Bleak House — Page 1

English → Fr CHAPTER I Level 9/10

In Chancery

À la Chancellerie

London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall.

Londres. Le terme de la Saint-Michel récemment terminé, et le Lord Chancelier siégeant dans la salle de Lincoln's Inn.

Implacable November weather.

Un temps de novembre implacable.

As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.

Autant de boue dans les rues que si les eaux venaient tout juste de se retirer de la surface de la terre, et il ne serait pas étonnant de croiser un Mégalosaure, d'une quarantaine de pieds de long, se dandinant comme un lézard éléphantesque en remontant Holborn Hill.

Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes—gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun.

La fumée s'abaissant depuis les cheminées, formant une douce bruine noire, avec des flocons de suie aussi grands que des flocons de neige bien formés — entrée en deuil, pourrait-on imaginer, pour la mort du soleil.

Dogs, undistinguishable in mire.

Des chiens, impossibles à distinguer dans la fange.

Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers.

Des chevaux, à peine mieux lotis ; éclaboussés jusqu'aux œillères.

Foot passengers, jostling one another's umbrellas in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.

Des piétons, se bousculant mutuellement avec leurs parapluies dans une contagion générale de mauvaise humeur, et perdant pied aux coins des rues, où des dizaines de milliers d'autres piétons glissent et dérivent depuis l'aube (si ce jour s'est jamais levé), ajoutant de nouveaux dépôts à la croûte sur croûte de boue, s'accrochant tenacement à ces endroits sur le pavé, et s'accumulant à intérêts composés.

Fog everywhere.

Du brouillard partout.

Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city.

Du brouillard en remontant la rivière, là où elle coule parmi les îlots verdoyants et les prairies ; du brouillard en descendant la rivière, là où il se déroule souillé parmi les rangées de navires et les pollutions riveraines d'une grande (et sale) ville.

Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights.

Du brouillard sur les marais de l'Essex, du brouillard sur les hauteurs du Kent.

Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats.

Du brouillard se glissant dans les cuisines des bricks charbonniers ; du brouillard s'étendant sur les vergues et planant dans les gréements des grands navires ; du brouillard retombant sur les plats-bords des barges et des petites embarcations.

