The Scarlet Letter — Page 11

English → Fr Full Text Level 8/10

And here, some six months ago,—pacing from corner to corner, or lounging on the long-legged stool, with his elbow on the desk, and his eyes wandering up and down the columns of the morning newspaper,—you might have recognized, honored reader, the same individual who welcomed you into his cheery little study, where the sunshine glimmered so pleasantly through the willow branches, on the western side of the Old Manse.

Et ici, il y a quelque six mois,—arpentant d'un coin à l'autre, ou se prélassant sur le tabouret à hautes pattes, le coude sur le bureau, les yeux errant de haut en bas sur les colonnes du journal du matin,—vous auriez pu reconnaître, honoré lecteur, le même individu qui vous accueillit dans son petit cabinet de travail animé, où le soleil brillait si agréablement à travers les branches du saule, du côté ouest du Vieux Presbytère.

But now, should you go thither to seek him, you would inquire in vain for the Locofoco Surveyor.

Mais maintenant, si vous vous rendiez là-bas pour le chercher, vous demanderiez en vain l'Inspecteur Locofoco.

The besom of reform has swept him out of office; and a worthier successor wears his dignity, and pockets his emoluments.

Le balai de la réforme l'a balayé de ses fonctions ; et un successeur plus méritant porte sa dignité et empoche ses émoluments.

This old town of Salem—my native place, though I have dwelt much away from it, both in boyhood and maturer years—possesses, or did possess, a hold on my affections, the force of which I have never realized during my seasons of actual residence here.

Cette vieille ville de Salem—mon lieu natal, bien que j'en aie été longtemps éloigné, tant dans mon enfance que dans mes années plus mûres—exerce, ou exerçait, une emprise sur mes affections, dont je n'ai jamais vraiment pris conscience durant mes périodes de résidence effective ici.

Indeed, so far as its physical aspect is concerned, with its flat, unvaried surface, covered chiefly with wooden houses, few or none of which pretend to architectural beauty,—its irregularity, which is neither picturesque nor quaint, but only tame,—its long and lazy street, lounging wearisomely through the whole extent of the peninsula, with Gallows Hill and New Guinea at one end, and a view of the almshouse at the other,—such being the features of my native town, it would be quite as reasonable to form a sentimental attachment to a disarranged checker-board.

En effet, pour ce qui est de son aspect physique, avec sa surface plate et uniforme, couverte principalement de maisons en bois, dont peu ou aucune ne prétend à la beauté architecturale,—son irrégularité, qui n'est ni pittoresque ni singulière, mais simplement terne,—sa longue et paresseuse rue, s'étendant avec lassitude sur toute la longueur de la péninsule, avec Gallows Hill et New Guinea à un bout, et une vue sur l'hospice à l'autre,—tels étant les traits de ma ville natale, il serait tout aussi raisonnable de former un attachement sentimental à un damier en désordre.

