Crime and Punishment — Page 7
The bell gave a faint tinkle as though it were made of tin and not of copper.
La cloche émit un faible tintement, comme si elle était faite d'étain et non de cuivre.
The little flats in such houses always have bells that ring like that.
Les petits appartements dans de telles maisons ont toujours des sonnettes qui sonnent ainsi.
He had forgotten the note of that bell, and now its peculiar tinkle seemed to remind him of something and to bring it clearly before him....
Il avait oublié le son de cette cloche, et maintenant son tintement particulier semblait lui rappeler quelque chose et le lui présenter clairement....
He started, his nerves were terribly overstrained by now.
Il sursauta, ses nerfs étaient à présent terriblement tendus à l'extrême.
In a little while, the door was opened a tiny crack: the old woman eyed her visitor with evident distrust through the crack, and nothing could be seen but her little eyes, glittering in the darkness.
Au bout d'un moment, la porte s'entrouvrit légèrement : la vieille femme examina son visiteur avec une méfiance évidente à travers l'entrebâillement, et on ne pouvait voir que ses petits yeux, brillant dans l'obscurité.
But, seeing a number of people on the landing, she grew bolder, and opened the door wide.
Mais, voyant plusieurs personnes sur le palier, elle s'enhardit et ouvrit la porte en grand.
The young man stepped into the dark entry, which was partitioned off from the tiny kitchen.
Le jeune homme entra dans le sombre vestibule, qui était séparé de la petite cuisine par une cloison.
The old woman stood facing him in silence and looking inquiringly at him.
La vieille femme se tenait face à lui en silence et le regardait d'un air interrogateur.
She was a diminutive, withered up old woman of sixty, with sharp malignant eyes and a sharp little nose.
C'était une vieille femme toute petite et desséchée d'une soixantaine d'années, avec des yeux perçants et malveillants et un petit nez pointu.
Her colourless, somewhat grizzled hair was thickly smeared with oil, and she wore no kerchief over it.
Ses cheveux ternes, légèrement grisonnants, étaient abondamment enduits d'huile, et elle ne portait aucun foulard dessus.
Round her thin long neck, which looked like a hen's leg, was knotted some sort of flannel rag, and, in spite of the heat, there hung flapping on her shoulders, a mangy fur cape, yellow with age.
Autour de son cou long et maigre, qui ressemblait à une patte de poule, était noué une sorte de chiffon de flanelle, et, malgré la chaleur, une cape de fourrure mitée, jaunie par l'âge, pendait en battant sur ses épaules.
The old woman coughed and groaned at every instant.
La vieille femme toussait et gémissait à tout instant.
Vocabulary
- La
- The (feminine singular article)
- cloche
- Bell; a dome-shaped object or sound device
- émit
- Emitted, produced, or gave out sound
- un
- A, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- faible
- Weak, faint, or soft in intensity
- comme
- Like, as, or in the manner of
- si
- If, or whether; also means 'so'
- elle
- She, or it (feminine pronoun)
- était
- Was (imperfect tense of être)
- faite
- Made or constructed (feminine past participle)
- et
- And; conjunction connecting words or phrases
- non
- No, not, or negation
- de
- Of, from, or possession indicator
- Les
- The (plural article, masculine or feminine)
- petits
- Small, little, or tiny (plural masculine)
- appartements
- Apartments or flats; residential living spaces
- dans
- In, inside, or within a place
- telles
- Such, like that (feminine plural)
- maisons
- Houses or homes; residential buildings
- ont
- Have; third person plural of avoir
- toujours
- Always, still, or constantly
- des
- Some, any (plural indefinite article)
- qui
- Who, which, or that (relative pronoun)
- sonnent
- Ring or sound (present tense of sonner)
- ainsi
- Thus, so, or in this manner
- Il
- He or it (masculine singular pronoun)
- avait
- Had (imperfect tense of avoir)
- oublié
- Forgotten or overlooked (past participle)
- le
- The (masculine singular article)
- son
- Sound, his, or her (possessive)
- cette
- This or that (feminine singular demonstrative)
- maintenant
- Now, at present, or currently
- particulier
- Particular, special, or characteristic
- semblait
- Seemed or appeared (imperfect of sembler)
- lui
- Him, her, or to him/her (indirect object)
- rappeler
- To remind, recall, or bring back memory
- quelque
- Some, any, or a certain thing
- chose
- Thing or something; an object or matter
- présenter
- To present, introduce, or show clearly
- clairement
- Clearly, distinctly, or in a clear manner
- ses
- His, her, or its (possessive plural)
- nerfs
- Nerves; nervous system components
- étaient
- Were (imperfect plural of être)
- présent
- Present, now, or at this moment
- terriblement
- Terribly, awfully, or extremely
- tendus
- Tense, stretched, or tight (masculine plural)
- extrême
- Extreme, utmost, or of highest degree
- Au
- At the, to the (contraction of à+le)
- bout
- End, tip, or extremity of something
- moment
- Moment, instant, or brief period of time
- porte
- Door or gate; entrance to building
- légèrement
- Lightly, slightly, or in a light manner
- vieille
- Old or aged (feminine singular form)
- femme
- Woman, wife, or female person
- examina
- Examined, inspected, or looked at carefully
- visiteur
- Visitor, guest, or person visiting
- avec
- With, together with, or accompanied by
- une
- A, an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- évidente
- Evident, obvious, or clearly apparent
- travers
- Through, across, or by way of
- on
- One, we, or people in general
- ne
- Not; negative particle in French negation
- pouvait
- Could, was able (imperfect of pouvoir)
- voir
- To see, view, or perceive visually
- que
- That, which, or what (relative pronoun)
- yeux
- Eyes; organs of sight
- brillant
- Shining, bright, or gleaming
- obscurité
- Darkness or absence of light
- Mais
- But, yet, or however
- voyant
- Seeing, observing (present participle of voir)
- plusieurs
- Several, many, or multiple things
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