The Great Gatsby — Page 5
"How do you get to West Egg village?" he asked helplessly.
« Comment fait-on pour aller au village de West Egg ? » demanda-t-il, désemparé.
I told him.
Je le lui indiquai.
And as I walked on I was lonely no longer.
Et en continuant mon chemin, je ne me sentais plus seul.
I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler.
J'étais un guide, un éclaireur, un pionnier.
He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighbourhood.
Il m'avait accordé sans façon le droit de cité dans le voisinage.
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
Et ainsi, avec le soleil et les grandes explosions de feuilles poussant sur les arbres, comme les choses poussent dans les films en accéléré, j'avais cette conviction familière que la vie recommençait avec l'été.
There was so much to read, for one thing, and so much fine health to be pulled down out of the young breath-giving air.
Il y avait tant de choses à lire, entre autres, et tant de bonne santé à puiser dans l'air vivifiant et frais.
I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew.
J'achetai une douzaine de volumes sur la banque, le crédit et les valeurs mobilières, et ils trônaient sur mon étagère en rouge et or comme de la monnaie neuve sortie de la Monnaie, promettant de dévoiler les secrets éclatants que seuls Midas, Morgan et Mécène connaissaient.
And I had the high intention of reading many other books besides.
Et j'avais la ferme intention de lire bien d'autres livres encore.
I was rather literary in college—one year I wrote a series of very solemn and obvious editorials for the Yale News—and now I was going to bring back all such things into my life and become again that most limited of all specialists, the "well-rounded man."
J'avais un penchant assez littéraire à l'université — une année, j'avais écrit une série d'éditoriaux fort solennels et convenus pour le Yale News — et maintenant j'allais faire rentrer toutes ces choses dans ma vie et redevenir ce spécialiste des plus limités, l'« homme accompli ».
This isn't just an epigram—life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all.
Ce n'est pas là qu'une simple épigramme — la vie, après tout, se contemple bien mieux depuis une seule fenêtre.
It was a matter of chance that I should have rented a house in one of the strangest communities in North America.
C'est par hasard que j'avais loué une maison dans l'une des communautés les plus étranges d'Amérique du Nord.
Vocabulary
- Comment
- How; used to ask in what way
- fait-on
- Does one do; how is something done
- pour
- For; in order to
- aller
- To go somewhere
- au
- To the; contraction of à and le
- village
- Small settlement smaller than a town
- de
- Of; from; preposition indicating belonging or origin
- demanda-t-il
- He asked; inverted form of demander
- désemparé
- Helpless, bewildered, at a loss
- Je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- le
- Him; it; masculine direct object pronoun
- lui
- Him; indirect object pronoun
- indiquai
- I indicated; showed the way to someone
- Et
- And; coordinating conjunction
- en
- In; while; preposition or gerund marker
- continuant
- Continuing; present participle of continuer
- mon
- My; first-person masculine possessive adjective
- chemin
- Path; way; road one travels on
- je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- ne
- Not; first part of French negation
- me
- Me; myself; first-person reflexive pronoun
- sentais
- I felt; imperfect of sentir
- plus
- No longer; anymore; used in negation
- seul
- Alone; solitary; by oneself
- J'
- I; elided form before vowel
- étais
- I was; imperfect tense of être
- un
- A; one; indefinite masculine article
- guide
- Guide; person who shows the way
- éclaireur
- Scout; pathfinder who explores ahead
- pionnier
- Pioneer; one who opens new territory
- Il
- He; third-person masculine singular pronoun
- m'
- Me; elided first-person object pronoun
- avait
- Had; third-person singular imperfect of avoir
- accordé
- Granted; given; past participle of accorder
- sans
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- façon
- Way; manner; without ceremony when with sans
- droit
- Right; entitlement; claim to something
- cité
- City; citizenship; right of belonging
- dans
- In; inside; preposition of location
- voisinage
- Neighborhood; surrounding area; vicinity
- ainsi
- Thus; so; in this way
- avec
- With; together with; preposition
- soleil
- Sun; the star at the center
- et
- And; coordinating conjunction
- les
- The; plural definite article
- grandes
- Big; large; great; feminine plural adjective
- explosions
- Explosions; sudden bursts or outbursts
- feuilles
- Leaves; sheets of paper; foliage
- poussant
- Growing; pushing; present participle of pousser
- sur
- On; upon; preposition of surface or position
- arbres
- Trees; woody plants with trunks
- comme
- Like; as; in the same way
- choses
- Things; objects; matters in general
- poussent
- Grow; push; third-person plural of pousser
- films
- Films; movies; motion pictures
- accéléré
