Crime and Punishment — Page 3

English → Fr CHAPTER I Level 8/10

The heat in the street was terrible: and the airlessness, the bustle and the plaster, scaffolding, bricks, and dust all about him, and that special Petersburg stench, so familiar to all who are unable to get out of town in summer--all worked painfully upon the young man's already overwrought nerves.

La chaleur dans la rue était terrible : et l'absence d'air, l'agitation, le plâtre, les échafaudages, les briques et la poussière partout autour de lui, et cette odeur particulière de Pétersbourg, si familière à tous ceux qui ne peuvent pas quitter la ville en été — tout cela agissait douloureusement sur les nerfs déjà surexcités du jeune homme.

The insufferable stench from the pot-houses, which are particularly numerous in that part of the town, and the drunken men whom he met continually, although it was a working day, completed the revolting misery of the picture.

La puanteur insupportable des bouges, qui sont particulièrement nombreux dans ce quartier de la ville, et les ivrognes qu'il rencontrait sans cesse, bien que ce fût un jour ouvrable, achevaient de rendre le tableau d'une misère révoltante.

An expression of the profoundest disgust gleamed for a moment in the young man's refined face.

Une expression du plus profond dégoût brilla un instant sur le visage distingué du jeune homme.

He was, by the way, exceptionally handsome, above the average in height, slim, well-built, with beautiful dark eyes and dark brown hair.

Il était, soit dit en passant, exceptionnellement beau, d'une taille au-dessus de la moyenne, mince, bien bâti, avec de beaux yeux sombres et des cheveux brun foncé.

Soon he sank into deep thought, or more accurately speaking into a complete blankness of mind; he walked along not observing what was about him and not caring to observe it.

Bientôt il tomba dans une profonde méditation, ou, pour parler plus exactement, dans un vide complet de l'esprit ; il marchait sans observer ce qui l'entourait et sans chercher à l'observer.

From time to time, he would mutter something, from the habit of talking to himself, to which he had just confessed.

De temps en temps, il marmonnait quelque chose, par l'habitude de se parler à lui-même, qu'il venait d'avouer.

At these moments he would become conscious that his ideas were sometimes in a tangle and that he was very weak; for two days he had scarcely tasted food.

À ces moments-là, il prenait conscience que ses idées s'embrouillaient parfois et qu'il était très faible ; depuis deux jours, il avait à peine goûté à la nourriture.

He was so badly dressed that even a man accustomed to shabbiness would have been ashamed to be seen in the street in such rags.

Il était si mal habillé que même un homme habitué à la misère aurait eu honte de se montrer dans la rue dans de tels haillons.

In that quarter of the town, however, scarcely any shortcoming in dress would have created surprise.

Dans ce quartier de la ville, cependant, presque aucune négligence vestimentaire n'aurait suscité de surprise.

