The Great Gatsby — Page 3
This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the "creative temperament"—it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.
Cette réceptivité n'avait rien à voir avec cette impressionnabilité molle que l'on honore du nom de « tempérament créatif » — c'était un don extraordinaire pour l'espoir, une disposition romantique telle que je n'en ai jamais trouvé chez aucune autre personne et qu'il est peu probable que je retrouve jamais.
No—Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.
Non — Gatsby s'en est bien sorti à la fin ; c'est ce qui rongeait Gatsby, cette poussière infâme qui flottait dans le sillage de ses rêves, qui a temporairement éteint mon intérêt pour les chagrins avortés et les joies éphémères des hommes.
My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations.
Ma famille est une famille en vue et aisée de cette ville du Middle West depuis trois générations.
The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather's brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on today.
Les Carraway forment une sorte de clan, et nous avons la tradition selon laquelle nous descendons des ducs de Buccleuch, mais le véritable fondateur de ma lignée était le frère de mon grand-père, qui vint ici en cinquante et un, envoya un remplaçant à la guerre de Sécession, et fonda le commerce de quincaillerie en gros que mon père poursuit aujourd'hui.
I never saw this great-uncle, but I'm supposed to look like him—with special reference to the rather hard-boiled painting that hangs in father's office.
Je n'ai jamais vu ce grand-oncle, mais on dit que je lui ressemble — en référence particulière au portrait assez austère qui est accroché dans le bureau de mon père.
I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War.
J'ai obtenu mon diplôme de New Haven en 1915, exactement un quart de siècle après mon père, et un peu plus tard j'ai participé à cette migration teutonique tardive connue sous le nom de Grande Guerre.
I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless.
J'ai tellement apprécié la contre-offensive que je suis rentré agité.
Vocabulary
- réceptivité
- Openness or sensitivity to ideas and impressions
- rien
- Nothing; used in negative expressions with 'ne'
- voir
- To see; infinitive of the verb 'voir'
- impressionnabilité
- Quality of being easily impressed or emotionally affected
- molle
- Feminine form of 'mou', meaning soft or weak
- honore
- To honor or dignify something with a name or title
- nom
- Name; a word used to identify a person or thing
- tempérament
- Natural disposition or characteristic way of behaving
- créatif
- Creative; having the ability to produce original ideas
- don
- Gift or natural talent possessed by a person
- extraordinaire
- Extraordinary; remarkable or exceptional in quality
- espoir
- Hope; feeling of expectation for something desired
- disposition
- Natural tendency or inclination toward something
- romantique
- Romantic; inclined toward idealism and emotional sensitivity
- telle
- Feminine form of 'tel', meaning 'such' or 'like'
- jamais
- Never; used in negation or meaning 'ever' in questions
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at the home of' or 'among'
- aucune
- Feminine form of 'aucun', meaning 'no' or 'none'
- personne
- Person; also used in negation meaning 'nobody'
- peu
- Little; indicating a small quantity or degree
- probable
- Likely; having a good chance of happening
- retrouve
- To find again or rediscover something or someone
- sorti
- Past participle of 'sortir'; came out or emerged
- fin
- End; the conclusion of something
- rongeait
- Imperfect of 'ronger'; was gnawing or eating away at
- poussière
- Dust; fine particles of matter on surfaces
- infâme
- Infamous or vile; morally reprehensible and disgraceful
- flottait
- Imperfect of 'flotter'; was floating or drifting
- sillage
- Wake or trail left behind by something moving
- rêves
- Dreams; aspirations or visions during sleep
- temporairement
- Temporarily; for a limited period of time
- éteint
- Extinguished or switched off; put out a flame or interest
- intérêt
- Interest; curiosity or concern about something
- chagrins
- Sorrows or griefs; feelings of distress or sadness
- avortés
- Aborted or failed; cut short before completion
- joies
- Joys; feelings of great happiness or pleasure
- éphémères
- Ephemeral; lasting only a very short time
- hommes
- Men or humans; plural of 'homme'
- famille
- Family; a group of related people living together
- vue
- Seen; past participle of 'voir', or a view
- aisée
- Well-off; comfortable financially, affluent
- ville
- City or town; an urban area where people live
- depuis
- Since or for; indicating duration from a past point
- générations
- Generations; successive groups born in different time periods
- forment
- Third person plural of 'former'; form or constitute something
- sorte
- Sort or kind; a type or category of something
- clan
- Clan; a close-knit group sharing common ancestry
- tradition
- Tradition; a custom or belief passed through generations
- selon
- Preposition meaning 'according to'
- laquelle
- Feminine relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom'
- descendons
- We descend; are related by ancestry to someone
- ducs
- Dukes; plural of 'duc', a high-ranking noble title
- véritable
- True or genuine; real and authentic
- fondateur
- Founder; person who establishes something new
- lignée
- Lineage; line of descent from an ancestor
- frère
- Brother; a male sibling
- grand-père
- Grandfather; the father of one's parent
- vint
- Third person singular passé simple of 'venir'; came
- ici
- Here; in this place
- cinquante
- Fifty; the number between forty-nine and fifty-one
- envoya
- Past tense of 'envoyer'; sent someone or something
- remplaçant
- Substitute or replacement; someone filling another's role
- guerre
- War; armed conflict between nations or groups
- Sécession
- Secession; formal withdrawal from a union or alliance
- fonda
- Founded; past tense of 'fonder', to establish something
- commerce
- Trade or business; buying and selling of goods
- quincaillerie
- Hardware store; shop selling tools and household goods
- gros
- Wholesale or large-scale; also means big or fat
- poursuit
- Continues or pursues; third person singular of 'poursuivre'
- aujourd'hui
- Today; on the present day
- oncle
- Uncle; the brother of one's parent
- ressemble
- To resemble; to look like or be similar to
- référence
- Reference; an allusion or pointer to something else
- particulière
- Particular or specific; relating to one specific thing
- portrait
- Portrait; a painting or photo of a person's face
- assez
- Quite or enough; indicating a sufficient degree
- austère
- Austere; severe or strict in appearance or manner
- accroché
- Hung; past participle of 'accrocher', to hang something
- bureau
- Office or desk; a workspace or piece of furniture
- obtenu
- Obtained; past participle of 'obtenir', to get or earn
- diplôme
- Diploma or degree; an academic qualification certificate
- exactement
- Exactly; precisely, with no deviation or approximation
- quart
- Quarter; one fourth of a whole unit
- siècle
- Century; a period of one hundred years
- après
- After; following in time or order
- tard
- Late; later in time than expected or planned
- participé
- Participated; took part in an event or activity
- migration
- Migration; movement of people from one place to another
- teutonique
- Teutonic; relating to Germanic peoples or culture
- tardive
- Late or belated; occurring later than expected
- connue
- Known; feminine past participle of 'connaître'
- sous
- Preposition meaning 'under' or 'beneath'
- Guerre
- War; here referring to the First World War
- tellement
- So much; to such a great degree or extent
- apprécié
- Appreciated or enjoyed; valued something positively
- contre-offensive
- Counteroffensive; a military attack in response to enemy action
- rentré
- Returned home; past participle of 'rentrer'
- agité
- Restless or agitated; in a state of unease
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