The Great Gatsby — Page 9
Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body—he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat.
Même l'élégance efféminée de sa tenue d'équitation ne pouvait dissimuler l'énorme puissance de ce corps — il semblait remplir ces bottes luisantes jusqu'à en faire craquer les lacets du haut, et l'on pouvait voir une grande masse de muscles se déplacer quand son épaule bougeait sous sa mince veste.
It was a body capable of enormous leverage—a cruel body.
C'était un corps capable d'un effet de levier considérable — un corps cruel.
His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.
Sa voix parlée, un ténor rauque et bourru, renforçait l'impression d'irascibilité qu'il dégageait.
There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward people he liked—and there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts.
Il y avait en elle une pointe de mépris paternel, même envers les gens qu'il appréciait — et il y avait des hommes à New Haven qui l'avaient cordialement détesté.
"Now, don't think my opinion on these matters is final," he seemed to say, "just because I'm stronger and more of a man than you are."
« Ne croyez pas que mon opinion sur ces questions soit définitive, » semblait-il dire, « simplement parce que je suis plus fort et plus viril que vous. »
We were in the same senior society, and while we were never intimate I always had the impression that he approved of me and wanted me to like him with some harsh, defiant wistfulness of his own.
Nous faisions partie de la même société d'étudiants de dernière année, et bien que nous n'ayons jamais été intimes, j'avais toujours eu l'impression qu'il m'approuvait et voulait que je l'apprécie, avec une sorte de mélancolie âpre et provocatrice qui lui était propre.
We talked for a few minutes on the sunny porch.
Nous avons bavardé quelques minutes sur la véranda ensoleillée.
"I've got a nice place here," he said, his eyes flashing about restlessly.
« J'ai un bel endroit ici, » dit-il, ses yeux parcourant les alentours avec agitation.
Turning me around by one arm, he moved a broad flat hand along the front vista, including in its sweep a sunken Italian garden, a half acre of deep, pungent roses, and a snub-nosed motorboat that bumped the tide offshore.
Me faisant pivoter par un bras, il promena une large main à plat sur la perspective de façade, englobant dans son geste un jardin italien en contrebas, un demi-acre de roses profondes et piquantes, et un canot automobile au nez retroussé qui heurtait la marée au large.
"It belonged to Demaine, the oil man." He turned me around again, politely and abruptly. "We'll go inside.
« Il appartenait à Demaine, le magnat du pétrole. » Il me fit à nouveau pivoter, poliment et brusquement. « Nous allons entrer.
Vocabulary
- Même
- Same; even; self
- élégance
- Elegance; grace; refined style or manner
- de
- Of; from; indicating possession or origin
- sa
- His; her; its; possessive adjective third person
- tenue
- Clothing; outfit; manner of dress or appearance
- ne
- Not; negative particle used in verb conjugation
- pouvait
- Could; was able to; past imperfect of pouvoir
- dissimuler
- To hide; conceal; disguise or keep secret
- énorme
- Enormous; huge; extremely large in size
- puissance
- Power; strength; might or force capability
- ce
- This; that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- corps
- Body; physical form; main part of something
- il
- He; it; third person singular masculine pronoun
- semblait
- Seemed; appeared; past imperfect of sembler
- remplir
- To fill; occupy space; complete or fulfill
- ces
- These; those; plural demonstrative adjective
- bottes
- Boots; footwear covering foot and lower leg
- jusqu
- Until; up to; as far as a point
- en
- In; into; within; preposition of location
- faire
- To make; do; cause or perform action
- craquer
- To crack; snap; break or give way
- les
- The; plural definite article masculine or feminine
- du
- Of the; some; partitive or contracted preposition
- haut
- High; top; upper part or elevated position
- et
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses
- on
- One; we; people; indefinite pronoun
- voir
- To see; look at; perceive with eyes
- une
- A; an; indefinite article feminine singular
- grande
- Great; large; big in size or importance
- masse
- Mass; bulk; large quantity or amount
- muscles
- Muscles; body tissue enabling movement or strength
- se
- Himself; herself; reflexive pronoun for actions
- déplacer
- To move; displace; change position or location
- quand
- When; at what time; temporal conjunction
- son
- His; her; its; possessive adjective third person
- épaule
- Shoulder; upper body joint between arm and torso
- bougeait
- Moved; stirred; past imperfect of bouger
- sous
- Under; beneath; below or underneath position
- mince
- Thin; slender; of small thickness or width
- veste
- Jacket; coat; sleeveless or short outer garment
- était
- Was; past imperfect of être
- un
- A; an; indefinite article masculine singular
- capable
- Capable; able; competent to perform action
- effet
- Effect; result; consequence or impression produced
- considérable
- Considerable; significant; worthy of attention or notice
- cruel
- Cruel; harsh; causing pain or suffering
- Sa
- His; her; its; possessive adjective third person
- voix
- Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing
- parlée
- Spoken; past participle of parler
- renforçait
- Reinforced; strengthened; past imperfect of renforcer
- impression
- Impression; feeling; effect or mark made
- qu
- That; which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- dégageait
- Gave off; emitted; past imperfect of dégager
- Il
- He; it; third person singular masculine pronoun
- avait
- Had; past imperfect of avoir
- elle
- She; her; third person singular feminine pronoun
- pointe
- Tip; point; sharp end or peak
- mépris
- Contempt; scorn; disdain or disrespect
- paternel
- Paternal; fatherly; relating to father
- envers
- Towards; to; in direction of or regarding
- gens
- People; persons; human beings collectively
- appréciait
- Appreciated; valued; past imperfect of apprécier
- des
- Of the; some; partitive article plural
- hommes
- Men; male human beings adult persons
- New
- New; recent; not old or worn
- Haven
- Haven; harbor; safe refuge or place
- qui
- Who; which; relative pronoun for persons
- cordialement
- Cordially; warmly; in a friendly manner
- détesté
- Hated; detested; past participle of détester
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