Little Women — Page 9

English → Fr CHAPTER ONE Level 6/10

There is so much to do about the play for Christmas night," said Jo, marching up and down, with her hands behind her back, and her nose in the air.

« Il y a tant à faire pour la pièce de la nuit de Noël », dit Jo, marchant de long en large, les mains dans le dos et le nez en l'air.

"I don't mean to act any more after this time. I'm getting too old for such things," observed Meg, who was as much a child as ever about 'dressing-up' frolics.

« Je n'ai pas l'intention de jouer après cette fois. Je suis en train de devenir trop vieille pour ce genre de choses », fit remarquer Meg, qui était aussi enfantine que jamais en ce qui concernait les amusements de déguisement.

"You won't stop, I know, as long as you can trail round in a white gown with your hair down, and wear gold-paper jewelry. You are the best actress we've got, and there'll be an end of everything if you quit the boards," said Jo.

« Tu ne t'arrêteras pas, je le sais, tant que tu pourras te promener en robe blanche avec les cheveux défaits et porter des bijoux en papier doré. Tu es la meilleure actrice que nous ayons, et ce sera la fin de tout si tu quittes les planches », dit Jo.

"We ought to rehearse tonight. Come here, Amy, and do the fainting scene, for you are as stiff as a poker in that."

« Nous devrions répéter ce soir. Viens ici, Amy, et fais la scène d'évanouissement, car tu es aussi raide qu'un tisonnier dans cette scène.»

"I can't help it. I never saw anyone faint, and I don't choose to make myself all black and blue, tumbling flat as you do. If I can go down easily, I'll drop. If I can't, I shall fall into a chair and be graceful. I don't care if Hugo does come at me with a pistol," returned Amy, who was not gifted with dramatic power, but was chosen because she was small enough to be borne out shrieking by the villain of the piece.

« Je n'y peux rien. Je n'ai jamais vu personne s'évanouir, et je ne veux pas me couvrir de bleus en tombant à plat comme tu le fais. Si je peux descendre facilement, je tomberai. Si je ne peux pas, je tomberai dans un fauteuil avec grâce. Je me fiche qu'Hugo vienne vers moi avec un pistolet », répondit Amy, qui n'était pas douée pour le jeu dramatique, mais qui avait été choisie parce qu'elle était assez petite pour être emportée en criant par le méchant de la pièce.

"Do it this way. Clasp your hands so, and stagger across the room, crying frantically, 'Roderigo! Save me! Save me!'" and away went Jo, with a melodramatic scream which was truly thrilling.

« Fais-le ainsi. Joins les mains comme ça, et traverse la pièce en titubant, en criant frénétiquement : "Roderigo ! Sauve-moi ! Sauve-moi !" » et Jo s'élança avec un cri mélodramatique qui était vraiment saisissant.

