Treasure Island — Page 11

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

It was a bitter cold winter, with long, hard frosts and heavy gales; and it was plain from the first that my poor father was little likely to see the spring.

C'était un hiver d'un froid âpre, avec de longues gelées tenaces et de violentes bourrasques ; et il était évident dès le début que mon pauvre père avait bien peu de chances de voir le printemps.

He sank daily, and my mother and I had all the inn upon our hands, and were kept busy enough without paying much regard to our unpleasant guest.

Il déclinait de jour en jour, et ma mère et moi avions toute l'auberge sur les bras, et nous étions suffisamment occupés sans accorder beaucoup d'attention à notre désagréable hôte.

It was one January morning, very early--a pinching, frosty morning--the cove all grey with hoar-frost, the ripple lapping softly on the stones, the sun still low and only touching the hilltops and shining far to seaward.

C'était un matin de janvier, très tôt — un matin piquant et glacial — la crique toute grise de givre, le clapotis des vagues murmurant doucement sur les pierres, le soleil encore bas et n'effleurant que les sommets des collines, brillant au loin vers le large.

The captain had risen earlier than usual and set out down the beach, his cutlass swinging under the broad skirts of the old blue coat, his brass telescope under his arm, his hat tilted back upon his head.

Le capitaine s'était levé plus tôt que d'habitude et était parti le long de la plage, son coutelas se balançant sous les larges basques du vieux manteau bleu, sa longue-vue en laiton sous le bras, son chapeau incliné en arrière sur la tête.

I remember his breath hanging like smoke in his wake as he strode off, and the last sound I heard of him as he turned the big rock was a loud snort of indignation, as though his mind was still running upon Dr. Livesey.

Je me souviens de son souffle suspendu comme de la fumée dans son sillage tandis qu'il s'éloignait à grands pas, et le dernier son que j'entendis de lui tandis qu'il contournait le grand rocher fut un bruyant reniflement d'indignation, comme si ses pensées s'attardaient encore sur le Dr Livesey.

Well, mother was upstairs with father and I was laying the breakfast-table against the captain's return when the parlour door opened and a man stepped in on whom I had never set my eyes before.

Or, ma mère était à l'étage avec mon père et je dressais la table du petit-déjeuner en attendant le retour du capitaine lorsque la porte du salon s'ouvrit et qu'un homme entra, que je n'avais jamais vu de ma vie.

He was a pale, tallowy creature, wanting two fingers of the left hand, and though he wore a cutlass, he did not look much like a fighter.

C'était un être pâle et blafard, manchot de deux doigts à la main gauche, et bien qu'il portât un coutelas, il ne ressemblait guère à un homme de combat.