Vocabulary

Chancellerie: shahn-sel-ree — Chancellery; official office of a chancellor.
Londres: lohn-druh — London; capital city of England.
terme: tehrm — Term; a fixed period of time or session.
récemment: ray-sahm-mahn — Recently; happening a short time ago.
terminé: tehr-mee-nay — Finished; brought to an end or conclusion.
Chancelier: shahn-suh-lyay — Chancellor; high-ranking government or legal official.
siégeant: syay-zhahn — Sitting; presiding officially in a formal position.
salle: sal — Hall or room; large interior space.
temps: tahn — Weather or time; atmospheric conditions or duration.
novembre: noh-vahm-bruh — November; the eleventh month of the year.
implacable: ahm-plah-kahbl — Relentless; impossible to stop or appease.
Autant: oh-tahn — As much; indicating an equal or great quantity.
boue: boo — Mud; wet, sticky mixture of earth and water.
rues: roo — Streets; public roads in an urban area.
eaux: oh — Waters; plural of 'eau', meaning water.
venaient: vuh-nay — Were coming; imperfect tense of 'venir'.
juste: zhüst — Just; exactly or fairly, recently or barely.
retirer: ruh-tee-ray — To withdraw or recede from a place.
surface: sür-fas — Surface; the outer or top layer of something.
terre: tehr — Earth or land; the ground or soil.
serait: suh-ray — Would be; conditional tense of 'être'.
étonnant: ay-toh-nahn — Surprising; causing astonishment or amazement.
croiser: krwah-zay — To cross or encounter someone along the way.
quarantaine: kah-rahn-ten — About forty; an approximate quantity of forty.
pieds: pyay — Feet; units of measurement or body extremities.
long: lohn — Long; having great length or extent.
dandinant: dahn-dee-nahn — Waddling; swaying from side to side while walking.
lézard: lay-zar — Lizard; a small scaly reptile with four legs.
éléphantesque: ay-lay-fahn-tesk — Elephantine; resembling an elephant in size or manner.
remontant: ruh-mohn-tahn — Going back up; ascending or traveling upstream.
fumée: fü-may — Smoke; visible gas produced by burning material.
s'abaissant: sah-bay-sahn — Lowering itself; descending or sinking downward.
depuis: duh-pwee — Since or from; indicating a starting point.
cheminées: shuh-mee-nay — Chimneys; vertical structures venting smoke from buildings.
formant: for-mahn — Forming; creating or shaping something.
douce: doos — Soft or gentle; mild and pleasant in quality.
bruine: brween — Drizzle; very fine, light rainfall.
noire: nwahr — Black; the darkest color, absence of light.
flocons: floh-kohn — Flakes; small, light pieces of snow or soot.
suie: swee — Soot; black powder residue from burning material.
grands: grahn — Big or large; of considerable size or importance.
neige: nezh — Snow; frozen precipitation falling as white flakes.
formés: for-may — Formed; properly shaped or well-defined.
entrée: ahn-tray — Entry or entrance; the act of entering somewhere.
deuil: duh-y — Mourning; grief expressed after someone's death.
pourrait-on: poo-ray-tohn — Could one; conditional suggesting a possibility.
imaginer: ee-mah-zhee-nay — To imagine; to form a mental picture of something.
mort: mor — Death; the end of life.
soleil: soh-lay-y — Sun; the star at the center of our solar system.
chiens: shyahn — Dogs; domesticated canine animals.
impossibles: ahm-poh-seebl — Impossible; not able to be done or achieved.
distinguer: dees-tahn-gay — To distinguish; to tell apart or differentiate.
fange: fahnzh — Mire or filth; deep mud or moral degradation.
chevaux: shuh-voh — Horses; large domesticated animals used for riding.
peine: pen — Hardly; barely or with great difficulty.
mieux: myuh — Better; in a more favorable or improved way.
lotis: loh-tee — Off; faring in a particular condition or situation.
éclaboussés: ay-klah-boo-say — Splashed; covered with drops of liquid or mud.
jusqu'aux: zhüs-koh — Up to; as far as, reaching a certain point.
œillères: uh-yehr — Blinkers; leather flaps restricting a horse's vision.
piétons: pyay-tohn — Pedestrians; people traveling on foot.
bousculant: boos-kü-lahn — Jostling; pushing and shoving against others.
mutuellement: mü-twel-mahn — Mutually; in a way affecting both parties equally.
parapluies: pah-rah-plwee — Umbrellas; portable canopies used as rain protection.
contagion: kohn-tah-zhyohn — Contagion; spreading of disease or mood to others.
générale: zhay-nay-ral — General; widespread, affecting everyone or everything.
mauvaise: moh-vez — Bad; of poor quality or unpleasant nature.
humeur: ü-mur — Mood or humor; a person's emotional state.
perdant: pehr-dahn — Losing; failing to maintain grip or footing.
pied: pyay — Foot; the lower extremity of the leg.
coins: kwahn — Corners; points where two streets or edges meet.
dizaines: dee-zen — Tens; groups of ten or dozens of things.
milliers: mee-lyay — Thousands; large quantities numbering in thousands.
glissent: glees — Slip or slide; move smoothly on a slippery surface.
dérivent: day-reev — Drift; move aimlessly carried by current or wind.
l'aube: lohb — Dawn; the first light of day in the morning.
jour: zhoor — Day; a 24-hour period or daylight hours.
jamais: zhah-may — Never; at no time, not ever.
levé: luh-vay — Risen; past participle of 'lever', to rise.
ajoutant: ah-zhoo-tahn — Adding; including or contributing additional amounts.
nouveaux: noo-voh — New; recent or not previously existing.
dépôts: day-poh — Deposits; accumulated layers of sediment or material.
croûte: kroot — Crust; a hardened outer layer of material.
s'accrochant: sah-kroh-shahn — Clinging; holding tightly to a surface or object.
tenacement: tuh-nas-mahn — Tenaciously; persistently holding on with great determination.
endroits: ahn-drwah — Places; specific locations or spots.
pavé: pah-vay — Pavement or cobblestone; a hard road surface.
s'accumulant: sah-kü-mü-lahn — Accumulating; building up or gathering in quantity.
intérêts: ahn-tay-ray — Interest; financial growth or matters of concern.
composés: kohm-poh-zay — Compound; made of multiple parts or components.
brouillard: broo-yar — Fog; thick mist reducing visibility in the air.
partout: par-too — Everywhere; in all places without exception.
rivière: ree-vyehr — River; a large natural stream of flowing water.
coule: kool — Flows; moves steadily as liquid through a channel.
parmi: par-mee — Among; in the middle of a group or set.
îlots: ee-loh — Islets; small islands or isolated patches.
verdoyants: vehr-dwah-yahn — Verdant; covered with green, lush vegetation.
prairies: preh-ree — Meadows; open areas of grassland or fields.
descendant: day-sahn-dahn — Descending; moving downward or flowing downstream.
déroule: day-rool — Unrolls or flows; extends outward in a sequence.
souillé: swee-yay — Soiled or polluted; made dirty or contaminated.
rangées: rahn-zhay — Rows; arranged lines of objects or vessels.
navires: nah-veer — Ships; large vessels for sea or river travel.
pollutions: poh-lü-syohn — Pollutions; contaminations harming the environment.
riveraines: ree-vuh-ren — Riparian; relating to or situated on a riverbank.
grande: grahnd — Great or large; of impressive size or importance.
sale: sal — Dirty; unclean or morally corrupt.
ville: veel — City or town; a large urban settlement.
marais: mah-ray — Marsh or swamp; waterlogged, boggy low-lying land.
hauteurs: oh-tur — Heights; elevated areas or hilltops of a region.
glissant: glee-sahn — Slipping; sliding over a slippery or wet surface.
cuisines: kwee-zeen — Kitchens; rooms used for cooking on board ships.
charbonniers: shar-boh-nyay — Coal vessels; ships used for transporting coal.
s'étendant: say-tahn-dahn — Spreading or extending; stretching out across an area.
vergues: vehrg — Yards; horizontal spars on a ship's mast.
planant: plah-nahn — Hovering; floating or gliding smoothly through air.
gréements: gray-mahn — Rigging; ropes and equipment supporting ship masts.
retombant: ruh-tohm-bahn — Falling back down; descending again after rising.
plats-bords: plah-bor — Gunwales; the upper edge or rail of a boat.
barges: barzh — Barges; flat-bottomed boats for transporting goods.
petites: puh-teet — Small; of little size or limited dimensions.
embarcations: ahm-bar-kah-syohn — Boats; small watercraft used for short journeys.

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