Cranford — Page 11
I do not know whether she was pretty or not; but I liked her face, and so did everybody, and I do not think she could help her dimples.
Je ne sais pas si elle était jolie ou non ; mais son visage me plaisait, comme à tout le monde, et je ne pense pas qu'elle pût faire quoi que ce soit contre ses fossettes.
She had something of her father's jauntiness of gait and manner; and any female observer might detect a slight difference in the attire of the two sisters—that of Miss Jessie being about two pounds per annum more expensive than Miss Brown's.
Elle avait quelque chose de la désinvolture de son père dans sa démarche et ses manières ; et toute observatrice attentive aurait pu déceler une légère différence dans la mise des deux sœurs — celle de Miss Jessie étant d'environ deux livres par an plus coûteuse que celle de Miss Brown.
Two pounds was a large sum in Captain Brown's annual disbursements.
Deux livres représentaient une somme considérable dans les dépenses annuelles du Capitaine Brown.
Such was the impression made upon me by the Brown family when I first saw them all together in Cranford Church.
Telle fut l'impression que me fit la famille Brown lorsque je la vis pour la première fois réunie dans l'église de Cranford.
The Captain I had met before—on the occasion of the smoky chimney, which he had cured by some simple alteration in the flue.
Le Capitaine, je l'avais rencontré auparavant — à l'occasion de la cheminée qui fumait, qu'il avait remise en état grâce à une simple modification du conduit.
In church, he held his double eye-glass to his eyes during the Morning Hymn, and then lifted up his head erect and sang out loud and joyfully.
À l'église, il tenait son face-à-main devant ses yeux pendant l'hymne du matin, puis relevait la tête bien droite et chantait à pleine voix avec entrain.
He made the responses louder than the clerk—an old man with a piping feeble voice, who, I think, felt aggrieved at the Captain's sonorous bass, and quivered higher and higher in consequence.
Il récitait les répons plus fort que le bedeau — un vieil homme à la voix grêle et faible, qui, je crois, se sentait offensé par la basse sonore du Capitaine, et chevrotait de plus en plus haut en conséquence.
On coming out of church, the brisk Captain paid the most gallant attention to his two daughters.
En sortant de l'église, le fringant Capitaine prodigua les attentions les plus galantes à ses deux filles.
Vocabulary
- jolie
- zhoh-lee — Adjective meaning pretty, attractive, or pleasant-looking.
- visage
- vee-zahzh — Noun meaning face, the front part of the head.
- plaisait
- play-zay — Imperfect of 'plaire'; was pleasing or appealing to someone.
- monde
- mohnd — Noun meaning 'world'; 'tout le monde' means 'everyone'.
- pût
- pew — Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'pouvoir', could.
- soit
- swah — Subjunctive of 'être'; 'quoi que ce soit' means 'anything'.
- contre
- kohntr — Preposition meaning 'against' or 'in opposition to'.
- fossettes
- foh-set — Noun meaning dimples, small indentations on cheeks or chin.
- quelque
- kel-kuh — Adjective meaning 'some', 'a certain', or 'a few'.
- désinvolture
- day-zan-vohl-tewr — Noun meaning casual ease, nonchalance, or carefree manner.
- démarche
- day-marsh — Noun meaning gait, walk, or manner of walking.
- manières
- mah-nyair — Noun meaning manners, ways of behaving, or social conduct.
- observatrice
- ob-sair-vah-trees — Feminine adjective meaning observant or attentive to details.
- attentive
- ah-tahn-teev — Feminine adjective meaning attentive, watchful, or carefully observant.
- déceler
- day-suh-lay — Verb meaning to detect, uncover, or discern something subtle.
- légère
- lay-zhair — Feminine adjective meaning slight, light, or subtle in degree.
- différence
- dee-fay-rahns — Noun meaning difference or distinction between two things.
- mise
- meez — Noun meaning dress, attire, or way of presenting oneself.
- sœurs
- sur — Noun meaning 'sisters', female siblings.
- celle
- sel — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the one' (feminine singular).
- étant
- ay-tahn — Present participle of 'être', meaning 'being'.
- environ
- ahn-vee-rohn — Adverb or preposition meaning 'about', 'approximately', or 'around'.
- livres
- leevr — Noun meaning 'pounds' (currency) or 'books' depending on context.
- coûteuse
- koo-tuhz — Feminine adjective meaning costly, expensive, or high-priced.
- représentaient
- ruh-pray-zahn-tay — Imperfect of 'représenter'; they represented or amounted to something.
- somme
- sohm — Noun meaning 'sum', 'amount', or total quantity of money.
- considérable
- kohn-see-day-rahbl — Adjective meaning considerable, significant, or notably large in size.
- dépenses
- day-pahns — Noun meaning expenses, expenditures, or money spent regularly.
