Great Expectations — Page 3
A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
Un homme qui avait été trempé dans l'eau, et étouffé dans la boue, et estropié par des pierres, et coupé par des silex, et piqué par des orties, et déchiré par des ronces ; qui boitait, et frissonnait, et lançait des regards féroces, et grognait ; et dont les dents claquaient dans sa tête tandis qu'il me saisissait par le menton.
"Oh! Don't cut my throat, sir," I pleaded in terror. "Pray don't do it, sir."
« Oh ! Ne me coupez pas la gorge, monsieur, » suppliai-je avec terreur. « Je vous en prie, ne faites pas cela, monsieur. »
"Tell us your name!" said the man. "Quick!"
« Dis-nous ton nom ! » dit l'homme. « Vite ! »
"Pip, sir."
« Pip, monsieur. »
"Once more," said the man, staring at me. "Give it mouth!"
« Encore une fois, » dit l'homme en me fixant du regard. « Dis-le à voix haute ! »
"Pip. Pip, sir."
« Pip. Pip, monsieur. »
"Show us where you live," said the man. "Pint out the place!"
« Montre-nous où tu habites, » dit l'homme. « Indique l'endroit ! »
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
Je pointai du doigt l'endroit où se trouvait notre village, sur la rive plate parmi les aulnes et les têtards, à un mile ou plus de l'église.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets.
L'homme, après m'avoir regardé un instant, me retourna sens dessus dessous et vida mes poches.
There was nothing in them but a piece of bread.
Il n'y avait rien dedans qu'un morceau de pain.
When the church came to itself,—for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet,—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread ravenously.
Quand l'église reprit sa place — car il était si brusque et si fort qu'il l'avait fait culbuter devant moi, et j'avais vu le clocher sous mes pieds — quand l'église reprit sa place, dis-je, j'étais assis sur une haute pierre tombale, tremblant tandis qu'il dévorait le pain avec avidité.
"You young dog," said the man, licking his lips, "what fat cheeks you ha' got."
« Jeune chien, » dit l'homme en se léchant les lèvres, « quelles joues rebondies tu as. »
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
Je crois qu'elles l'étaient en effet, bien que je fusse à cette époque petit pour mon âge, et peu robuste.
Vocabulary
- homme
- An adult male human being
- avait
- Third person singular imperfect of 'avoir' meaning 'had'
- été
- Past participle of 'être' meaning 'been'
- trempé
- Soaked or drenched thoroughly with liquid
- eau
- The clear liquid essential for life
- étouffé
- Smothered or suffocated, deprived of air
- boue
- Wet, muddy earth or sticky dirty ground
- estropié
- Crippled or physically disabled by injury
- pierres
- Solid mineral rocks or stones
- coupé
- Cut or sliced with a sharp instrument
- silex
- Hard flint rock with sharp cutting edges
- piqué
- Stung or pricked by a sharp point
- orties
- Stinging nettles, plants causing skin irritation
- déchiré
- Torn or ripped apart into pieces
- ronces
- Thorny bramble bushes with sharp prickles
- boitait
- Was limping, walking unevenly due to injury
- frissonnait
- Was shivering or trembling from cold or fear
- lançait
- Was throwing or casting something in a direction
- regards
- Glances or looks directed at someone
- féroces
- Fierce, savage, or extremely intense in manner
- grognait
- Was growling or grumbling in a threatening way
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose' or 'of which'
- dents
- Teeth, hard structures in the mouth for chewing
- claquaient
- Were chattering or snapping together repeatedly
- tête
- The head, upper part of a human body
- tandis
- Used in 'tandis que' meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- saisissait
- Was grabbing or seizing something firmly
- menton
- The chin, lower part of the face
- coupez
- Imperative or present form of 'cut'
- gorge
- The throat or inner part of the neck
- monsieur
- Polite title for a man meaning 'mister' or 'sir'
- suppliai
- Begged or implored desperately for something
- terreur
- Intense fear or overwhelming sense of dread
- prie
- Pray or beg, as in 's'il vous plaît'
- faites
- Second person plural imperative of 'faire' meaning 'do'
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this'
- Dis
- Imperative of 'dire' meaning 'tell' or 'say'
- nom