Vocabulary

ici: ee-see — Adverb meaning 'here', indicating a nearby place.
y: ee — Pronoun meaning 'there' or replacing a previously mentioned place.
quelque: kel-kuh — Adjective or adverb meaning 'some' or 'about approximately'.
mois: mwah — Noun meaning 'month', a unit of time.
arpentant: ar-pahn-tahn — Present participle meaning 'pacing' or 'striding across a space'.
coin: kwahn — Noun meaning 'corner' or 'nook' of a space.
autre: oh-truh — Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'another'.
prélassant: pray-lah-sahn — Present participle meaning 'lounging' or 'lolling comfortably'.
tabouret: tah-boo-ray — Noun meaning 'stool', a small seat without a back.
hautes: oht — Feminine plural adjective meaning 'tall' or 'high'.
pattes: paht — Noun meaning 'legs' (of furniture) or 'paws' of an animal.
coude: kood — Noun meaning 'elbow', the joint of the arm.
bureau: bü-roh — Noun meaning 'desk' or 'office', a workplace surface.
yeux: yuh — Noun meaning 'eyes', the plural of 'œil'.
errant: eh-rahn — Present participle meaning 'wandering' or 'roaming aimlessly'.
haut: oh — Adjective or noun meaning 'high' or 'top'.
bas: bah — Adjective or noun meaning 'low' or 'bottom'.
colonnes: koh-lohn — Noun meaning 'columns', vertical sections of text or architecture.
journal: zhoor-nahl — Noun meaning 'newspaper' or 'journal', a daily publication.
matin: mah-tahn — Noun meaning 'morning', the early part of the day.
auriez: oh-ryay — Conditional form of 'avoir' meaning 'you would have'.
pu: pü — Past participle of 'pouvoir' meaning 'been able to'.
reconnaître: ruh-koh-neh-truh — Verb meaning 'to recognize' or 'to identify someone'.
honoré: oh-noh-ray — Adjective meaning 'honored' or 'esteemed', showing respect.
lecteur: lek-teur — Noun meaning 'reader', a person who reads text.
même: mem — Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'.
individu: ahn-dee-vee-dü — Noun meaning 'individual', a single person or being.
accueillit: ah-kuh-yee — Past tense of 'accueillir' meaning 'welcomed' or 'greeted'.
petit: puh-tee — Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' in size.
cabinet: kah-bee-nay — Noun meaning 'office' or 'small private room'.
travail: trah-vay — Noun meaning 'work' or 'labor', an occupation or task.
animé: ah-nee-may — Adjective meaning 'lively' or 'animated', full of activity.
soleil: soh-lay — Noun meaning 'sun', the star at the center of our solar system.
brillait: bree-yay — Imperfect tense of 'briller' meaning 'was shining' brightly.
agréablement: ah-gray-ahb-luh-mahn — Adverb meaning 'pleasantly' or 'agreeably', in a pleasing manner.
travers: trah-vair — Noun used in 'à travers' meaning 'through' or 'across'.
branches: brahnsh — Noun meaning 'branches', the limbs extending from a tree.
saule: sohl — Noun meaning 'willow', a tree often found near water.
côté: koh-tay — Noun meaning 'side', indicating a direction or flank.
ouest: west — Noun meaning 'west', the cardinal direction opposite east.
Vieux: vyuh — Adjective meaning 'old' or 'ancient', describing age.
Presbytère: pres-bee-tair — Noun meaning 'parsonage', a clergyman's residence near a church.
maintenant: mahn-tuh-nahn — Adverb meaning 'now', referring to the present moment.
rendiez: rahn-dyay — Imperfect of 'se rendre' meaning 'you were going' somewhere.
chercher: shair-shay — Verb meaning 'to search for' or 'to look for'.
demanderiez: duh-mahn-duh-ryay — Conditional of 'demander' meaning 'you would ask' for something.
vain: vahn — Adjective used in 'en vain' meaning 'in vain', without success.
Inspecteur: ahn-spek-teur — Noun meaning 'inspector', an official who examines or oversees.
balai: bah-lay — Noun meaning 'broom', a tool used for sweeping floors.
réforme: ray-form — Noun meaning 'reform', a change intended to improve something.
balayé: bah-lay-ay — Past participle of 'balayer' meaning 'swept away' or 'cleared'.
fonctions: fonk-syohn — Noun meaning 'functions' or 'duties', official responsibilities.
successeur: sük-ses-eur — Noun meaning 'successor', a person following another in a role.
méritant: may-ree-tahn — Adjective meaning 'deserving' or 'meritorious', worthy of reward.
porte: port — Verb meaning 'carries' or 'wears', or noun meaning 'door'.
dignité: dee-nyee-tay — Noun meaning 'dignity', the quality of being worthy of respect.
empoche: ahm-pohsh — Verb meaning 'pockets', to put money into one's pocket.
émoluments: ay-moh-lü-mahn — Noun meaning 'emoluments', salary or fees from employment.
vieille: vyay — Adjective meaning 'old' (feminine), describing an aged thing.
