Treasure Island — Page 3

English → Fr PART ONE--The Old Buccaneer Level 6/10

The man who came with the barrow told us the mail had set him down the morning before at the Royal George, that he had inquired what inns there were along the coast, and hearing ours well spoken of, I suppose, and described as lonely, had chosen it from the others for his place of residence.

L'homme qui était venu avec la brouette nous dit que la diligence l'avait déposé le matin précédent au Royal George, qu'il s'était renseigné sur les auberges qui se trouvaient le long de la côte, et qu'ayant entendu parler favorablement de la nôtre, je suppose, et la sachant décrite comme isolée, il l'avait choisie parmi les autres comme lieu de résidence.

And that was all we could learn of our guest.

Et c'était tout ce que nous pouvions apprendre de notre hôte.

He was a very silent man by custom.

C'était un homme de nature très silencieuse.

All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlour next the fire and drank rum and water very strong.

Toute la journée, il rôdait autour de la crique ou sur les falaises avec une longue-vue en laiton ; toute la soirée, il s'asseyait dans un coin du salon près du feu et buvait du rhum allongé d'eau, très fort.

Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be.

La plupart du temps, il ne répondait pas quand on lui parlait, levant seulement les yeux de façon brusque et farouche et soufflant par le nez comme une corne de brume ; et nous ainsi que les gens qui fréquentaient notre maison apprîmes bientôt à le laisser tranquille.

Every day when he came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by along the road.

Chaque jour, lorsqu'il rentrait de sa promenade, il demandait si des gens de mer étaient passés sur la route.

At first we thought it was the want of company of his own kind that made him ask this question, but at last we began to see he was desirous to avoid them.

Au début, nous pensions que c'était le manque de compagnie de ses semblables qui lui faisait poser cette question, mais nous finîmes par comprendre qu'il cherchait au contraire à les éviter.