Vocabulary

Il: Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he/it'.
y: Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'.
a: Third person singular of 'avoir', meaning 'has/there is'.
tant: Adverb meaning 'so much' or 'so many'.
à: Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'for'.
faire: Infinitive verb meaning 'to do' or 'to make'.
pour: Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'.
pièce: Noun meaning 'play', 'room', or 'piece'.
nuit: Noun meaning 'night'.
Noël: Proper noun referring to the Christmas holiday.
dit: Past tense of 'dire', meaning 'said'.
marchant: Present participle of 'marcher', meaning 'walking'.
long: Adjective or noun meaning 'long' or 'length'.
en: Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in', 'on', or 'some'.
large: Adjective meaning 'wide' or 'broad'.
mains: Plural noun meaning 'hands'.
dans: Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'.
dos: Noun meaning 'back' (of the body).
nez: Noun meaning 'nose'.
air: Noun meaning 'air', 'look', or 'expression'.
ai: First person singular of 'avoir', meaning 'have'.
pas: Negative particle meaning 'not'; also 'step'.
intention: Noun meaning 'intention' or 'plan to do something'.
jouer: Infinitive meaning 'to play' or 'to perform'.
après: Preposition meaning 'after' or 'following'.
cette: Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'this'.
fois: Noun meaning 'time' or 'occasion'.
suis: First person singular of 'être', meaning 'am'.
train: Noun; in 'en train de' means 'in the process of'.
devenir: Infinitive meaning 'to become'.
trop: Adverb meaning 'too' or 'too much'.
vieille: Adjective meaning 'old' (feminine form).
ce: Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this/that'.
genre: Noun meaning 'type', 'kind', or 'sort'.
choses: Plural noun meaning 'things'.
fit: Simple past of 'faire', meaning 'did' or 'made'.
remarquer: Infinitive meaning 'to remark' or 'to notice'.
qui: Relative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'that'.
était: Imperfect tense of 'être', meaning 'was'.
aussi: Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as'.
enfantine: Adjective meaning 'childish' or 'childlike' (feminine).
que: Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that', 'than', or 'which'.
jamais: Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever'.
concernait: Imperfect of 'concerner', meaning 'concerned' or 'regarded'.
amusements: Plural noun meaning 'amusements' or 'entertainments'.
déguisement: Noun meaning 'disguise' or 'costume'.
arrêteras: Future tense of 'arrêter', meaning 'will stop'.
sais: First person singular of 'savoir', meaning 'know'.
pourras: Future tense of 'pouvoir', meaning 'will be able to'.
promener: Infinitive meaning 'to walk' or 'to stroll'.
robe: Noun meaning 'dress' or 'gown'.
blanche: Adjective meaning 'white' (feminine form).
avec: Preposition meaning 'with'.
cheveux: Plural noun meaning 'hair'.
défaits: Adjective meaning 'undone', 'loose', or 'disheveled'.
porter: Infinitive meaning 'to wear' or 'to carry'.
bijoux: Plural noun meaning 'jewels' or 'jewelry'.
papier: Noun meaning 'paper'.
doré: Adjective meaning 'golden' or 'gilded'.
es: Second person singular of 'être', meaning 'are'.
meilleure: Adjective meaning 'best' or 'better' (feminine form).
actrice: Noun meaning 'actress'.
ayons: Subjunctive form of 'avoir', meaning 'have'.
sera: Future tense of 'être', meaning 'will be'.
fin: Noun meaning 'end' or adjective meaning 'fine'.
tout: Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'every', or 'everything'.
si: Conjunction meaning 'if' or adverb meaning 'so'.
quittes: Second person of 'quitter', meaning 'leave' or 'quit'.
planches: Plural noun meaning 'boards'; 'les planches' means 'the stage'.
devrions: Conditional of 'devoir', meaning 'should' or 'ought to'.
répéter: Infinitive meaning 'to rehearse' or 'to repeat'.
soir: Noun meaning 'evening' or 'tonight'.
Viens: Imperative of 'venir', meaning 'come' (informal).
ici: Adverb meaning 'here'.
fais: Imperative or present tense of 'faire', meaning 'do/make'.
scène: Noun meaning 'scene' or 'stage'.
évanouissement: Noun meaning 'fainting' or 'loss of consciousness'.
car: Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'.
raide: Adjective meaning 'stiff', 'rigid', or 'steep'.
tisonnier: Noun meaning 'poker', a tool for tending a fire.
peux: First person singular of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can'.
rien: Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'anything'.
vu: Past participle of 'voir', meaning 'seen'.
personne: Noun/pronoun meaning 'person' or 'nobody'.
évanouir: Infinitive meaning 'to faint' or 'to vanish'.
veux: First person singular of 'vouloir', meaning 'want'.
couvrir: Infinitive meaning 'to cover'.
bleus: Plural adjective meaning 'blue'; can mean 'bruises'.
tombant: Present participle of 'tomber', meaning 'falling'.
plat: Adjective meaning 'flat'; noun meaning 'dish/plate'.
comme: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'like', 'as', or 'how'.
Si: Conjunction meaning 'if'; adverb meaning 'so' or 'yes'.
descendre: Infinitive meaning 'to go down' or 'to descend'.
facilement: Adverb meaning 'easily'.
tomberai: Future tense of 'tomber', meaning 'will fall'.
fauteuil: Noun meaning 'armchair'.
grâce: Noun meaning 'grace' or 'elegance'; 'grâce à' means 'thanks to'.
fiche: Informal imperative meaning 'let' or 'allow' (ficher).
vienne: Subjunctive of 'venir', meaning 'comes' or 'come'.
vers: Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'around'.
moi: Stressed first person pronoun meaning 'me' or 'I'.
pistolet: Noun meaning 'pistol' or 'handgun'.
répondit: Simple past of 'répondre', meaning 'replied' or 'answered'.
douée: Adjective meaning 'gifted' or 'talented' (feminine form).
jeu: Noun meaning 'game', 'play', or 'acting'.
dramatique: Adjective meaning 'dramatic' or 'theatrical'.
mais: Conjunction meaning 'but'.
avait: Imperfect of 'avoir', meaning 'had'.
été: Past participle of 'être', meaning 'been'; also 'summer'.
choisie: Past participle of 'choisir', meaning 'chosen' (feminine).
parce: Part of 'parce que', meaning 'because'.
assez: Adverb meaning 'enough' or 'quite'.
petite: Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' (feminine form).
être: Infinitive meaning 'to be'.
emportée: Past participle of 'emporter', meaning 'carried away' (feminine).
criant: Present participle of 'crier', meaning 'shouting' or 'crying out'.
par: Preposition meaning 'by', 'through', or 'per'.
méchant: Adjective or noun meaning 'mean', 'wicked', or 'villain'.
Fais-le: Imperative phrase meaning 'do it'.
ainsi: Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'.
Joins: Imperative of 'joindre', meaning 'join' or 'clasp'.
ça: Informal pronoun meaning 'that' or 'it'.
traverse: Verb form of 'traverser', meaning 'cross' or 'go through'.
titubant: Present participle of 'tituber', meaning 'staggering' or 'reeling'.
frénétiquement: Adverb meaning 'frantically' or 'frenetically'.
Sauve-moi: Imperative phrase meaning 'save me'.
élança: Simple past of 's'élancer', meaning 'rushed' or 'lunged forward'.
cri: Noun meaning 'cry', 'shout', or 'scream'.
mélodramatique: Adjective meaning 'melodramatic' or 'overly dramatic'.
vraiment: Adverb meaning 'really' or 'truly'.
saisissant: Adjective meaning 'striking', 'gripping', or 'startling'.

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