ville: veel — Noun meaning 'city' or 'town', an urban settlement.
lieu: lyuh — Noun meaning 'place' or 'location', where something occurs.
natal: nah-tahl — Adjective meaning 'native' or 'of one's birth', birthplace related.
aie: ay — Subjunctive of 'avoir' meaning 'have' (first person singular).
été: ay-tay — Past participle of 'être' meaning 'been', or noun meaning 'summer'.
longtemps: lohn-tahn — Adverb meaning 'for a long time', indicating extended duration.
éloigné: ay-lwah-nyay — Adjective meaning 'distant' or 'far away', separated from something.
tant: tahn — Adverb meaning 'so much' or 'as much', expressing degree.
enfance: ahn-fahns — Noun meaning 'childhood', the early period of life.
années: ah-nay — Noun meaning 'years', plural of 'année', units of time.
mûres: mür — Adjective meaning 'mature' or 'ripe', fully developed years.
exerce: eg-zairs — Verb meaning 'exerts' or 'exercises', to apply a force.
exerçait: eg-zair-say — Imperfect of 'exercer' meaning 'was exerting' or 'exercised'.
emprise: ahm-preez — Noun meaning 'hold' or 'grip', a powerful influence over something.
affections: ah-fek-syohn — Noun meaning 'affections', feelings of fondness or emotional attachment.
dont: dohn — Relative pronoun meaning 'of which', 'whose', or 'of whom'.
jamais: zhah-may — Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever', negating temporal occurrence.
vraiment: vray-mahn — Adverb meaning 'truly' or 'really', emphasizing sincerity.
pris: pree — Past participle of 'prendre' meaning 'taken' or 'seized'.
conscience: kohn-syahns — Noun meaning 'consciousness' or 'awareness' of something.
durant: dü-rahn — Preposition meaning 'during', indicating a period of time.
périodes: pay-ryohd — Noun meaning 'periods', distinct intervals or spans of time.
résidence: ray-zee-dahns — Noun meaning 'residence', the place where one lives.
effective: eh-fek-teev — Adjective meaning 'actual' or 'effective', real and in practice.
effet: eh-fay — Noun meaning 'effect'; 'en effet' means 'indeed' or 'in fact'.
aspect: as-pek — Noun meaning 'aspect' or 'appearance', a visible feature.
physique: fee-zeek — Adjective meaning 'physical', relating to the body or material world.
surface: sür-fas — Noun meaning 'surface', the outer or top layer of something.
plate: plaht — Adjective meaning 'flat' or 'level', without elevation or curves.
uniforme: ü-nee-form — Adjective meaning 'uniform', consistent and unvarying throughout.
couverte: koo-vairt — Adjective meaning 'covered', having a layer spread over it.
principalement: prahn-see-pahl-mahn — Adverb meaning 'mainly' or 'principally', above all else.
maisons: may-zohn — Noun meaning 'houses', residential buildings for people.
bois: bwah — Noun meaning 'wood' or 'forest', timber material or woodland.
peu: puh — Adverb meaning 'little' or 'few', indicating small quantity.
aucune: oh-kün — Adjective meaning 'none' or 'not any', a negative determiner.
prétend: pray-tahn — Verb meaning 'claims' or 'pretends', asserting something.
beauté: boh-tay — Noun meaning 'beauty', the quality of being aesthetically pleasing.
architecturale: ar-shee-tek-tü-rahl — Adjective meaning 'architectural', relating to building design.
irrégularité: ee-ray-gü-lah-ree-tay — Noun meaning 'irregularity', deviation from a regular pattern.
ni: nee — Conjunction meaning 'nor', used in negative constructions.
pittoresque: pee-toh-resk — Adjective meaning 'picturesque', visually charming or quaint.
singulière: sahn-gü-lyair — Adjective meaning 'singular' or 'remarkable', strikingly unusual.
simplement: sahn-pluh-mahn — Adverb meaning 'simply' or 'merely', without complication.
terne: tairn — Adjective meaning 'dull' or 'drab', lacking brightness or interest.
longue: lohng — Adjective meaning 'long', extending a great distance or time.
paresseuse: pah-res-uhz — Adjective meaning 'lazy' or 'sluggish', lacking energy or effort.
rue: rü — Noun meaning 'street', a road in a town or city.
étendant: ay-tahn-dahn — Present participle meaning 'stretching' or 'extending' over a distance.
lassitude: lah-see-tüd — Noun meaning 'lassitude', weariness or lack of energy.
longueur: lohn-geur — Noun meaning 'length', the measurement of something from end to end.
péninsule: pay-nahn-sül — Noun meaning 'peninsula', land surrounded by water on three sides.
bout: boo — Noun meaning 'end' or 'tip', the farthest point of something.
vue: vü — Noun meaning 'view' or 'sight', what is seen from a place.
hospice: oh-spees — Noun meaning 'hospice' or 'almshouse', a care institution.

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