The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Page 4
It was two storeys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence.
Elle avait deux étages ; elle ne montrait aucune fenêtre, rien qu'une porte au rez-de-chaussée et un front aveugle de mur décoloré à l'étage supérieur ; et portait, dans chacun de ses traits, les marques d'une négligence prolongée et sordide.
The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained.
La porte, qui n'était munie ni de sonnette ni de heurtoir, était boursouflée et souillée.
Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the schoolboy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for close on a generation, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or to repair their ravages.
Des vagabonds se glissaient dans le renfoncement et frottaient des allumettes sur les panneaux ; des enfants tenaient boutique sur les marches ; l'écolier avait essayé son couteau sur les moulures ; et pendant près d'une génération, personne n'était apparu pour chasser ces visiteurs de hasard ou pour réparer leurs ravages.
Mr. Enfield and the lawyer were on the other side of the by-street; but when they came abreast of the entry, the former lifted up his cane and pointed.
M. Enfield et l'avocat se trouvaient de l'autre côté de la ruelle ; mais lorsqu'ils arrivèrent à la hauteur de l'entrée, le premier leva sa canne et pointa.
"Did you ever remark that door?" he asked; and when his companion had replied in the affirmative, "It is connected in my mind," added he, "with a very odd story."
« Avez-vous jamais remarqué cette porte ? » demanda-t-il ; et lorsque son compagnon eut répondu par l'affirmative, « Elle est liée dans mon esprit, » ajouta-t-il, « à une très étrange histoire. »
"Indeed?" said Mr. Utterson, with a slight change of voice, "and what was that?"
« Vraiment ? » dit M. Utterson, avec un léger changement de voix, « et quelle était-elle ? »
"Well, it was this way," returned Mr. Enfield: "I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o'clock of a black winter morning, and my way lay through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps.
« Eh bien, voici comment les choses se passèrent, » répondit M. Enfield : « Je rentrais chez moi depuis quelque endroit au bout du monde, vers trois heures du matin par un noir matin d'hiver, et mon chemin traversait une partie de la ville où il n'y avait littéralement rien à voir que des réverbères.
Vocabulary
- avait
- Had; past imperfect of 'avoir'
- étages
- Floors or stories of a building
- montrait
- Was showing; imperfect of 'montrer'
- aucune
- No; not any; negative determiner feminine form
- fenêtre
- Window; opening in a wall for light
- rien
- Nothing; not anything at all
- porte
- Door; entrance to a building or room
- rez-de-chaussée
- Ground floor; first level of a building
- front
- Front face or façade of a structure
- aveugle
- Blind; without windows or openings
- mur
- Wall; solid vertical structure of a building
- décoloré
- Discolored; faded in color over time
- l'étage
- The floor; upper level of a building
- supérieur
- Upper; higher in position or rank
- portait
- Was bearing; carried; imperfect of 'porter'
- chacun
- Each one; every single one of them
- traits
- Features; characteristics or marks of appearance
- marques
- Marks; signs; visible traces left behind
- négligence
- Neglect; careless lack of maintenance or attention
- prolongée
- Prolonged; extended over a long period
- sordide
- Squalid; filthy and morally repulsive
- munie
- Equipped; provided with; fitted with something
- ni
- Nor; neither; negative conjunction
- sonnette
- Doorbell; small bell for signaling entry
- heurtoir
- Door knocker; metal fixture for knocking
- boursouflée
- Blistered; swollen and puffed up surface
- souillée
- Soiled; dirtied; stained with filth
- vagabonds
- Vagrants; homeless wanderers without fixed abode
- glissaient
- Were slipping; sliding into; imperfect of 'glisser'
- renfoncement
- Recess; recessed alcove in a wall
- frottaient
- Were rubbing; scraping; imperfect of 'frotter'
- allumettes
- Matches; small sticks for lighting fire
- panneaux
- Panels; flat sections of a door or wall
- enfants
- Children; young people not yet adults
- tenaient
- Were holding; keeping; imperfect of 'tenir'
- boutique
- Shop; small store; also: played shop here
- marches
- Steps; stairs leading to a door
- l'écolier
- The schoolboy; young male student
- essayé
- Tried; tested; past participle of 'essayer'
- couteau
- Knife; bladed cutting utensil
- moulures
- Moldings; decorative carved strips on surfaces
- pendant
- During; for; throughout a period of time
- près
- Nearly; almost; close to in quantity
- génération
- Generation; group of people born in same era
- personne
- Nobody; no one; negative pronoun
- apparu
- Appeared; shown up; past participle of 'apparaître'
- chasser
- To chase away; to drive off intruders
- visiteurs
- Visitors; people who come to a place
- hasard
- Chance; random occurrence or accident
- réparer
- To repair; to fix damage or wear
- ravages
- Damage; destruction wrought on something
- l'avocat
- The lawyer; legal professional
- trouvaient
- Were finding themselves; imperfect of 'trouver'
- côté
- Side; one face or direction of something
- ruelle
- Alley; narrow street between buildings
- arrivèrent
- Arrived; reached; simple past of 'arriver'
- hauteur
- Level; height; position of something vertically
- l'entrée
- The entrance; the entry point of a building
- leva
- Raised; lifted; simple past of 'lever'
- canne
- Cane; walking stick carried by hand
- pointa
- Pointed; aimed; simple past of 'pointer'
- jamais
- Ever; never; adverb of frequency
- remarqué
- Noticed; observed; past participle of 'remarquer'
- demanda-t-il
- He asked; inverted form of 'demander'
- lorsque
- When; at the moment that; temporal conjunction
- compagnon
- Companion; friend accompanying one on a walk
- eut
- Had; third-person singular past subjunctive of 'avoir'
- répondu
- Answered; replied; past participle of 'répondre'
- l'affirmative
- The affirmative; a yes answer
- liée
- Linked; connected; tied to something
- esprit
- Mind; spirit; mental faculty or intellect
- ajouta-t-il
- He added; inverted form of 'ajouter'
- étrange
- Strange; odd; unusual or mysterious
- histoire
- Story; tale; narrative account of events
- Vraiment
- Really; truly; indeed; adverb of affirmation
- dit
- Said; stated; simple past of 'dire'
- léger
- Slight; light; mild in degree or weight
- changement
- Change; alteration; shift in something
- voix
- Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing
- Eh
- Hey; well; interjection to draw attention
- voici
- Here is; here are; presentative expression
- choses
- Things; objects or matters in general
- passèrent
- Happened; passed; simple past of 'passer'
- répondit
- Replied; answered; simple past of 'répondre'
- rentrais
- Was returning home; imperfect of 'rentrer'
- chez
- At home of; to the place of someone
- depuis
- Since; from; for; preposition of time origin
- quelque
- Some; a certain; indefinite adjective
- endroit
- Place; spot; location somewhere
- bout
- End; tip; far extremity of something
- monde
- World; earth; also: people in general
- vers
- Around; towards; approximately a time
- heures
- Hours; o'clock; units of time
- matin
- Morning; the early part of the day
- noir
- Dark; black; without light
- d'hiver
- Of winter; relating to the winter season
- chemin
- Path; road; route taken to get somewhere
- traversait
- Was crossing through; imperfect of 'traverser'
- partie
- Part; section; portion of a whole
- ville
- City; town; urban settlement
- littéralement
- Literally; in the most exact sense
- voir
- To see; to perceive with one's eyes
- réverbères
- Street lamps; gas or electric lights on poles
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