Dracula — Page 5
They wore high boots, with their trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches.
Ils portaient de hautes bottes, dans lesquelles ils rentraient leurs pantalons, et avaient de longs cheveux noirs et de lourdes moustaches noires.
They are very picturesque, but do not look prepossessing.
Ils sont très pittoresques, mais n'ont pas l'air avenant.
On the stage they would be set down at once as some old Oriental band of brigands.
Sur scène, ils seraient immédiatement identifiés comme une vieille bande de brigands orientaux.
They are, however, I am told, very harmless and rather wanting in natural self-assertion.
Ils sont, cependant, à ce qu'on m'a dit, tout à fait inoffensifs et plutôt dépourvus d'assurance naturelle.
It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place.
Il faisait presque nuit lorsque nous arrivâmes à Bistritz, qui est un vieil endroit très intéressant.
Being practically on the frontier--for the Borgo Pass leads from it into Bukovina--it has had a very stormy existence, and it certainly shows marks of it.
Se trouvant pratiquement à la frontière — car le col de Borgo conduit de là en Bucovine — elle a connu une existence très agitée, et cela se voit assurément.
Fifty years ago a series of great fires took place, which made terrible havoc on five separate occasions.
Il y a cinquante ans, une série de grands incendies s'y produisirent, qui causèrent de terribles ravages à cinq reprises distinctes.
At the very beginning of the seventeenth century it underwent a siege of three weeks and lost 13,000 people, the casualties of war proper being assisted by famine and disease.
Au tout début du dix-septième siècle, elle subit un siège de trois semaines et perdit 13 000 personnes, les pertes dues à la guerre proprement dite étant aggravées par la famine et la maladie.
Count Dracula had directed me to go to the Golden Krone Hotel, which I found, to my great delight, to be thoroughly old-fashioned, for of course I wanted to see all I could of the ways of the country.
Le comte Dracula m'avait conseillé de me rendre à l'hôtel du Golden Krone, que je trouvai, à ma grande joie, tout à fait désuet, car je voulais naturellement observer autant que possible les coutumes du pays.
I was evidently expected, for when I got near the door I faced a cheery-looking elderly woman in the usual peasant dress--white undergarment with long double apron, front, and back, of coloured stuff fitting almost too tight for modesty.
On m'attendait visiblement, car en approchant de la porte je me trouvai face à une femme âgée à l'air jovial, vêtue du costume paysan habituel — sous-vêtement blanc avec un long tablier double, devant et derrière, en étoffe colorée ajustée presque trop étroitement pour la décence.
When I came close she bowed and said, "The Herr Englishman?" "Yes," I said, "Jonathan Harker.
Quand je m'approchai, elle s'inclina et dit : « Monsieur l'Anglais ? » « Oui, » répondis-je, « Jonathan Harker.
Vocabulary
- portaient
- They were wearing or carrying (imperfect tense)
- hautes
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'tall' or 'high'
- bottes
- Plural noun meaning 'boots'
- lesquelles
- Relative pronoun meaning 'in which' (feminine plural)
- rentraient
- They were tucking in or putting back (imperfect)
- pantalons
- Plural noun meaning 'trousers' or 'pants'
- cheveux
- Plural noun meaning 'hair' (on the head)
- lourdes
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'heavy' or 'thick'
- moustaches
- Plural noun meaning 'moustaches'
- pittoresques
- Adjective meaning 'picturesque' or 'colorfully scenic'
- air
- Noun meaning 'air' or 'appearance', 'look'
- avenant
- Adjective meaning 'pleasant', 'welcoming', or 'agreeable'
- scène
- Noun meaning 'stage' or 'scene' in theater
- seraient
- They would be (conditional tense of 'être')
- immédiatement
- Adverb meaning 'immediately' or 'at once'
- identifiés
- Past participle meaning 'identified' or 'recognized'
- vieille
- Feminine adjective meaning 'old' (for people or things)
- bande
- Noun meaning 'band', 'group', or 'gang'
- brigands
- Plural noun meaning 'brigands' or 'bandits'
- orientaux
- Masculine plural adjective meaning 'eastern' or 'oriental'
- cependant
- Conjunction meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'
- inoffensifs
- Adjective meaning 'harmless' or 'inoffensive'
- plutôt
- Adverb meaning 'rather' or 'quite'
- dépourvus
- Adjective meaning 'lacking', 'devoid of', or 'without'
- assurance
- Noun meaning 'confidence', 'assurance', or 'self-assurance'
- naturelle
- Feminine adjective meaning 'natural' or 'innate'
- faisait
- It was making or doing (imperfect tense of 'faire')
- presque
- Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly'
- lorsque
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'at the time that'
- arrivâmes
