The Great Gatsby — Page 8
They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together.
Ils avaient passé un an en France sans raison particulière, puis avaient dérivé çà et là avec agitation, partout où des gens jouaient au polo et étaient riches ensemble.
This was a permanent move, said Daisy over the telephone, but I didn't believe it—I had no sight into Daisy's heart, but I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game.
C'était un déménagement définitif, dit Daisy au téléphone, mais je n'y croyais pas — je n'avais aucune vision du cœur de Daisy, mais je sentais que Tom dériverait éternellement à la recherche, avec un peu de mélancolie, de la turbulence dramatique d'un match de football à jamais perdu.
And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all.
Et c'est ainsi qu'un soir chaud et venteux je me rendis en voiture à East Egg pour voir deux vieux amis que je connaissais à peine.
Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay.
Leur maison était encore plus somptueuse que je ne l'avais imaginé, une joyeuse demeure coloniale géorgienne rouge et blanche, dominant la baie.
The lawn started at the beach and ran towards the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sundials and brick walks and burning gardens—finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run.
La pelouse débutait à la plage et courait vers la porte d'entrée sur quatre cents mètres, sautant par-dessus des cadrans solaires, des allées de briques et des jardins embrasés — puis, lorsqu'elle atteignait la maison, elle s'élançait le long des murs en vignes lumineuses, comme portée par l'élan de sa course.
The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold and wide open to the warm windy afternoon, and Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch.
La façade était rythmée par une rangée de portes-fenêtres, brillant à présent d'un or réfléchi et grandes ouvertes sur le chaud après-midi venteux, et Tom Buchanan en tenue d'équitation se tenait debout, les jambes écartées, sur le porche de devant.
He had changed since his New Haven years.
Il avait changé depuis ses années à New Haven.
Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty, with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner.
C'était désormais un homme robuste d'une trentaine d'années aux cheveux paille, avec une bouche assez dure et des manières hautaines.
Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward.
Deux yeux brillants et arrogants avaient établi leur emprise sur son visage et lui donnaient l'air de toujours se pencher agressivement en avant.
Vocabulary
- avaient
- Past tense of 'avoir'; they had
- passé
- Spent or passed (time); also means 'past'
- an
- A year, unit of time
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- raison
- Reason, cause, or justification for something
- particulière
- Particular, specific, or special; feminine form
- puis
- Then, afterwards, indicating sequence of events
- dérivé
- Drifted, wandered without direction or purpose
- çà
- Here, used in expression 'çà et là' (here and there)
- agitation
- Agitation, restlessness, or nervous excitement
- partout
- Everywhere, in all places
- gens
- People, persons in general
- jouaient
- Were playing; imperfect tense of 'jouer'
- étaient
- Were; imperfect tense of 'être'
- riches
- Rich, wealthy, having great financial resources
- ensemble
- Together, as a group or unit
- déménagement
- Moving house, relocation to a new home
- définitif
- Definitive, final, permanent, not subject to change
- dit
- Said; past tense of 'dire'
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or referring to something mentioned
- croyais
- Believed; imperfect tense of 'croire'
- aucune
- No, none, not any; negative feminine adjective
- vision
- Vision, mental image, or way of seeing something
- cœur
- Heart; the organ or seat of emotions
- sentais
- Felt, sensed; imperfect tense of 'sentir'
- dériverait
- Would drift; conditional tense of 'dériver'
- éternellement
- Eternally, forever, without end
- recherche
- Search, quest, or pursuit of something
- peu
- A little, a small amount of something
- mélancolie
- Melancholy, deep sadness or pensive gloom
- turbulence
- Turbulence, disorder, or violent agitation
- dramatique
- Dramatic, striking, or relating to drama
- match
- Match, a competitive sporting contest or game
- jamais
- Never, or ever in negative constructions
- perdu
- Lost; past participle of 'perdre'
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way or manner
- soir
- Evening, the period after afternoon and before night
- chaud
- Hot, warm; describing temperature
- venteux
- Windy, breezy; characterized by strong winds
- rendis
- Went; past historic of 'se rendre'
- voiture
- Car, automobile used for transportation