Vocabulary

homme: om — An adult male person; a man
qui: ki — Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'that'
était: etɛ — Third person singular imperfect of 'être': was
venu: vəny — Past participle of 'venir': having come or arrived
avec: avɛk — Preposition meaning 'with' or 'along with'
brouette: bruɛt — A small one-wheeled cart pushed by hand
nous: nu — First person plural pronoun meaning 'we' or 'us'
dit: di — Third person singular past tense of 'dire': said
que: kə — Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'
diligence: diliʒɑ̃s — A horse-drawn public stagecoach for passengers
avait: avɛ — Third person singular imperfect of 'avoir': had
déposé: depoze — Past participle of 'déposer': dropped off or deposited
matin: matɛ̃ — The morning portion of the day
précédent: presedɑ̃ — Adjective meaning preceding, previous, or prior
au: o — Contraction of 'à le' meaning 'at the' or 'to the'
Royal: rwajal — Adjective meaning royal or relating to a king
il: il — Third person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he'
renseigné: rɑ̃sɛɲe — Past participle of 'renseigner': inquired or gathered information
sur: syr — Preposition meaning 'on', 'about', or 'concerning'
auberges: obɛrʒ — Inns or small lodging establishments for travelers
se: sə — Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself', 'himself', 'herself'
trouvaient: truvɛ — Imperfect of 'trouver': were located or found
long: lɔ̃ — Along; used here as 'along the coast'
côte: kot — A coastline or shore along the sea
ayant: ɛjɑ̃ — Present participle of 'avoir': having
entendu: ɑ̃tɑ̃dy — Past participle of 'entendre': heard
parler: parle — To speak or to talk about something
favorablement: favorablәmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning favorably or in a positive manner
nôtre: notrə — Possessive pronoun or adjective meaning 'ours' or 'our'
suppose: sypoz — To assume or presume something to be the case
sachant: saʃɑ̃ — Present participle of 'savoir': knowing
décrite: dekrit — Past participle of 'décrire': described
comme: kom — Conjunction or preposition meaning 'as' or 'like'
isolée: izole — Adjective meaning isolated, remote, or cut off
choisie: ʃwazi — Past participle of 'choisir': chosen or selected
parmi: parmi — Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amongst' others
autres: otrə — Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'others'
lieu: ljø — A place, location, or setting
résidence: rezidɑ̃s — A place where someone lives; a dwelling place
tout: tu — Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all', 'every', or 'everything'
ce: sə — Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this' or 'it'
pouvions: puvjɔ̃ — First person plural imperfect of 'pouvoir': could
apprendre: aprɑ̃drə — To learn or to find out information
notre: notrə — Possessive adjective meaning 'our'
hôte: ot — A host or innkeeper who receives guests
nature: natyr — Nature; also used to mean temperament or character
très: trɛ — Adverb meaning 'very' intensifying adjectives and adverbs
silencieuse: silɑ̃sjøz — Feminine adjective meaning silent, quiet, or reserved
Toute: tut — Feminine form of 'tout': all, every, the whole
journée: ʒurne — The entire day from morning to evening
rôdait: rodɛ — Imperfect of 'rôder': prowled or roamed about
autour: otur — Preposition meaning 'around' or 'about' a place
crique: krik — A small sheltered inlet or creek on coast
ou: u — Conjunction meaning 'or' presenting an alternative
falaises: falɛz — Cliffs or steep rock faces along a coast
longue-vue: lɔ̃gvy — A telescope or spyglass for viewing distant objects
en: ɑ̃ — Preposition meaning 'in', 'of', or 'made of'
laiton: lɛtɔ̃ — Brass, a yellow metal alloy of copper and zinc
toute: tut — Feminine form of 'tout': the whole; every
soirée: sware — An evening or the entire duration of an evening
asseyait: asɛjɛ — Imperfect of 's'asseoir': used to sit down
dans: dɑ̃ — Preposition meaning 'in', 'inside', or 'within'
coin: kwɛ̃ — A corner or nook in a room
salon: salɔ̃ — A sitting room or lounge in a building
près: prɛ — Preposition meaning 'near' or 'close to'
feu: fø — A fire, especially a hearth or fireplace fire
buvait: byvɛ — Imperfect of 'boire': used to drink habitually
rhum: rɔm — Rum, an alcoholic spirit distilled from sugarcane
allongé: alɔ̃ʒe — Diluted or stretched out; lengthened with water
eau: o — Water, the clear drinkable liquid
fort: fɔr — Adverb meaning strongly, very much, or heavily
plupart: plypar — Most; the greater part of something
temps: tɑ̃ — Time; also weather depending on context
ne: nə — Negation particle used with 'pas' or alone
répondait: repɔ̃dɛ — Imperfect of 'répondre': used to answer or reply
pas: pa — Negation word used with 'ne' meaning 'not'
quand: kɑ̃ — Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'
on: ɔ̃ — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one', 'people', or 'we'
lui: lɥi — Third person singular indirect pronoun meaning 'him' or 'her'
parlait: parlɛ — Imperfect of 'parler': was speaking or used to speak
levant: ləvɑ̃ — Present participle of 'lever': raising or lifting up
seulement: sølmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'only', 'merely', or 'just'
yeux: jø — The plural of 'œil': eyes
façon: fasɔ̃ — A manner, way, or fashion of doing something
brusque: brysk — Adjective meaning abrupt, blunt, or rough in manner
farouche: faruʃ — Adjective meaning fierce, wild, or unsociable
soufflant: suflɑ̃ — Present participle of 'souffler': blowing or puffing
par: par — Preposition meaning 'by', 'through', or 'per'
nez: ne — The nose on a human or animal face
corne: kɔrn — A horn; here part of 'corne de brume' foghorn
brume: brym — Mist or fog, especially at sea
ainsi: ɛ̃si — Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'
gens: ʒɑ̃ — People in general; folk or persons
fréquentaient: frekɑ̃tɛ — Imperfect of 'fréquenter': regularly visited or frequented
maison: mɛzɔ̃ — A house or home; a building for living in
apprîmes: aprim — Simple past of 'apprendre': we learned or found out
bientôt: bjɛ̃to — Adverb meaning 'soon' or 'before long'
laisser: lɛse — To leave, let, or allow someone to be
tranquille: trɑ̃kil — Adjective meaning calm, quiet, or undisturbed
Chaque: ʃak — Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every'
jour: ʒur — A day; a 24-hour period
lorsqu': lɔrsk — Conjunction meaning 'when' before a vowel sound
rentrait: rɑ̃trɛ — Imperfect of 'rentrer': was returning home or coming back
sa: sa — Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
promenade: prɔmnad — A walk or stroll taken for pleasure
demandait: dəmɑ̃dɛ — Imperfect of 'demander': used to ask or inquire
si: si — Conjunction meaning 'if' or 'whether'
mer: mɛr — The sea or large body of salt water
étaient: etɛ — Third person plural imperfect of 'être': were
passés: pase — Past participle plural of 'passer': passed by or gone past
route: rut — A road, route, or path for traveling
début: deby — The beginning or start of something
pensions: pɑ̃sjɔ̃ — First person plural imperfect of 'penser': thought or believed
manque: mɑ̃k — A lack, shortage, or absence of something
compagnie: kɔ̃paɲi — Company; the presence or companionship of others
ses: se — Possessive adjective plural meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
semblables: sɑ̃blabl — Peers, fellows, or those of the same kind
faisait: fəzɛ — Imperfect of 'faire': made or caused something to happen
poser: poze — To put, place, or pose a question
cette: sɛt — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that' feminine
question: kɛstjɔ̃ — A question or inquiry posed to someone
mais: mɛ — Conjunction meaning 'but' introducing a contrast
finîmes: finim — Simple past of 'finir': we ended up or finally came to
comprendre: kɔ̃prɑ̃drə — To understand or to grasp the meaning of something
cherchait: ʃɛrʃɛ — Imperfect of 'chercher': was seeking or looking for
contraire: kɔ̃trɛr — The opposite or contrary; 'au contraire' means on the contrary
éviter: evite — To avoid or steer clear of someone or something

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