- Accelerated; fast-forward; sped up
- j'
- I; elided form before vowel sound
- avais
- I had; first-person imperfect of avoir
- cette
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- conviction
- Conviction; firm belief in something
- familière
- Familiar; well-known; intimate feeling
- que
- That; which; conjunction or relative pronoun
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- vie
- Life; the state of being alive
- recommençait
- Was beginning again; imperfect of recommencer
- l'
- The; elided definite article before vowel
- été
- Summer; warmest season of the year
- y
- There; to it; adverbial pronoun
- tant
- So much; so many; so greatly
- à
- To; at; in; preposition
- lire
- To read; infinitive verb
- entre
- Between; among; preposition
- autres
- Others; other things or people
- bonne
- Good; positive; feminine adjective
- santé
- Health; physical well-being
- puiser
- To draw; to obtain from a source
- air
- Air; the atmosphere we breathe
- vivifiant
- Invigorating; life-giving; energizing
- frais
- Fresh; cool; adjective for air or food
- achetai
- I bought; passé simple of acheter
- une
- A; one; feminine indefinite article
- douzaine
- Dozen; a group of twelve
- volumes
- Volumes; books; tomes
- banque
- Bank; financial institution
- crédit
- Credit; financial borrowing or trust
- valeurs
- Values; securities; financial assets
- mobilières
- Movable; relating to personal property or securities
- ils
- They; third-person masculine plural pronoun
- trônaient
- Were enthroned; sat prominently; imperfect of trôner
- étagère
- Shelf; bookshelf; piece of furniture
- rouge
- Red; the color red
- or
- Gold; precious yellow metal
- monnaie
- Currency; money; coins
- neuve
- New; brand-new; feminine adjective
- sortie
- Issued; come out; exit; past participle of sortir
- Monnaie
- Mint; place where currency is made
- promettant
- Promising; present participle of promettre
- dévoiler
- To reveal; to unveil hidden information
- secrets
- Secrets; hidden or confidential information
- éclatants
- Dazzling; brilliant; striking; plural adjective
- seuls
- Only; alone; exclusively; masculine plural
- Mécène
- Maecenas; wealthy patron of arts
- connaissaient
- Knew; were familiar with; imperfect of connaître
- ferme
- Firm; strong; resolute determination
- intention
- Intention; plan; aim to do something
- bien
- Well; good; thoroughly; adverb
- d'
- Of; from; elided preposition
- livres
- Books; written works on paper
- encore
- Still; again; yet; adverb
- penchant
- Inclination; tendency; fondness for something
- assez
- Quite; enough; fairly; adverb of degree
- littéraire
- Literary; relating to literature
- université
- University; institution of higher education
- année
- Year; a period of twelve months
- écrit
- Written; wrote; past participle of écrire
- série
- Series; a set of related things
- éditoriaux
- Editorials; opinion articles in a publication
- fort
- Very; strongly; quite; adverb of intensity
- solennels
- Solemn; serious; formal in tone
- convenus
- Conventional; agreed upon; predictable
- maintenant
- Now; at this present moment
- allais
- Was going to; imperfect of aller
- faire
- To make; to do; infinitive verb
- rentrer
- To bring back; to return; to re-enter
- toutes
- All; every; feminine plural adjective
- ces
- These; those; plural demonstrative adjective
- ma
- My; first-person feminine possessive adjective
- redevenir
- To become again; to return to a state
- ce
- This; that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- spécialiste
- Specialist; expert in a particular field
- des
- Of the; some; partitive or plural article
- limités
- Limited; restricted; narrow in scope
- homme
- Man; human being; male person
- accompli
- Accomplished; skilled; completed successfully
- Ce
- This; it; demonstrative pronoun
- n'
- Not; elided negation particle
- est
- Is; third-person singular of être
- pas
- Not; second part of French negation
- là
- There; at that place; adverb
- qu'
- That; which; elided conjunction or pronoun
- simple
- Simple; plain; easy to understand
- épigramme
- Epigram; witty concise saying or remark
- après
- After; following in time or sequence
- tout
- All; everything; after all
- se
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun third person
- contemple
- Contemplates; observes; gazes at thoughtfully
- mieux
- Better; more well; comparative adverb
- depuis
- Since; from; for a period of time
- seule
- Single; sole; only; feminine adjective
- fenêtre
- Window; opening in a wall for light
- C'
- It is; elided demonstrative pronoun c'est
- par
- By; through; per; preposition
- hasard
- Chance; luck; coincidence; accident
- loué
- Rented; leased; past participle of louer
- maison
- House; home; building where people live
- communautés
- Communities; groups sharing common interests
- étranges
- Strange; odd; unusual; peculiar
- Amérique
- America; the continent or United States
- du
- Of the; from the; masculine contraction
- Nord
- North; cardinal direction
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