Bleak House — Page 2

English → Fr CHAPTER I Level 9/10

Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little 'prentice boy on deck.

Le brouillard dans les yeux et les gorges des vieux pensionnaires de Greenwich, qui toussotent près des feux de leurs salles ; le brouillard dans le tuyau et le fourneau de la pipe de l'après-midi du capitaine courroucé, au fond de sa cabine étouffante ; le brouillard pinçant cruellement les orteils et les doigts de son petit apprenti tout grelottant sur le pont.

Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon and hanging in the misty clouds.

Des passants sur les ponts qui regardent par-dessus les parapets dans un ciel inférieur de brouillard, avec le brouillard tout autour d'eux, comme s'ils étaient montés en ballon et suspendus dans les nuages brumeux.

Gas looming through the fog in divers places in the streets, much as the sun may, from the spongey fields, be seen to loom by husbandman and ploughboy.

Le gaz surgissant à travers le brouillard en divers endroits dans les rues, tout comme le soleil peut, depuis les champs spongieux, être vu se profiler par le laboureur et le garçon de ferme.

Most of the shops lighted two hours before their time—as the gas seems to know, for it has a haggard and unwilling look.

La plupart des boutiques éclairées deux heures avant l'heure — comme le gaz semble le savoir, car il a un aspect hagard et réticent.

The raw afternoon is rawest, and the dense fog is densest, and the muddy streets are muddiest near that leaden-headed old obstruction, appropriate ornament for the threshold of a leaden-headed old corporation, Temple Bar.

L'après-midi âpre est le plus âpre, et le brouillard épais est le plus épais, et les rues boueuses sont les plus boueuses près de cet antique obstacle à la tête de plomb, ornement approprié pour le seuil d'une vieille corporation à la tête de plomb, Temple Bar.

And hard by Temple Bar, in Lincoln's Inn Hall, at the very heart of the fog, sits the Lord High Chancellor in his High Court of Chancery.

Et tout près de Temple Bar, dans la salle de Lincoln's Inn, au cœur même du brouillard, siège le Lord Grand Chancelier dans sa Haute Cour de la Chancellerie.

Never can there come fog too thick, never can there come mud and mire too deep, to assort with the groping and floundering condition which this High Court of Chancery, most pestilent of hoary sinners, holds this day in the sight of heaven and earth.

Jamais ne peut venir un brouillard trop épais, jamais ne peuvent venir une boue et un limon trop profonds, pour s'accorder avec l'état de tâtonnement et de débâcle dans lequel cette Haute Cour de la Chancellerie, la plus pestilentielle des vieux pécheurs, se trouve en ce jour aux yeux du ciel et de la terre.