- annuelles
- ah-nwel — Feminine plural adjective meaning annual or yearly in occurrence.
- Capitaine
- kah-pee-ten — Noun meaning 'captain', a military or naval officer rank.
- Telle
- tel — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'such', referring to something described.
- fut
- few — Third person singular simple past of 'être', meaning 'was'.
- impression
- am-preh-syohn — Noun meaning impression, feeling, or effect produced on the mind.
- lorsque
- lors-kuh — Conjunction meaning 'when', introducing a temporal clause.
- vis
- vee — Simple past of 'voir', first person meaning 'I saw'.
- fois
- fwah — Noun meaning 'time' in the sense of an occurrence or instance.
- réunie
- ray-ew-nee — Past participle of 'réunir'; gathered together or assembled as a group.
- église
- ay-gleez — Noun meaning church, a Christian place of worship.
- rencontré
- rahn-kohn-tray — Past participle of 'rencontrer', meaning 'met' or 'encountered'.
- auparavant
- oh-pah-rah-vahn — Adverb meaning 'before', 'previously', or 'beforehand' in time.
- occasion
- oh-kah-zyohn — Noun meaning occasion, opportunity, or a particular circumstance.
- cheminée
- shuh-mee-nay — Noun meaning fireplace or chimney in a building.
- fumait
- few-may — Imperfect of 'fumer'; was smoking, giving off smoke continuously.
- remise
- ruh-meez — Noun or past participle meaning restored, put back, or a shed.
- état
- ay-tah — Noun meaning state, condition, or current situation of something.
- grâce
- grahs — Noun meaning grace, charm, or thanks; 'grâce à' means 'thanks to'.
- modification
- moh-dee-fee-kah-syohn — Noun meaning modification, alteration, or change made to something.
- conduit
- kohn-dwee — Noun meaning duct, pipe, or flue; also verb 'leads' or 'conducted'.
- tenait
- tuh-nay — Imperfect of 'tenir'; was holding or keeping something in place.
- face-à-main
- fas-ah-man — Noun meaning lorgnette, a handled magnifying glass or opera glasses.
- devant
- duh-vahn — Preposition meaning 'in front of' or 'before' something.
- yeux
- yuh — Noun meaning 'eyes', the plural of 'œil'.
- pendant
- pahn-dahn — Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a period of time.
- hymne
- eemn — Noun meaning hymn, a religious song sung in worship services.
- relevait
- ruh-luh-vay — Imperfect of 'relever'; was raising or lifting something back up.
- droite
- drwaht — Adjective meaning 'straight', 'right', or 'upright' in position.
- chantait
- shahn-tay — Imperfect of 'chanter'; was singing a song or melody.
- pleine
- plen — Feminine adjective meaning 'full', 'complete', or 'at full volume'.
- voix
- vwah — Noun meaning voice, the sound produced when speaking or singing.
- entrain
- ahn-tran — Noun meaning liveliness, enthusiasm, or high-spirited energy.
- récitait
- ray-see-tay — Imperfect of 'réciter'; was reciting or saying aloud from memory.
- répons
- ray-pohn — Noun meaning responses, replies given during a religious service.
- fort
- for — Adverb meaning 'loudly', 'strongly', or 'very'; adjective 'strong'.
- bedeau
- buh-doh — Noun meaning beadle or verger, a church official or attendant.
- vieil
- vyay — Masculine adjective before vowel meaning 'old', aged in years.
- grêle
- grel — Adjective meaning thin, weak, or frail; also noun meaning 'hail'.
- faible
- febl — Adjective meaning weak, feeble, or lacking strength or force.
- sentait
- sahn-tay — Imperfect of 'sentir'; was feeling or sensing an emotion or sensation.
- offensé
- oh-fahn-say — Past participle meaning offended, hurt, or feeling insulted by something.
- basse
- bahs — Feminine adjective meaning 'low', 'deep', or bass in pitch.
- sonore
- soh-nor — Adjective meaning resonant, loud, or having a full rich sound.
- chevrotait
- shuh-vroh-tay — Imperfect of 'chevroter'; was quavering or trembling while singing.
- conséquence
- kohn-say-kahns — Noun meaning consequence, result, or outcome of an action.
- sortant
- sor-tahn — Present participle of 'sortir', meaning 'leaving' or 'going out'.
- fringant
- fran-gahn — Adjective meaning dashing, sprightly, or lively and well-groomed.
- prodigua
- proh-dee-gwah — Simple past of 'prodiguer'; lavished or showered generously upon someone.
- attentions
- ah-tahn-syohn — Noun meaning attentions, considerate acts, or gestures of courtesy.
- galantes
- gah-lahnt — Feminine plural adjective meaning gallant, courteous, or flirtatious in manner.
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