- We arrived (passé simple of 'arriver')
- vieil
- Masculine adjective before vowel meaning 'old'
- endroit
- Noun meaning 'place', 'spot', or 'location'
- trouvant
- Present participle of 'trouver', meaning 'finding' or 'being located'
- pratiquement
- Adverb meaning 'practically' or 'virtually'
- frontière
- Noun meaning 'border', 'frontier', or 'boundary'
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- col
- Noun meaning 'mountain pass' or 'collar'
- conduit
- Third person singular of 'conduire', meaning 'leads'
- connu
- Past participle of 'connaître', meaning 'known' or 'experienced'
- existence
- Noun meaning 'existence', 'life', or 'being'
- agitée
- Feminine adjective meaning 'turbulent', 'troubled', or 'restless'
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this'
- voit
- Third person singular of 'voir', meaning 'sees' or 'is seen'
- assurément
- Adverb meaning 'certainly', 'assuredly', or 'indeed'
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'to it'
- cinquante
- Number meaning 'fifty'
- série
- Noun meaning 'series', 'sequence', or 'set'
- incendies
- Plural noun meaning 'fires' or 'conflagrations'
- produisirent
- They occurred or happened (passé simple of 'produire')
- causèrent
- They caused (passé simple of 'causer')
- terribles
- Adjective meaning 'terrible', 'dreadful', or 'awful'
- ravages
- Plural noun meaning 'ravages', 'devastation', or 'damage'
- reprises
- Plural noun meaning 'times', 'occasions', or 'instances'
- distinctes
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'distinct' or 'separate'
- début
- Noun meaning 'beginning', 'start', or 'outset'
- dix-septième
- Ordinal number meaning 'seventeenth'
- siècle
- Noun meaning 'century' or 'age'
- subit
- Third person singular passé simple of 'subir', meaning 'underwent'
- siège
- Noun meaning 'siege' or 'seat'
- perdit
- Third person singular passé simple of 'perdre', meaning 'lost'
- pertes
- Plural noun meaning 'losses' or 'casualties'
- dues
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'due to' or 'caused by'
- guerre
- Noun meaning 'war' or 'warfare'
- proprement
- Adverb meaning 'properly' or 'strictly speaking'
- dite
- Feminine past participle of 'dire', meaning 'said' or 'so-called'
- étant
- Present participle of 'être', meaning 'being'
- aggravées
- Feminine plural past participle meaning 'worsened' or 'aggravated'
- famine
- Noun meaning 'famine' or 'severe food shortage'
- maladie
- Noun meaning 'disease', 'illness', or 'sickness'
- comte
- Noun meaning 'count' (a noble title)
- conseillé
- Past participle of 'conseiller', meaning 'advised' or 'recommended'
- rendre
- Verb meaning 'to go to', 'to render', or 'to return'
- trouvai
- I found (passé simple of 'trouver')
- joie
- Noun meaning 'joy', 'happiness', or 'delight'
- désuet
- Adjective meaning 'old-fashioned', 'outdated', or 'obsolete'
- voulais
- I wanted (imperfect tense of 'vouloir')
- naturellement
- Adverb meaning 'naturally' or 'of course'
- observer
- Infinitive meaning 'to observe', 'to watch', or 'to notice'
- autant
- Adverb meaning 'as much' or 'as many'
- coutumes
- Plural noun meaning 'customs', 'traditions', or 'habits'
- attendait
- Someone was waiting (imperfect tense of 'attendre')
- visiblement
- Adverb meaning 'visibly', 'evidently', or 'obviously'
- approchant
- Present participle of 'approcher', meaning 'approaching'
- porte
- Noun meaning 'door' or 'gate'
- face
- Noun meaning 'face' or 'front'; 'en face' means 'opposite'
- âgée
- Feminine adjective meaning 'old' or 'elderly'
- jovial
- Adjective meaning 'jovial', 'jolly', or 'good-humored'
- vêtue
- Feminine past participle of 'vêtir', meaning 'dressed' or 'clothed'
- costume
- Noun meaning 'costume', 'outfit', or 'traditional dress'
- paysan
- Noun or adjective meaning 'peasant' or 'rural'
- habituel
- Adjective meaning 'usual', 'habitual', or 'customary'
- sous-vêtement
- Noun meaning 'undergarment' or 'underwear'
- tablier
- Noun meaning 'apron' worn over clothing
- double
- Adjective or noun meaning 'double' or 'twofold'
- devant
- Preposition or adverb meaning 'in front of' or 'before'
- derrière
- Preposition or adverb meaning 'behind' or 'at the back'
- étoffe
- Noun meaning 'fabric', 'cloth', or 'material'
- colorée
- Feminine adjective meaning 'colored', 'colorful', or 'bright'
- ajustée
- Feminine adjective meaning 'fitted', 'tailored', or 'tight'
- étroitement
- Adverb meaning 'tightly', 'closely', or 'narrowly'
- décence
- Noun meaning 'decency', 'propriety', or 'modesty'
- approchai
- I approached (passé simple of 'approcher')
- inclina
- She bowed or nodded (passé simple of 'incliner')
- Anglais
- Noun or adjective meaning 'English' (person or language)
- répondis-je
- I replied or answered (passé simple with inversion)
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