Vocabulary

chaleur: Heat or warmth, often referring to weather temperature.
rue: A street or road in a town or city.
terrible: Terrible, dreadful, or extremely intense in degree.
absence: Lack or nonexistence of something normally present.
air: Air, the gaseous atmosphere surrounding the earth.
agitation: Restlessness, excitement, or nervous physical movement.
plâtre: Plaster, a paste used in building and construction.
échafaudages: Scaffolding structures supporting workers during construction.
briques: Bricks, rectangular blocks used for building construction.
poussière: Dust, fine dry particles floating in the air.
partout: Everywhere, in all places or directions.
autour: Around or surrounding a person, place, or thing.
odeur: Smell or odor, a scent perceived by the nose.
particulière: Particular or specific, distinguishing one thing from others.
familière: Familiar, well known or commonly encountered by someone.
quitter: To leave or depart from a place or person.
ville: City or town, a large inhabited urban settlement.
été: Summer, the warmest season of the year.
agissait: Imperfect tense of 'agir'; meaning 'was acting' upon something.
douloureusement: Painfully, in a manner causing suffering or distress.
nerfs: Nerves, the bodily fibers transmitting sensory impulses.
déjà: Already, indicating something has happened before now.
surexcités: Overexcited or highly stimulated beyond a normal state.
jeune: Young, describing a person of relatively few years.
homme: Man, an adult male human being.
puanteur: Stench or foul smell, an extremely unpleasant odor.
insupportable: Unbearable or intolerable, impossible to endure or stand.
bouges: Dives or hovels, very low and squalid establishments.
particulièrement: Particularly or especially, to a notable or special degree.
nombreux: Numerous or many, existing in large numbers.
quartier: Neighborhood or district, a section of a city.
ivrognes: Drunkards or drunks, people habitually intoxicated by alcohol.
rencontrait: Imperfect tense of 'rencontrer'; meaning 'was encountering' someone.
sans: Preposition meaning 'without', indicating absence of something.
cesse: Cessation or stopping; used in 'sans cesse' meaning 'ceaselessly'.
fût: Subjunctive imperfect of 'être'; meaning 'was' in formal usage.
jour: Day, a 24-hour period or daylight hours.
ouvrable: Workday; describing a day on which work is done.
achevaient: Imperfect of 'achever'; meaning 'were completing' or 'finishing'.
rendre: To render or make something become a certain way.
tableau: Picture or tableau, a vivid descriptive scene or image.
misère: Misery or extreme poverty, a wretched condition of life.
révoltante: Revolting or disgusting, causing strong moral indignation.
expression: Expression, a look or gesture conveying a feeling.
profond: Deep or profound, having great intensity or depth.
dégoût: Disgust or repulsion, a strong feeling of aversion.
brilla: Simple past of 'briller'; meaning 'shone' or 'flashed' briefly.
instant: Instant or moment, a very short period of time.
visage: Face, the front part of a person's head.
distingué: Distinguished or refined, having an elegant and notable appearance.
passant: Passing; used in 'en passant' meaning 'in passing'.
exceptionnellement: Exceptionally, to an unusually high or remarkable degree.
beau: Beautiful or handsome, pleasing to the eye aesthetically.
taille: Height or figure; a person's physical stature or size.
au-dessus: Above or over, positioned higher than something else.
moyenne: Average, a middle or standard level of measurement.
mince: Thin or slender, having little width or body fat.
bâti: Built or constructed; describing a person's physical frame.
beaux: Beautiful or handsome, plural form of 'beau'.
yeux: Eyes, the organs of sight on a human face.
sombres: Dark or somber, having little light or gloomy tone.
cheveux: Hair, the strands growing on a person's head.
brun: Brown, a dark color between black and orange.
foncé: Dark, describing a deep or intense shade of color.
Bientôt: Soon, indicating something will happen in the near future.
tomba: Simple past of 'tomber'; meaning 'fell' into a state.
profonde: Deep or profound (feminine form), of great intensity.
méditation: Meditation or deep thought, contemplative mental reflection.
parler: To speak or talk, to communicate using words verbally.
exactement: Exactly, precisely or without error in description.
vide: Empty or blank, containing nothing or devoid of content.
complet: Complete or total, whole without anything missing.
esprit: Mind or spirit, the intellectual or thinking faculty.
marchait: Imperfect of 'marcher'; meaning 'was walking' continuously.
observer: To observe or watch, to pay careful attention to something.
entourait: Imperfect of 'entourer'; meaning 'was surrounding' him.
chercher: To look for or seek, to search for something.
temps: Time; used in 'de temps en temps' meaning 'from time to time'.
marmonnait: Imperfect of 'marmonner'; meaning 'was mumbling' quietly.
quelque: Some or a few, indicating an indefinite small quantity.
chose: Thing, an object, idea, or matter of any kind.
habitude: Habit, a regular or repeated behavior done automatically.
lui-même: Himself, an emphatic reflexive pronoun stressing the subject.
avouer: To admit or confess something, to acknowledge the truth.
moments-là: Those moments, referring to specific times already mentioned.
conscience: Awareness or consciousness, knowledge of one's own mental states.
idées: Ideas or thoughts, concepts formed in the mind.
embrouillaient: Imperfect of 's'embrouiller'; meaning 'were getting confused'.
parfois: Sometimes, occasionally but not always or frequently.
faible: Weak or feeble, lacking physical or mental strength.
depuis: Since or for, indicating a starting point in time.
jours: Days, plural of 'jour', units of 24 hours.
peine: Difficulty or trouble; 'à peine' means 'barely' or 'hardly'.
goûté: Past participle of 'goûter'; meaning 'tasted' or 'eaten a little'.
nourriture: Food or nourishment, substances consumed to sustain life.
mal: Poorly or badly, in an unsatisfactory or inadequate manner.
habillé: Dressed, wearing clothes; poorly dressed in this context.
habitué: Accustomed or used to something; a habitual patron.
honte: Shame, a painful feeling of humiliation or embarrassment.
montrer: To show or display, to make something visible to others.
tels: Such, of that kind or degree (masculine plural form).
haillons: Rags or tatters, worn-out torn pieces of clothing.
cependant: However or yet, introducing a contrast or concession.
presque: Almost or nearly, not quite reaching a certain point.
aucune: No or none (feminine), indicating a complete absence.
négligence: Negligence or carelessness, lack of proper attention or care.
vestimentaire: Relating to clothing or dress, pertaining to attire.
suscité: Past participle of 'susciter'; meaning 'aroused' or 'provoked'.
surprise: Surprise, an unexpected or astonishing event or feeling.

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