Great Expectations — Page 5

English → Fr Chapter II. Level 8/10

My sister had a trenchant way of cutting our bread and butter for us, that never varied.

Ma sœur avait une façon tranchante de couper notre pain et beurre pour nous, qui ne variait jamais.

First, with her left hand she jammed the loaf hard and fast against her bib,—where it sometimes got a pin into it, and sometimes a needle, which we afterwards got into our mouths.

D'abord, de sa main gauche elle pressait le pain fort et ferme contre son tablier,—où il y entrait parfois une épingle, et parfois une aiguille, que nous retrouvions ensuite dans nos bouches.

Then she took some butter (not too much) on a knife and spread it on the loaf, in an apothecary kind of way, as if she were making a plaster,—using both sides of the knife with a slapping dexterity, and trimming and moulding the butter off round the crust.

Puis elle prenait du beurre (pas trop) sur un couteau et l'étalait sur le pain, à la manière d'un apothicaire, comme si elle confectionnait un emplâtre,—se servant des deux côtés du couteau avec une dextérité claquante, et raclant et modelant le beurre tout autour de la croûte.

Then, she gave the knife a final smart wipe on the edge of the plaster, and then sawed a very thick round off the loaf: which she finally, before separating from the loaf, hewed into two halves, of which Joe got one, and I the other.

Ensuite, elle essuyait le couteau d'un dernier coup vif sur le bord de l'emplâtre, puis sciait une très épaisse tranche du pain : qu'elle finissait, avant de la séparer du pain, par tailler en deux moitiés, dont Joe recevait l'une, et moi l'autre.

On the present occasion, though I was hungry, I dared not eat my slice.

En cette occasion, bien que j'eusse faim, je n'osais pas manger ma tranche.

I felt that I must have something in reserve for my dreadful acquaintance, and his ally the still more dreadful young man.

Je sentais que je devais avoir quelque chose en réserve pour ma redoutable connaissance, et son allié le jeune homme encore plus redoutable.

I knew Mrs. Joe's housekeeping to be of the strictest kind, and that my larcenous researches might find nothing available in the safe.

Je savais que la tenue du ménage de Mme Joe était de la sorte la plus stricte, et que mes recherches larcinoises ne trouveraient peut-être rien de disponible dans le garde-manger.

Therefore I resolved to put my hunk of bread and butter down the leg of my trousers.

C'est pourquoi je résolus de glisser mon morceau de pain beurré dans la jambe de mon pantalon.

The effort of resolution necessary to the achievement of this purpose I found to be quite awful.

L'effort de résolution nécessaire à l'accomplissement de ce dessein me parut tout à fait redoutable.