- A name or noun identifying a person or thing
- Vite
- Quickly or fast, urging speed or urgency
- Encore
- Again or once more, repetition of an action
- fois
- Time or occurrence, as in 'one time'
- fixant
- Staring fixedly or gazing intently at something
- regard
- A look or gaze directed at someone
- voix
- Voice, the sound produced when speaking or singing
- haute
- High or loud, as in speaking aloud clearly
- Montre
- Imperative meaning 'show' from 'montrer'
- où
- Adverb or conjunction meaning 'where'
- habites
- Second person singular present of 'live' or 'reside'
- Indique
- Imperative meaning 'indicate' or 'point out'
- endroit
- A place or specific location somewhere
- pointai
- Pointed toward something using a finger
- doigt
- A finger on the human hand
- trouvait
- Imperfect of 'trouver,' meaning 'was located' or 'found'
- village
- A small rural settlement or community
- rive
- The bank or shore of a river
- plate
- Flat, level, or without elevation
- parmi
- Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amid'
- aulnes
- Alder trees commonly found near water
- têtards
- Tadpoles, the larval stage of frogs
- plus
- More or additional in quantity or degree
- église
- A Christian church building for worship
- après
- Preposition or adverb meaning 'after'
- avoir
- Infinitive meaning 'to have'
- regardé
- Past participle of 'regarder' meaning 'looked at'
- instant
- A very brief moment or short period of time
- retourna
- Turned back or returned to a previous position
- sens
- Sense or direction, meaning in 'upside down'
- dessus
- Above or on top, used in directional expressions
- dessous
- Below or underneath, used in directional expressions
- vida
- Emptied out the contents of something completely
- poches
- Pockets sewn into clothing for carrying items
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'
- rien
- Nothing, the absence of anything
- dedans
- Inside or within a space or container
- morceau
- A piece or small portion of something
- pain
- Bread, a basic baked food staple
- Quand
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'
- reprit
- Took back or resumed something previously held
- place
- A place or position where something is located
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- brusque
- Abrupt or sudden in manner or movement
- fort
- Strong or powerful in physical strength
- fait
- Done or made, past participle of 'faire'
- culbuter
- To tumble or knock over head over heels
- devant
- Preposition meaning 'in front of'
- avais
- First person singular imperfect of 'avoir' meaning 'had'
- vu
- Past participle of 'voir' meaning 'seen'
- clocher
- A church steeple or bell tower
- sous
- Preposition meaning 'under' or 'beneath'
- pieds
- Feet, the lower extremities used for walking
- quand
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'
- dis
- First or second person past simple of 'dire' meaning 'said'
- étais
- First or second person imperfect of 'être' meaning 'was'
- assis
- Seated or sitting in a particular position
- pierre
- A stone or rock, also a proper first name
- tombale
- Relating to a tomb, as in a gravestone
- tremblant
- Trembling or shaking from cold or fear
- dévorait
- Was devouring or eating greedily and rapidly
- avidité
- Greediness or eagerness, intense desire for something
- Jeune
- Young or youthful in age
- chien
- A dog, a domesticated canine animal
- léchant
- Licking with the tongue repeatedly
- lèvres
- Lips, the fleshy edges of the mouth
- quelles
- Exclamatory or interrogative adjective meaning 'what' or 'which'
- joues
- Cheeks, the fleshy sides of the face
- rebondies
- Chubby or rounded, plump in appearance
- crois
- First or second person present of 'croire' meaning 'believe'
- étaient
- Third person plural imperfect of 'être' meaning 'were'
- effet
- Effect or result; 'en effet' means 'indeed'
- bien
- Well or good, indicating quality or degree
- fusse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'être' meaning 'were'
- cette
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'
- époque
- A period or era in time
- petit
- Small or little in size or age
- âge
- Age, the number of years one has lived
- peu
- A little or not much, small quantity
- robuste
- Robust or sturdy, strong and healthy in build
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