road', or 'way'.
remontait: Imperfect tense of 'remonter', meaning 'was going back up'.
colline: Noun meaning 'hill', a raised area of land.
portait: Imperfect tense of 'porter', meaning 'was wearing'.
col: Noun meaning 'collar', part of a shirt or coat.
meilleur: Adjective meaning 'best' or 'better', superlative of 'bon'.
costume: Noun meaning 'suit' or 'costume', a set of clothing.
constituait: Imperfect of 'constituer', meaning 'constituted' or 'represented'.
preuve: Noun meaning 'proof' or 'evidence' of something.
évidente: Adjective meaning 'obvious' or 'evident', clearly apparent.
sortait: Imperfect of 'sortir', meaning 'was going out'.
pris: Past participle of 'prendre', meaning 'taken'.
boghei: Noun meaning 'buggy', a light horse-drawn carriage.
jument: Noun meaning 'mare', a female horse.
alezane: Adjective meaning 'chestnut', describing a reddish-brown horse.
annonçait: Imperfect of 'annoncer', meaning 'announced' or 'indicated'.
parcourir: Verb meaning 'to travel' or 'to cover' a distance.
considérable: Adjective meaning 'considerable' or 'significant' in size.
Alors: Adverb meaning 'so', 'then', or 'at that time'.
donc: Conjunction meaning 'so', 'therefore', or 'then'.
allait-il: Inverted question form meaning 'was he going'.
y: Pronoun meaning 'there' or replacing a location phrase.
cela: Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this thing'.
importe: From 'importer', used in 'n'importe quel' meaning 'any'.
quel: Interrogative or exclamative adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'.
habilement: Adverb meaning 'skillfully' or 'cleverly', with ability.
recoupant: Present participle of 'recouper', meaning 'cross-referencing' clues.
indices: Noun meaning 'clues' or 'hints', signs pointing to something.
aurait: Conditional of 'avoir', meaning 'would have'.
pu: Past participle of 'pouvoir', meaning 'been able to'.
hasarder: Verb meaning 'to hazard' or 'to venture' a guess.
assez: Adverb meaning 'enough' or 'fairly', moderately.
réponse: Noun meaning 'answer' or 'response' to a question.
rarement: Adverb meaning 'rarely' or 'seldom', not often.
chez: Preposition meaning 'at someone's place' or 'at home'.
devait: Imperfect of 'devoir', meaning 'must have been' or 'had to'.
quelque: Adjective meaning 'some' or 'a certain', indefinite quantity.
urgent: Adjective meaning 'urgent', requiring immediate attention.
inhabituel: Adjective meaning 'unusual' or 'uncommon', not ordinary.
contraignait: Imperfect of 'contraindre', meaning 'was compelling' or 'forcing'.
timide: Adjective meaning 'shy' or 'timid', lacking confidence socially.
soit: Subjunctive of 'être' or conjunction meaning 'either'.
détestait: Imperfect of 'détester', meaning 'hated' or 'disliked strongly'.
retrouver: Verb meaning 'to find oneself' or 'to end up'.
parmi: Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amongst' a group.
inconnus: Noun or adjective meaning 'strangers' or 'unknown people'.
endroit: Noun meaning 'place' or 'location', a specific spot.
pourrait: Conditional of 'pouvoir', meaning 'could' or 'might'.
amené: Past participle of 'amener', meaning 'led to' or 'brought'.
endimanché: Adjective meaning 'dressed in Sunday best', wearing formal clothes.
conduisant: Present participle of 'conduire', meaning 'driving' or 'leading'.
souvent: Adverb meaning 'often' or 'frequently'.
réfléchir: Verb meaning 'to think' or 'to reflect' on something.
comprenait: Imperfect of 'comprendre', meaning 'understood'.
rien: Pronoun meaning 'nothing', used in negative constructions.
plaisir: Noun meaning 'pleasure' or 'enjoyment', a positive feeling.
gâché: Past participle of 'gâcher', meaning 'spoiled' or 'ruined'.
simplement: Adverb meaning 'simply' or 'just', without complication.
passer: Verb meaning 'to pass by' or 'to stop by' a place.
après: Preposition meaning 'after', following in time or order.
thé: Noun meaning 'tea', a hot brewed beverage.
conclut: Past tense of 'conclure', meaning 'concluded' or 'decided'.
finalement: Adverb meaning 'finally' or 'in the end'.
digne: Adjective meaning 'dignified' or 'worthy', having self-respect.

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