White nights, and other stories — Page 4

English → Fr Full Text Level 7/10

They had spared nothing, neither columns, nor cornices, and my poor little friend was as yellow as a canary.

Ils n'avaient rien épargné, ni les colonnes, ni les corniches, et mon pauvre petit ami était aussi jaune qu'un canari.

It almost made me bilious.

Cela faillit me rendre bilieux.

And to this day I have not had the courage to visit my poor disfigured friend, painted the colour of the Celestial Empire.

Et jusqu'à ce jour je n'ai pas eu le courage de rendre visite à mon pauvre ami défiguré, peint de la couleur de l'Empire Céleste.

So now you understand, reader, in what sense I am acquainted with all Petersburg.

Vous comprenez donc maintenant, lecteur, en quel sens je connais tout Pétersbourg.

I have mentioned already that I had felt worried for three whole days before I guessed the cause of my uneasiness.

J'ai déjà mentionné que j'avais été inquiet pendant trois jours entiers avant de deviner la cause de mon malaise.

And I felt ill at ease in the street--this one had gone and that one had gone, and what had become of the other?--and at home I did not feel like myself either.

Et je me sentais mal à l'aise dans la rue -- celui-ci était parti et celui-là était parti, et qu'était-il advenu de l'autre ? -- et chez moi je ne me sentais pas non plus dans mon assiette.

For two evenings I was puzzling my brains to think what was amiss in my corner;

Pendant deux soirées je me creusai la cervelle pour trouver ce qui n'allait pas dans mon coin ;

why I felt so uncomfortable in it.

pourquoi je m'y sentais si mal à l'aise.

And in perplexity I scanned my grimy green walls, my ceiling covered with a spider's web, the growth of which Matrona has so successfully encouraged.

Et dans ma perplexité je scrutai mes murs verts et crasseux, mon plafond couvert d'une toile d'araignée, dont Matrona avait si heureusement favorisé le développement.

I looked over all my furniture, examined every chair, wondering whether the trouble lay there (for if one chair is not standing in the same position as it stood the day before, I am not myself).

Je passai en revue tous mes meubles, examinai chaque chaise, me demandant si le problème se trouvait là (car si une chaise n'est pas placée dans la même position que la veille, je ne me sens plus moi-même).

I looked at the window, but it was all in vain ...

Je regardai la fenêtre, mais tout cela fut en vain...

I was not a bit the better for it!

Je n'en étais pas le moins du monde soulagé !

