Cranford — Page 8
True, it was to discover the cause of a smoking chimney, before the fire was lighted; but still Captain Brown walked upstairs, nothing daunted, spoke in a voice too large for the room, and joked quite in the way of a tame man about the house.
Certes, c'était pour découvrir la cause d'une cheminée qui fumait, avant que le feu fût allumé ; mais le capitaine Brown n'en monta pas moins l'escalier, nullement intimidé, parla d'une voix trop forte pour la pièce, et plaisanta tout à fait à la manière d'un homme familier de la maison.
He had been blind to all the small slights, and omissions of trivial ceremonies, with which he had been received.
Il avait été aveugle à tous les petits manques d'égards et aux omissions de cérémonies insignifiantes dont on l'avait accueilli.
He had been friendly, though the Cranford ladies had been cool; he had answered small sarcastic compliments in good faith; and with his manly frankness had overpowered all the shrinking which met him as a man who was not ashamed to be poor.
Il avait été aimable, bien que les dames de Cranford eussent été froides ; il avait répondu de bonne foi aux petits compliments sarcastiques ; et avec sa franchise virile, il avait surmonté toute la réserve qu'on lui témoignait en tant qu'homme qui n'avait pas honte d'être pauvre.
And, at last, his excellent masculine common sense, and his facility in devising expedients to overcome domestic dilemmas, had gained him an extraordinary place as authority among the Cranford ladies.
Et, finalement, son excellent bon sens masculin, et sa facilité à trouver des expédients pour surmonter les difficultés domestiques, lui avaient valu une place extraordinaire en tant qu'autorité parmi les dames de Cranford.
He himself went on in his course, as unaware of his popularity as he had been of the reverse; and I am sure he was startled one day when he found his advice so highly esteemed as to make some counsel which he had given in jest to be taken in sober, serious earnest.
Il continuait lui-même son chemin, aussi peu conscient de sa popularité qu'il l'avait été de l'inverse ; et je suis certain qu'il fut surpris un jour en constatant que ses conseils étaient si hautement estimés qu'un avis donné par plaisanterie fut pris avec un sérieux grave et solennel.
It was on this subject: An old lady had an Alderney cow, which she looked upon as a daughter.
C'était à ce sujet : une vieille dame possédait une vache d'Aurigny, qu'elle considérait comme sa propre fille.
You could not pay the short quarter of an hour call without being told of the wonderful milk or wonderful intelligence of this animal.
On ne pouvait faire une courte visite d'un quart d'heure sans être informé du lait merveilleux ou de l'intelligence remarquable de cet animal.
Vocabulary
- Certes
- sɛʁt — Certainly, indeed, admittedly
- c'était
- setɛ — It was, that was
- pour
- puʁ — For, in order to
- découvrir
- dekuvʁiʁ — To discover, to uncover, to find out
- cause
- koz — Cause, reason, source of something
- cheminée
- ʃəmine — Fireplace or chimney in a building
- fumait
- fymɛ — Was smoking, was emitting smoke
- avant
- avɑ̃ — Before, prior to a time or event
- feu
- fø — Fire, flame, burning combustion
- fût
- fy — Were, was (imperfect subjunctive of être)
- allumé
- alyme — Lit, turned on, ignited
- capitaine
- kapitɛn — Captain, military or naval officer rank
- monta
- mɔ̃ta — Climbed, went up (past tense)
- moins
- mwɛ̃ — Less, fewer, minus
- l'escalier
- lɛskalje — The staircase, the flight of stairs
- nullement
- nylmɑ̃ — Not at all, in no way whatsoever
- intimidé
- ɛ̃timide — Intimidated, made to feel fearful or shy
- parla
- paʁla — Spoke, talked (simple past tense)
- voix
- vwa — Voice, sound produced by speaking
- trop
- tʁo — Too, too much, excessively
- forte
- fɔʁt — Strong, loud, powerful (feminine adjective)
- pièce
- pjɛs — Room, piece, part of a building
- plaisanta
- plɛzɑ̃ta — Joked, made jokes (simple past tense)
- tout
- tu — All, completely, entirely, everything
- manière
- manjɛʁ — Manner, way, style of doing something
- familier
- familje — Familiar, well acquainted with something
- maison
- mɛzɔ̃ — House, home, dwelling place
- aveugle
- avœɡl — Blind, unable to see or notice
- manques
- mɑ̃k — Lacks, shortcomings, failures of attention
- d'égards
- deɡaʁ — Of consideration, of regard, of respect
- omissions
- ɔmisjɔ̃ — Omissions, things left out or forgotten
- cérémonies
- seʁemɔni — Ceremonies, formal social rituals or customs
- insignifiantes