- voir
- To see; infinitive verb of seeing
- vieux
- Old; masculine adjective describing age
- amis
- Friends; plural of 'ami'
- connaissais
- Knew (a person); imperfect tense of 'connaître'
- peine
- Barely, hardly; also means pain or sorrow
- maison
- House, home, a building where people live
- encore
- Still, yet, again; indicating continuation or repetition
- somptueuse
- Sumptuous, luxurious, lavish; feminine adjective
- imaginé
- Imagined; past participle of 'imaginer'
- joyeuse
- Joyful, cheerful, happy; feminine adjective
- demeure
- Residence, dwelling, grand or stately home
- coloniale
- Colonial; relating to colonial architectural style
- géorgienne
- Georgian; relating to Georgian architectural style
- rouge
- Red; color adjective
- blanche
- White; feminine color adjective
- dominant
- Dominating, overlooking, standing above something
- baie
- Bay, a body of water partially enclosed by land
- pelouse
- Lawn, a stretch of closely mown grass
- débutait
- Began, started; imperfect tense of 'débuter'
- plage
- Beach, sandy shore beside a body of water
- courait
- Ran; imperfect tense of 'courir'
- vers
- Towards, in the direction of something
- porte
- Door, entrance; also carries in present tense
- entrée
- Entrance, entry; the way into a place
- sautant
- Jumping, leaping; present participle of 'sauter'
- par-dessus
- Over, above, across something
- cadrans
- Dials or faces; 'cadrans solaires' means sundials
- solaires
- Solar; relating to the sun
- allées
- Paths, walkways, or driveways leading somewhere
- briques
- Bricks; rectangular blocks used in construction
- jardins
- Gardens; outdoor spaces with plants and flowers
- embrasés
- Ablaze, aglow; burning or brilliantly lit with color
- lorsqu'
- When; conjunction introducing a time clause
- atteignait
- Reached, arrived at; imperfect of 'atteindre'
- élançait
- Surged, darted forward; imperfect of 's'élancer'
- long
- Long; also used in 'le long de' meaning along
- murs
- Walls; vertical structures of a building
- vignes
- Vines, grapevines; climbing plants on walls
- lumineuses
- Luminous, glowing, radiating light; feminine plural
- portée
- Carried; also means reach or range
- élan
- Momentum, impetus, surge of energy or enthusiasm
- course
- Race, run; movement at speed
- façade
- Facade, the front face of a building
- rythmée
- Rhythmic, having a regular beat or pattern
- rangée
- Row, line, a series of things arranged in order
- portes-fenêtres
- French doors; full-length glass doors opening outward
- brillant
- Shining, gleaming, sparkling with light
- présent
- Present; referring to now, or a gift
- or
- Gold; the precious yellow metal
- réfléchi
- Reflected; also means thoughtful or reflexive
- ouvertes
- Open; feminine plural past participle of 'ouvrir'
- après-midi
- Afternoon; the time between noon and evening
- tenue
- Outfit, attire, clothing worn for an activity
- équitation
- Horse riding, equestrianism as sport or activity
- tenait
- Stood, held; imperfect tense of 'tenir'
- debout
- Standing upright, on one's feet
- jambes
- Legs; the lower limbs of the body
- écartées
- Spread apart, set wide; feminine plural adjective
- porche
- Porch, a covered entrance to a building
- devant
- In front of, before; preposition of position
- changé
- Changed; past participle of 'changer'
- depuis
- Since, for; indicating duration or starting point
- années
- Years; plural of 'année'
- désormais
- From now on, henceforth, hereafter
- homme
- Man; an adult male human being
- robuste
- Robust, strong, sturdy, physically powerful
- trentaine
- About thirty; approximate age in one's thirties
- cheveux
- Hair; the hair on a person's head
- paille
- Straw; also describes a straw-yellow color
- bouche
- Mouth; the opening in the face for eating and speaking
- assez
- Quite, fairly, enough; adverb of degree
- dure
- Hard, harsh, tough; feminine form of 'dur'
- manières
- Manners, ways of behaving or acting socially
- hautaines
- Haughty, arrogant, disdainful; feminine plural
- yeux
- Eyes; the organs of sight (plural of 'œil')
- brillants
- Bright, shining, gleaming; masculine plural adjective
- arrogants
- Arrogant, haughty, overbearing; masculine plural
- établi
- Established, set firmly; past participle of 'établir'
- emprise
- Hold, grip, dominance or control over something
- visage
- Face; the front part of the human head
- donnaient
- Gave; imperfect tense of 'donner'
- air
- Air, appearance, look; 'avoir l'air' means to seem
- toujours
- Always, still, ever; adverb of frequency
- pencher
- To lean, to tilt, to incline forward or sideways
- agressivement
- Aggressively, in a hostile or forceful manner
- avant
- Forward, before, ahead; preposition or adverb
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