Vocabulary

brouillard: broo-yar — Fog; thick mist obscuring visibility.
yeux: yuh — Eyes; plural of 'œil'.
gorges: gorj — Throats; narrow passages or gullets.
vieux: vyuh — Old; aged, used for masculine nouns.
pensionnaires: pahn-syoh-nair — Boarders or residents living in an institution.
toussotent: too-sot — Cough repeatedly with small persistent coughs.
près: preh — Preposition meaning 'near' or 'close to'.
feux: fuh — Fires; plural of 'feu'.
salles: sal — Rooms or halls in a building.
tuyau: twee-yoh — Pipe or tube carrying fluid or smoke.
fourneau: foor-noh — Stove or furnace used for cooking or heating.
pipe: peep — Smoking pipe used with tobacco.
après-midi: ah-preh-mee-dee — Afternoon; the period after midday.
capitaine: kah-pee-ten — Captain; commander of a ship or military unit.
courroucé: koo-roo-say — Enraged or furious; filled with great anger.
fond: fohn — Bottom or depths of an enclosed space.
cabine: kah-been — Cabin; small private room on a ship.
étouffante: ay-too-fahnt — Suffocating or stifling; oppressively hot and airless.
pinçant: pan-sahn — Pinching; gripping tightly with fingers or similar.
cruellement: kroo-el-mahn — Cruelly; in a harsh or merciless manner.
orteils: or-tay — Toes; the digits of the foot.
doigts: dwah — Fingers; digits of the hand.
petit: puh-tee — Small or little; describing something of small size.
apprenti: ah-prahn-tee — Apprentice; a beginner learning a trade or skill.
tout: too — All or entirely; used as adjective or adverb.
grelottant: gruh-loh-tahn — Shivering; trembling from cold or fear.
pont: pohn — Bridge or deck of a ship.
passants: pah-sahn — Passersby; people walking past in the street.
ponts: pohn — Bridges or ship decks; plural of 'pont'.
regardent: ruh-gard — Look at or watch; third person plural present.
par-dessus: par-duh-sew — Over or above; looking over the top of something.
parapets: pah-rah-peh — Low protective walls on bridges or rooftops.
ciel: syel — Sky; the expanse above the earth.
inférieur: an-fay-ryur — Lower or inferior; situated beneath something else.
autour: oh-toor — Around; surrounding on all sides.
montés: mohn-tay — Gone up or ascended; past participle of 'monter'.
ballon: bah-lohn — Balloon; an air-filled bag that rises aloft.
suspendus: sews-pahn-dew — Suspended; hanging in midair without support.
nuages: new-ahj — Clouds; masses of condensed water in the sky.
brumeux: brew-muh — Misty or foggy; filled with haze or mist.
gaz: gaz — Gas; a substance in gaseous or vaporous form.
surgissant: sewr-zhee-sahn — Surging or rising up suddenly from below.
travers: trah-vair — Through or across; used in phrase 'à travers'.
divers: dee-vair — Various or diverse; of several different kinds.
endroits: ahn-drwah — Places or spots; various locations.
rues: rew — Streets; roads in a town or city.
soleil: so-lay — Sun; the star at the center of our solar system.
depuis: duh-pwee — Since or from; indicating a starting point in time.
champs: shahn — Fields; open areas of agricultural or natural land.
spongieux: spohn-zhyuh — Spongy; soft and saturated with moisture.
profiler: pro-fee-lay — To be outlined or silhouetted against a background.
laboureur: lah-boo-rur — Ploughman; a farmer who plows the fields.
garçon: gar-sohn — Boy or young man; also used for waiter.
ferme: fairm — Farm; an agricultural establishment or land.
plupart: plew-par — Most; the greater part or majority of something.
boutiques: boo-teek — Shops; small retail establishments selling goods.
éclairées: ay-kleh-ray — Lit up or illuminated; having lights turned on.
heures: ur — Hours; units of time equal to sixty minutes.
avant: ah-vahn — Before; prior to a certain point in time.
heure: ur — Hour or time; a unit of sixty minutes.
semble: sahm-bluh — Seems or appears; third person singular of 'sembler'.
savoir: sah-vwar — To know; to have knowledge of something.
car: kar — Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'.
aspect: as-pek — Appearance or look; how something or someone seems.
hagard: ah-gar — Haggard; looking wild, gaunt, or distressed.
réticent: ray-tee-sahn — Reticent; reluctant to reveal information or speak freely.
âpre: ahpr — Harsh or bitter; rough and unpleasant in character.
plus: plew — More; used in comparatives or meaning 'no more'.
épais: ay-peh — Thick or dense; having great depth or density.
boueuses: boo-uhz — Muddy; covered in or full of mud.
antique: ahn-teek — Ancient or antique; very old and historic.
obstacle: ob-stah-kluh — Obstacle; something that blocks or impedes progress.
tête: tet — Head; the upper part of the human body.
plomb: plohn — Lead; a heavy grey metallic element.
ornement: or-nuh-mahn — Ornament; a decorative object or embellishment.
approprié: ah-pro-pree-ay — Appropriate or fitting; suitable for a purpose.
seuil: suh-yuh — Threshold or doorstep; the entrance of a building.
vieille: vyay — Old; feminine form of 'vieux'.
corporation: kor-por-ah-syohn — Corporation or guild; an organized body of people.
salle: sal — Room or hall; an interior space in a building.
cœur: kur — Heart; the organ or the center of something.
même: mem — Same or even; used for emphasis or comparison.
siège: syej — Seat or headquarters; the official base of an institution.
Chancelier: shahn-suh-lyay — Chancellor; a high official overseeing legal or government affairs.
Cour: koor — Court; a judicial body or royal assembly.
Chancellerie: shahn-sel-ree — Chancellery; the office or department of a chancellor.
Jamais: zhah-meh — Never; at no time; used in negative constructions.
venir: vuh-neer — To come; to move toward a place or person.
trop: troh — Too or too much; exceeding the desired amount.
boue: boo — Mud; wet, soft earth mixed with water.
limon: lee-mohn — Silt or mud deposited by flowing water.
profonds: pro-fohn — Deep; having great depth or intensity.
accorder: ah-kor-day — To grant or accord; to give or allow something.
état: ay-tah — State or condition; the situation something is in.
tâtonnement: tah-ton-mahn — Groping or fumbling; proceeding uncertainly by trial and error.
débâcle: day-bah-kluh — Débâcle; a sudden disastrous collapse or breakdown.
lequel: luh-kel — Which; relative or interrogative pronoun for a specific noun.
pestilentielle: pes-tee-lahn-syel — Pestilential; relating to or causing plague-like corruption.
pécheurs: pay-shur — Sinners; people who have committed moral transgressions.
trouve: troov — Finds or is found; third person singular of 'trouver'.
jour: zhoor — Day; a period of twenty-four hours.
terre: tair — Earth or ground; land or the soil underfoot.

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