Great Expectations — Page 2
Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea.
Notre pays était le marais, en bas près de la rivière, à, selon les méandres du fleuve, vingt milles de la mer.
My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening.
Ma première impression la plus vive et la plus large de l'identité des choses me semble avoir été acquise lors d'un mémorable après-midi froid et humide vers le soir.
At such a time I found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dikes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing was the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.
C'est à ce moment-là que j'appris avec certitude que ce lieu désolé envahi par les orties était le cimetière ; que Philip Pirrip, feu paroissien de cette paroisse, ainsi que Georgiana, épouse du susdit, étaient morts et enterrés ; qu'Alexandre, Barthélemy, Abraham, Tobias et Roger, enfants en bas âge dudit, étaient également morts et enterrés ; que la sombre étendue plate au-delà du cimetière, traversée de digues, de monticules et de barrières, où paissait du bétail épars, était les marais ; que la ligne basse et plombée au-delà était la rivière ; que le lointain repaire sauvage d'où le vent s'élançait était la mer ; et que le petit paquet de frissons qui commençait à avoir peur de tout cela et à pleurer, c'était Pip.
"Hold your noise!" cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch.
« Tais-toi ! » cria une voix terrible, tandis qu'un homme surgissait de parmi les tombes sur le côté du porche de l'église.
"Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!"
« Ne bouge plus, petit diable, ou je te tranche la gorge ! »
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.
Un homme effrayant, tout vêtu de gris grossier, avec un lourd fer à la jambe.
A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head.
Un homme sans chapeau, avec des chaussures éculées, et un vieux chiffon noué autour de la tête.
Vocabulary
- pays
- Country, land, or region
- était
- Was (third person singular imperfect of être)
- marais
- Marsh, swamp, or boggy wetland area
- bas
- Low, bottom, or downward direction
- près
- Near, close to something
- rivière
- River, typically a smaller inland waterway
- selon
- According to, depending on
- méandres
- Meanders, winding curves of a river
- fleuve
- Large river flowing into the sea
- vingt
- Twenty (cardinal number)
- milles
- Miles (unit of distance)
- mer
- Sea, large body of saltwater
- première
- First (feminine ordinal adjective)
- impression
- Impression, initial feeling or perception
- vive
- Vivid, lively, intense (feminine adjective)
- large
- Wide, broad, or spacious
- identité
- Identity, the nature of something
- choses
- Things, objects or matters
- semble
- Seems, appears to be
- avoir
- To have (infinitive auxiliary verb)
- été
- Been (past participle of être)
- acquise
- Acquired, obtained (feminine past participle)
- lors
- At the time of, during
- mémorable
- Memorable, worth remembering
- après-midi
- Afternoon, the time after midday
- froid
- Cold (adjective or noun)
- humide
- Humid, damp, or moist
- vers
- Toward, around, approximately (preposition)
- soir
- Evening, the end of the day
- moment-là
- That moment, that particular point in time
- appris
- Learned, discovered (past participle of apprendre)
- certitude
- Certainty, sure knowledge of something
- lieu
- Place, location, or spot
- désolé
- Desolate, bleak, or sorry
- envahi
- Invaded, overrun, taken over
- orties
- Nettles, stinging plants found in wild areas
- cimetière
- Cemetery, graveyard where people are buried
- feu
- Late, deceased (adjective before a name)
- paroissien
- Parishioner, member of a church parish
- paroisse
- Parish, local church community or district
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way
- épouse
- Wife, spouse (feminine noun)
- susdit
- Aforementioned, previously mentioned person
- étaient
- Were (third person plural imperfect of être)
- morts
- Dead (plural masculine adjective or noun)
- enterrés
- Buried (plural masculine past participle)
- enfants
- Children (plural noun)
- âge
- Age, period of life
- dudit
- Of the aforementioned (contracted legal expression)
- également
- Also, equally, likewise
- sombre
- Dark, gloomy, somber
- étendue
- Expanse, stretch of land or water
- plate
- Flat, level (feminine adjective)
- au-delà
- Beyond, further than
- traversée
- Crossed, traversed (feminine past participle)
- digues
- Dikes, embankments holding back water
- monticules
- Mounds, small hills or raised ground
- barrières
- Barriers, fences, or gates
- paissait
- Grazed (third person singular imperfect of paître)
- bétail
- Livestock, farm animals collectively
- épars
- Scattered, sparse, dispersed
- ligne
- Line, row, or outline
- basse
- Low (feminine adjective)
- plombée
- Leaden, heavy grey (feminine adjective)
- lointain
- Distant, far away
- repaire
- Den, lair, hideout of wild creatures
- sauvage
- Wild, untamed, savage
- vent
- Wind (noun)
- élançait
- Rushed, darted, surged forward
- paquet
- Bundle, packet, or small package
- frissons
- Shivers, chills, trembling sensations
- commençait
- Was beginning, starting (imperfect tense)
- peur
- Fear, fright
- cela
- That, all that (demonstrative pronoun)
- pleurer
- To cry, to weep
- Tais-toi
- Be quiet, shut up (imperative reflexive)
- cria
- Cried out, shouted (past historic tense)
- voix
- Voice (noun)
- terrible
- Terrible, dreadful, frightening
- tandis
- While, whereas (used in tandis que)
- homme
- Man, human male
- surgissait
- Was emerging suddenly, springing up
- parmi
- Among, amidst
- tombes
- Graves, tombstones in a cemetery
- côté
- Side, direction
- porche
- Porch, covered entrance to a building
- église
- Church, place of Christian worship
- bouge
- Move (imperative of bouger)
- diable
- Devil, demon (noun)
- tranche
- Cut, slice (verb or noun)
- gorge
- Throat, gorge (noun)
- effrayant
- Frightening, terrifying (adjective)
- vêtu
- Dressed, clothed (past participle)
- gris
- Grey (color adjective)
- grossier
- Coarse, rough, crude
- lourd
- Heavy, cumbersome
- fer
- Iron (metal noun)
- jambe
- Leg (body part noun)
- sans
- Without (preposition)
- chapeau
- Hat (noun)
- chaussures
- Shoes, footwear
- éculées
- Worn down at the heel, shabby (adjective)
- vieux
- Old (masculine adjective)
- chiffon
- Rag, scrap of cloth
- noué
- Tied, knotted (past participle)
- autour
- Around, surrounding
- tête
- Head (body part noun)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →