Great Expectations — Page 8
On the edge of the river I could faintly make out the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be standing upright; one of these was the beacon by which the sailors steered,—like an unhooped cask upon a pole,—an ugly thing when you were near it; the other, a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate.
Au bord de la rivière, je pouvais distinguer à peine les deux seules choses noires dans tout le paysage qui semblaient se dresser verticalement ; l'une d'elles était la balise qui guidait les marins, — pareille à un tonneau sans cercles au bout d'un poteau, — une chose laide quand on en était proche ; l'autre, un gibet, avec quelques chaînes qui y pendaient et qui avaient jadis retenu un pirate.
The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again.
L'homme avançait en boitant vers ce dernier, comme s'il était le pirate revenu à la vie, descendu, et retournant se raccrocher là-haut.
It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so; and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too.
Cette pensée me donna un frisson terrible ; et en voyant le bétail lever la tête pour le regarder s'éloigner, je me demandai s'ils pensaient la même chose.
I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him.
Je regardai de tous côtés pour chercher l'horrible jeune homme, et ne vis aucune trace de lui.
But now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping.
Mais à présent j'avais de nouveau peur, et je courus jusqu'à chez moi sans m'arrêter.
Vocabulary
- bord
- Edge, bank, or side of something.
- rivière
- A river or stream of flowing water.
- pouvais
- Could; imperfect form of 'pouvoir', to be able.
- distinguer
- To distinguish or make out something visually.
- peine
- Barely, hardly; also means sorrow or difficulty.
- seules
- Only, sole; feminine plural form of 'seul'.
- paysage
- Landscape, scenery; the visible natural environment.
- semblaient
- Seemed; imperfect tense of 'sembler', to seem.
- dresser
- To stand up, rise, or erect something vertically.
- verticalement
- Vertically; in an upright or perpendicular direction.
- balise
- A marker or navigational beacon for guidance.
- guidait
- Was guiding; imperfect tense of 'guider', to guide.
- marins
- Sailors, mariners; men who work at sea.
- pareille
- Similar, alike; feminine adjective meaning resembling.
- tonneau
- A barrel or cask used to store liquids.
- cercles
- Circles or rings; plural of 'cercle'.
- bout
- End, tip, extremity of an object or path.
- poteau
- A post or pole fixed upright in ground.
- laide
- Ugly, unattractive; feminine form of 'laid'.
- proche
- Close, near, nearby; adjective of proximity.
- gibet
- A gallows or gibbet for hanging criminals.
- quelques
- Some, a few; adjective of small quantity.
- chaînes
- Chains; metal links used to bind or restrain.
- pendaient
- Were hanging; imperfect tense of 'pendre', to hang.
- jadis
- Once, long ago, formerly; literary adverb of time.
- retenu
- Held, restrained; past participle of 'retenir'.
- pirate
- A pirate; person who attacks ships at sea.
- avançait
- Was advancing, moving forward; imperfect of 'avancer'.
- boitant
- Limping; present participle of 'boiter', to limp.
- dernier
- Last, latter; referring to the most recent mentioned.
- revenu
- Come back, returned; past participle of 'revenir'.
- descendu
- Descended, come down; past participle of 'descendre'.
- retournant
- Returning, going back; present participle of 'retourner'.
- raccrocher
- To rehang, hook back up; to hang again.
- là-haut
- Up there; adverb indicating a high location.
- pensée
- Thought, idea; a mental reflection or notion.
- donna
- Gave; past tense (passé simple) of 'donner'.
- frisson
- A shiver or shudder, often from fear.
- terrible
- Terrible, dreadful, extremely intense or frightening.
- voyant
- Seeing; present participle of 'voir', to see.
- bétail
- Livestock, cattle; farm animals raised collectively.
- lever
- To raise, lift up; an infinitive verb.
- éloigner
- To move away, distance oneself from something.
- demandai
- Asked, wondered; passé simple of 'demander'.
- pensaient
- Were thinking; imperfect tense of 'penser', to think.
- même
- Same, even; adjective or adverb of emphasis.
- regardai
- Looked; passé simple of 'regarder', to look.
- côtés
- Sides, directions; plural of 'côté'.
- horrible
- Horrible, dreadful; causing horror or disgust.
- vis
- Saw; passé simple of 'voir', to see.
- aucune
- No, none, not any; feminine negative adjective.
- trace
- Trace, sign, mark; evidence of something's presence.
- présent
- Now, present; referring to the current moment.
- nouveau
- New, again; adjective or adverb in French.
- peur
- Fear, fright; strong emotion caused by danger.
- courus
- Ran; passé simple of 'courir', to run.
- jusqu'
- Until, up to; elided form of 'jusqu'à'.
- chez
- At the home of; preposition indicating someone's place.
- arrêter
- To stop, halt; common French verb of cessation.
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