Vocabulary

sœur: Female sibling; sister.
avait: Had; third person singular imperfect of avoir.
façon: Manner, way, or style of doing something.
tranchante: Sharp, cutting; describes a blade or manner.
couper: To cut or slice something.
pain: Bread; staple baked food loaf.
beurre: Butter; dairy spread for bread or cooking.
variait: Varied; third person singular imperfect of varier.
jamais: Never; adverb of negation or emphasis.
abord: First, at first; used in d'abord expression.
main: Hand; part of the human body.
gauche: Left; opposite of right side.
pressait: Pressed, squeezed; imperfect of presser.
fort: Hard, strongly; adverb indicating force or intensity.
ferme: Firmly, steadily; with firmness and stability.
contre: Against; preposition indicating opposition or contact.
tablier: Apron; protective garment worn while cooking.
y: There, in it; adverbial pronoun replacing location.
entrait: Entered, went in; imperfect of entrer.
parfois: Sometimes, occasionally; adverb of frequency.
épingle: Pin; small sharp fastening implement.
aiguille: Needle; thin pointed sewing or medical instrument.
retrouvions: Found again; first person plural imperfect of retrouver.
ensuite: Then, afterwards; adverb indicating sequence.
bouches: Mouths; plural of bouche, oral opening.
Puis: Then, next; adverb indicating temporal sequence.
prenait: Took; third person singular imperfect of prendre.
trop: Too much, too; adverb of excess.
couteau: Knife; sharp cutting utensil used in kitchen.
étalait: Spread out; third person singular imperfect of étaler.
manière: Manner, way; style or method of doing.
apothicaire: Apothecary; old-fashioned pharmacist or druggist.
confectionnait: Was making, preparing; imperfect of confectionner.
emplâtre: Plaster, poultice; medicated paste spread on cloth.
servant: Using, serving oneself; present participle of servir.
côtés: Sides; plural of côté, lateral parts or faces.
dextérité: Dexterity; skillful use of hands or body.
claquante: Snapping, clicking; producing a sharp slapping sound.
raclant: Scraping; present participle of racler.
modelant: Shaping, molding; present participle of modeler.
autour: Around; adverb or preposition indicating surrounding.
croûte: Crust; hard outer layer of bread.
Ensuite: Then, next; adverb indicating next step.
essuyait: Wiped; third person singular imperfect of essuyer.
dernier: Last, final; adjective indicating the end.
coup: Stroke, blow, hit; a single action or motion.
vif: Quick, lively, sharp; adjective of speed or sharpness.
bord: Edge, rim, side; border of an object.
sciait: Was sawing; third person singular imperfect of scier.
épaisse: Thick; feminine adjective describing substantial depth.
tranche: Slice; a cut piece of bread or food.
finissait: Finished; third person singular imperfect of finir.
avant: Before; preposition or adverb of prior time.
séparer: To separate, divide into parts.
tailler: To cut, trim, or carve into shape.
moitiés: Halves; plural of moitié, equal divided parts.
dont: Of which, whose; relative pronoun of possession.
recevait: Received; third person singular imperfect of recevoir.
autre: Other, another; adjective or pronoun of distinction.
occasion: Occasion, opportunity; a particular time or event.
bien: Well, very; adverb of manner or emphasis.
eusse: Had; first person singular past subjunctive of avoir.
faim: Hunger; desire or need to eat.
osais: Dared; first person singular imperfect of oser.
manger: To eat; consume food.
sentais: Felt, sensed; first person singular imperfect of sentir.
devais: Had to, owed; first person singular imperfect of devoir.
avoir: To have; fundamental auxiliary and lexical verb.
quelque: Some, a certain; indefinite adjective of quantity.
chose: Thing; a general object or matter.
réserve: Reserve, supply; something kept back for later.
redoutable: Formidable, dreadful; inspiring fear or great respect.
connaissance: Knowledge, acquaintance; awareness or familiarity with something.
allié: Ally; someone united with another for common purpose.
jeune: Young; adjective describing youth or early age.
homme: Man; adult male human being.
encore: Still, yet, again; adverb of continuation or repetition.
plus: More, no more; comparative adverb of quantity.
savais: Knew; first person singular imperfect of savoir.
tenue: Upkeep, management; running of a household.
ménage: Household, housekeeping; domestic management of home.
sorte: Sort, kind, type; category or variety of something.
stricte: Strict, rigorous; demanding exact compliance or obedience.
recherches: Searches, investigations; acts of looking or inquiring.
larcinoises: Thieving, pilfering; relating to petty theft or stealing.
trouveraient: Would find; third person plural conditional of trouver.
peut-être: Perhaps, maybe; adverb expressing possibility or uncertainty.
rien: Nothing; pronoun indicating absence of anything.
disponible: Available; accessible and ready for use.
garde-manger: Pantry, larder; cool storage area for keeping food.
pourquoi: Why; adverb or conjunction asking or stating reason.
résolus: Resolved, decided; first person singular passé simple of résoudre.
glisser: To slide, slip; move smoothly along a surface.
morceau: Piece, bit; a portion of food or material.
beurré: Buttered; spread with butter.
jambe: Leg; lower limb of the human body.
pantalon: Trousers, pants; garment covering lower body and legs.
effort: Effort; exertion of strength or energy toward goal.
résolution: Resolution, determination; firm decision to do something.
nécessaire: Necessary; required or essential for a purpose.
accomplissement: Accomplishment, fulfillment; completion of a task or goal.
dessein: Design, plan, intent; a deliberate purpose or scheme.
parut: Appeared, seemed; third person singular passé simple of paraître.
fait: Done, made; past participle of faire; a fact.

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