- ɛ̃siɲifjɑ̃t — Insignificant, trivial, of little importance
- dont
- dɔ̃ — Whose, of which, from which
- accueilli
- akœji — Welcomed, received, greeted (past participle)
- aimable
- ɛmabl — Kind, friendly, pleasant in manner
- dames
- dam — Ladies, women of social standing
- eussent
- øs — Had (past subjunctive of avoir, third plural)
- froides
- fʁwad — Cold, unfriendly, distant (feminine plural)
- répondu
- ʁepɔ̃dy — Responded, replied (past participle)
- foi
- fwa — Faith, honesty, good intention
- compliments
- kɔ̃plimɑ̃ — Compliments, flattering or polite remarks
- sarcastiques
- saʁkastik — Sarcastic, mocking, biting in tone
- franchise
- fʁɑ̃ʃiz — Frankness, honesty, openness of expression
- virile
- viʁil — Virile, manly, characteristically masculine
- surmonté
- syʁmɔ̃te — Overcome, surmounted, got over an obstacle
- réserve
- ʁezɛʁv — Reserve, restraint, formal distance kept
- témoignait
- temwaɲɛ — Showed, demonstrated, bore witness to
- tant
- tɑ̃ — So much, as, inasmuch as
- honte
- ɔ̃t — Shame, embarrassment, feeling of disgrace
- pauvre
- povʁ — Poor, impoverished, lacking financial means
- finalement
- finaləmɑ̃ — Finally, ultimately, in the end
- excellent
- ɛksɛlɑ̃ — Excellent, outstanding, of very high quality
- sens
- sɑ̃s — Sense, meaning, judgment, direction
- masculin
- maskylɛ̃ — Masculine, male, relating to men
- facilité
- fasilite — Ease, facility, ability to do things easily
- trouver
- tʁuve — To find, to discover, to locate something
- expédients
- ɛkspediɑ̃ — Expedients, practical solutions to problems
- surmonter
- syʁmɔ̃te — To overcome, to surmount difficulties
- difficultés
- difikylt e — Difficulties, challenges, obstacles encountered
- domestiques
- dɔmɛstik — Domestic, relating to home or household
- valu
- valy — Earned, merited, been worth (past participle)
- place
- plas — Place, position, role, standing in society
- extraordinaire
- ɛkstʁaɔʁdinɛʁ — Extraordinary, remarkable, beyond the ordinary
- parmi
- paʁmi — Among, amongst, in the midst of
- continuait
- kɔ̃tinɥɛ — Continued, kept going (imperfect tense)
- lui-même
- lɥimɛm — Himself, on his own, by himself
- chemin
- ʃəmɛ̃ — Path, road, way forward
- aussi
- osi — Also, too, as well, equally
- peu
- pø — Little, few, not much
- conscient
- kɔ̃sjɑ̃ — Conscious, aware, knowing of something
- popularité
- pɔpylaʁite — Popularity, widespread favor or recognition
- l'inverse
- lɛ̃vɛʁs — The opposite, the reverse, the contrary
- certain
- sɛʁtɛ̃ — Certain, sure, convinced of something
- fut
- fy — Was (simple past of être, third singular)
- surpris
- syʁpʁi — Surprised, astonished, taken aback
- constatant
- kɔ̃statɑ̃ — Noticing, observing, realizing (present participle)
- conseils
- kɔ̃sɛj — Advice, counsel, recommendations given
- si
- si — So, if, whether (adverb/conjunction)
- hautement
- otmɑ̃ — Highly, greatly, to a great degree
- estimés
- ɛstime — Esteemed, valued, highly regarded
- avis
- avi — Opinion, advice, notice, view expressed
- plaisanterie
- plɛzɑ̃tʁi — Joke, jest, humorous remark
- pris
- pʁi — Taken, understood, accepted (past participle)
- sérieux
- seʁjø — Seriously, earnest, not joking
- grave
- ɡʁav — Grave, serious, solemn in tone
- solennel
- sɔlɛnɛl — Solemn, formal, ceremonious in manner
- C'était
- setɛ — It was, that was (imperfect tense)
- sujet
- syʒɛ — Subject, topic, matter being discussed
- vieille
- vjɛj — Old, aged (feminine adjective)
- dame
- dam — Lady, woman of social standing
- possédait
- pɔsedɛ — Owned, possessed (imperfect tense)
- vache
- vaʃ — Cow, female bovine animal
- considérait
- kɔ̃sideʁɛ — Considered, regarded, viewed (imperfect tense)
- propre
- pʁɔpʁ — Own, clean, proper (adjective)
- fille
- fij — Daughter, girl, young woman
- pouvait
- puvɛ — Could, was able to (imperfect tense)
- faire
- fɛʁ — To do, to make, to perform
- courte
- kuʁt — Short, brief (feminine adjective)
- visite
- vizit — Visit, call, short social trip
- quart
- kaʁ — Quarter, one fourth of an hour
- d'heure
- Of an hour, quarter hour period
- sans
- sɑ̃ — Without, lacking (preposition)
- informé
- ɛ̃fɔʁme — Informed, told, made aware of something
- lait
- lɛ — Milk, liquid produced by mammals
- merveilleux
- mɛʁvɛjø — Wonderful, marvelous, exceptionally remarkable
- l'intelligence
- lɛ̃tɛliʒɑ̃s — The intelligence, cleverness, mental capacity
- remarquable
- ʁəmaʁkabl — Remarkable, noteworthy, deserving of attention
- animal
- animal — Animal, living creature (noun)
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