Vocabulary

était: ay-teh — Was; third person singular past tense of 'être'
un: uhn — A, an; indefinite article (masculine)
hiver: ee-vair — Winter; the coldest season of the year
froid: frwah — Cold; low temperature, chilly
âpre: ah-pruh — Harsh, bitter, rough; describing severe conditions
avec: ah-vek — With; indicating accompaniment or association
de: duh — Of, from; common French preposition
longues: long — Long; feminine plural adjective describing length
gelées: zhuh-lay — Frosts, freezes; periods of freezing cold temperatures
tenaces: tuh-nass — Persistent, stubborn; lasting for a long time
et: ay — And; coordinating conjunction joining elements
violentes: vyoh-lahnt — Violent, fierce; intense and forceful (feminine plural)
bourrasques: boo-rask — Squalls, gusts; sudden strong bursts of wind
il: eel — He, it; third person singular masculine pronoun
évident: ay-vee-dahn — Evident, obvious; clearly apparent or plain
dès: deh — From, as early as; indicating starting point in time
le: luh — The; definite article (masculine singular)
début: day-boo — Beginning, start; the initial part of something
que: kuh — That, which; subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun
mon: mohn — My; first person singular possessive adjective (masculine)
pauvre: poh-vruh — Poor, unfortunate; lacking resources or pitiable
père: pair — Father; male parent
avait: ah-veh — Had; third person singular imperfect of 'avoir'
bien: byahn — Well, very; adverb intensifying or qualifying
peu: puh — Few, little; small quantity or degree
chances: shahnss — Chances, odds; probability or opportunity for something
voir: vwahr — To see; to perceive visually or understand
printemps: prahn-tahn — Spring; the season following winter
Il: eel — He; third person singular masculine subject pronoun
déclinait: day-klee-neh — Was declining, fading; growing weaker over time
jour: zhoor — Day; a period of 24 hours
en: ahn — In, by; preposition indicating manner or place
ma: mah — My; first person singular possessive adjective (feminine)
mère: mair — Mother; female parent
moi: mwah — Me, I; stressed first person singular pronoun
avions: ah-vyohn — Had; first person plural imperfect of 'avoir'
toute: toot — All, entire; feminine singular adjective of totality
auberge: oh-bairzh — Inn, tavern; a small lodging establishment
sur: soor — On, upon; preposition indicating position or burden
les: lay — The; definite article (plural)
bras: brah — Arms; upper limbs; also means responsibility here
nous: noo — We, us; first person plural pronoun
étions: ay-tyohn — Were; first person plural imperfect of 'être'
suffisamment: soo-fee-zah-mahn — Sufficiently, enough; to an adequate degree
occupés: oh-koo-pay — Busy, occupied; engaged in activity (masculine plural)
sans: sahn — Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
accorder: ah-kor-day — To give, grant; to allow or pay attention
beaucoup: boh-koo — Much, many, a lot; indicating large quantity
attention: ah-tahn-syohn — Attention; focused awareness or consideration
à: ah — To, at, in; common preposition of direction or location
notre: noh-truh — Our; first person plural possessive adjective
désagréable: day-zah-gray-ah-bluh — Unpleasant, disagreeable; causing discomfort or annoyance
hôte: oht — Host, guest; person staying at or running an inn
matin: mah-tahn — Morning; the early part of the day
janvier: zhahn-vyay — January; the first month of the year
très: treh — Very; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb
tôt: toh — Early; at an early hour or time
piquant: pee-kahn — Biting, stinging; sharp and piercing (of cold)
glacial: glah-syahl — Icy, glacial; extremely cold, freezing
la: lah — The; definite article (feminine singular)
crique: kreek — Cove, creek; a small sheltered bay or inlet
grise: greez — Grey; feminine adjective describing a grey color
givre: zhee-vruh — Frost, hoarfrost; ice crystals formed on surfaces
clapotis: klah-poh-tee — Lapping, rippling; soft splashing sound of water
des: day — Some, of the; partitive or plural indefinite article
vagues: vahg — Waves; undulating movements of water on a surface
murmurant: moor-moo-rahn — Murmuring, whispering; making soft low sounds
doucement: doos-mahn — Gently, softly; in a quiet or gentle manner
pierres: pyair — Stones, rocks; hard mineral pieces on a surface
soleil: soh-lay — Sun; the star that provides light and warmth
encore: ahn-kor — Still, yet, again; indicating continuation or repetition
bas: bah — Low; at a small height or elevation
effleurant: ef-luh-rahn — Grazing, skimming; barely touching a surface lightly
sommets: soh-meh — Summits, tops; highest points of hills or mountains
collines: koh-leen — Hills; elevated landforms smaller than mountains
brillant: bree-yahn — Shining, gleaming; giving off bright light
au: oh — At the, to the; contraction of 'à le'
loin: lwahn — Far, far away; at a great distance
vers: vair — Toward, towards; in the direction of
large: larzh — Open sea; wide expanse of ocean away from shore
Le: luh — The; definite article (masculine singular)
capitaine: kah-pee-ten — Captain; commander of a ship or military unit
levé: luh-vay — Gotten up, risen; past participle of 'se lever'
plus: ploo — More, earlier; comparative adverb of quantity or degree
habitude: ah-bee-tood — Habit, custom; a regular practice or usual behavior
parti: par-tee — Left, departed; past participle of 'partir'
long: lohn — Along; beside or following the length of something
plage: plahzh — Beach; sandy or pebbly shore beside water
son: sohn — His, her, its; third person singular possessive adjective
coutelas: koo-tuh-lah — Cutlass; a short, broad-bladed sword or large knife
se: suh — Himself, herself; reflexive pronoun (third person)
balançant: bah-lahn-sahn — Swinging, swaying; moving back and forth
sous: soo — Under, beneath; below or underneath something
larges: larzh — Wide, broad; of great breadth (plural adjective)
basques: bask — Coat-tails, flaps; lower hanging parts of a coat
du: doo — Of the; contraction of 'de le' (masculine)
vieux: vyuh — Old; of advanced age (masculine before consonant)
manteau: mahn-toh — Coat, overcoat; outer garment worn for warmth
bleu: bluh — Blue; color of the sky or sea
sa: sah — His, her; third person singular possessive (feminine)
longue-vue: long-voo — Telescope, spyglass; optical instrument for distant viewing
laiton: lay-tohn — Brass; yellow metallic alloy of copper and zinc
chapeau: sha-poh — Hat; a head covering worn outdoors
incliné: ahn-klee-nay — Tilted, inclined; angled or leaning to one side
arrière: ah-ryair — Back, rear; toward or at the back
tête: tet — Head; the upper part of the human body
Je: zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
me: muh — Me, myself; first person singular reflexive pronoun
souviens: soo-vyahn — Remember; first person singular of 'se souvenir'
souffle: soo-fluh — Breath; air exhaled from the lungs
suspendu: soos-pahn-doo — Suspended, hanging; held in the air above
comme: kom — Like, as; used for comparison or similarity
fumée: foo-may — Smoke; visible vapor rising from combustion or breath
dans: dahn — In, inside; preposition indicating location within
sillage: see-yazh — Wake, trail; track left behind by a moving vessel
tandis: tahn-dee — While, whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous action
éloignait: ay-lwah-nyeh — Was moving away; was distancing oneself from something
grands: grahn — Big, great; large in size (masculine plural)
pas: pah — Steps, strides; footsteps or paces of walking
dernier: dair-nyay — Last, final; occurring at the end of a sequence
entendis: ahn-tahn-dee — Heard; first person singular past simple of 'entendre'
lui: lwee — Him, he; third person singular stressed pronoun
contournait: kohn-toor-neh — Was going around; circumnavigating an obstacle
grand: grahn — Big, large, great; of considerable size
rocher: roh-shay — Rock, boulder; a large mass of stone
fut: foo — Was; third person singular simple past of 'être'
bruyant: broo-yahn — Loud, noisy; making or characterized by noise
reniflement: ruh-nee-fluh-mahn — Sniff, snort; sound made by inhaling sharply through nose
indignation: ahn-dee-nyah-syohn — Indignation; strong displeasure at something perceived unjust
si: see — If, so, such; conditional conjunction or intensifier
ses: say — His, her, its; third person plural possessive adjective
pensées: pahn-say — Thoughts; ideas or reflections in one's mind
attardaient: ah-tar-deh — Were lingering on; dwelling or staying focused on
Or: or — Now, well; transitional conjunction introducing new point
étage: ay-tazh — Floor, story; a level of a building
je: zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
dressais: dreh-seh — Was setting, laying; imperfect of 'dresser' (a table)
table: tah-bluh — Table; a flat-surfaced piece of furniture
petit-déjeuner: puh-tee day-zhuh-nay — Breakfast; the first meal of the day
attendant: ah-tahn-dahn — Waiting for; anticipating the arrival of someone
retour: ruh-toor — Return; coming back to a place or person
lorsque: lors-kuh — When; conjunction indicating a point in time
porte: port — Door; an entrance or exit of a room
salon: sah-lohn — Living room, parlor; a main sitting room
ouvrit: oo-vree — Opened; third person singular simple past of 'ouvrir'
homme: om — Man; an adult male human being
entra: ahn-trah — Entered; third person singular simple past of 'entrer'
avais: ah-veh — Had; first person singular imperfect of 'avoir'
jamais: zhah-meh — Never, ever; at no time or at any time
vu: voo — Seen; past participle of 'voir'
vie: vee — Life; the period of a person's existence
être: eh-truh — Being, a being; also the infinitive 'to be'
pâle: pahl — Pale; light in color, lacking normal complexion
blafard: blah-far — Pallid, wan; unhealthily pale or dull in color
manchot: mahn-shoh — One-armed; a person missing a hand or arm
deux: duh — Two; the number 2
doigts: dwah — Fingers; the digits of the hand
main: mahn — Hand; the part of the body at the end of the arm
gauche: gohsh — Left; the side opposite to the right
portât: por-tah — Wore; third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'porter'
ne: nuh — Not; negative particle used with 'pas' or alone
ressemblait: ruh-sahm-bleh — Resembled, looked like; imperfect of 'ressembler'
guère: gair — Hardly, scarcely; barely or not at all
combat: kohm-bah — Combat, fight; armed conflict or struggle

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