Vocabulary

rien: rjɛ — Nothing; used in negative constructions meaning 'nothing'
épargné: epaʁɲe — Spared; past participle of épargner, to spare something
ni: ni — Neither/nor; used to connect negative alternatives
colonnes: kɔlɔn — Columns; vertical architectural support structures
corniches: kɔʁniʃ — Cornices; decorative molding along the top of walls
pauvre: povʁ — Poor; used to express pity or describe poverty
jaune: ʒon — Yellow; the color of the sun or a canary
canari: kanaʁi — Canary; a small yellow songbird kept as a pet
Cela: s(ə)la — That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something previously mentioned
faillit: faji — Nearly did; third person singular simple past of faillir
rendre: ʁɑ̃dʁ — To make or render; to cause someone to become something
bilieux: biljø — Bilious; irritable or having a peevish temperament
jusqu': ʒysk — Until/up to; preposition indicating a limit in time
courage: kuʁaʒ — Courage; bravery or strength to face difficulty
visite: vizit — Visit; an act of going to see a person or place
défiguré: defiɡyʁe — Disfigured; altered in appearance in an unpleasant way
peint: pɛ — Painted; past participle of peindre, to paint
couleur: kulœʁ — Color; the visual property of objects reflecting light
Empire: ɑ̃piʁ — Empire; a large realm ruled by an emperor
Céleste: selɛst — Celestial; heavenly, often referring to China historically
comprenez: kɔ̃pʁəne — Understand; second person plural present of comprendre
donc: dɔ̃k — Therefore/so; conjunction expressing consequence or conclusion
lecteur: lɛktœʁ — Reader; a person who reads a book or text
quel: kɛl — Which/what; interrogative or exclamatory adjective
sens: sɑ — Sense/meaning; the way in which something is understood
connais: kɔnɛ — Know; first person singular present of connaître
déjà: deʒa — Already; by or before a particular time
mentionné: mɑ̃sjɔne — Mentioned; past participle of mentionner, to mention
inquiet: ɛ̃kjɛ — Worried/anxious; feeling uneasy about something uncertain
pendant: pɑ̃dɑ — During/for; preposition indicating a duration of time
entiers: ɑ̃tje — Entire/whole; complete without any part left out
avant: avɑ — Before; at an earlier time or in front of
deviner: d(ə)vine — To guess; to find out through intuition or reasoning
cause: koz — Cause; the reason or origin of something happening
malaise: malɛz — Malaise; a general feeling of discomfort or unease
sentais: sɑ̃tɛ — Felt; first person singular imperfect of sentir
mal: mal — Bad/badly; indicating pain, discomfort, or difficulty
aise: ɛz — Ease; comfort or feeling of being at ease
celui: s(ə)lɥi — This one/that one; masculine demonstrative pronoun
parti: paʁti — Left/gone; past participle of partir, to leave
advenu: advəny — Happened/occurred; past participle of advenir
chez: ʃe — At the home of; preposition indicating someone's dwelling
assiette: asjɛt — Plate/state; also means feeling settled or comfortable
Pendant: pɑ̃dɑ — During/for; preposition indicating a time period
soirées: swaʁe — Evenings; plural of soirée, an evening social gathering
creusai: kʁøze — Dug/racked; simple past of creuser, to dig or rack
cervelle: sɛʁvɛl — Brain/mind; used idiomatically for racking one's brain
trouver: tʁuve — To find; to discover or locate something
coin: kwɛ — Corner; an angle or secluded spot in a place
pourquoi: puʁkwa — Why; asking for the reason or cause of something
y: i — There/it; pronoun replacing a place or indirect object
perplexité: pɛʁplɛksite — Perplexity; the state of being confused or puzzled
scrutai: skʁyte — Scrutinized; simple past of scruter, to examine closely
murs: myʁ — Walls; the vertical surfaces enclosing a room
verts: vɛʁ — Green; plural masculine adjective describing the color green
crasseux: kʁasø — Grimy/filthy; covered in dirt or grime
plafond: plafɔ — Ceiling; the upper interior surface of a room
couvert: kuvɛʁ — Covered; past participle of couvrir, to cover
toile: twal — Web/canvas; cloth or spider's web material
araignée: aʁɛɲe — Spider; the eight-legged arachnid that spins webs
dont: dɔ — Whose/of which; relative pronoun replacing de + noun
heureusement: øʁøzmɑ — Fortunately/luckily; expressing that something is a good thing
favorisé: favɔʁize — Favored/encouraged; past participle of favoriser, to favor
développement: devlɔpmɑ — Development/growth; the process of growing or expanding
revue: ʁəvy — Review; to examine or go over something systematically
meubles: mœbl — Furniture; movable objects used to furnish a room
examinai: ɛɡzamine — Examined; simple past of examiner, to inspect carefully
chaque: ʃak — Each/every; referring to individual items in a group
demandant: d(ə)mɑ̃dɑ — Asking/wondering; present participle of demander
car: kaʁ — Because/for; coordinating conjunction giving a reason
placée: plase — Placed; past participle of placer, to place something
même: mɛm — Same/even; used to indicate identity or emphasis
position: pozisj — Position; the place or arrangement of something
veille: vɛj — Eve/day before; the day or night before an event
regardai: ʁ(ə)ɡaʁde — Looked at; simple past of regarder, to look
fenêtre: f(ə)nɛtʁ — Window; an opening in a wall to let in light
cela: s(ə)la — That; demonstrative pronoun for something previously mentioned
vain: vɛ — Vain; producing no result, useless or futile
moins: mwɛ — Less; comparative adverb indicating a smaller degree
monde: mɔ̃d — World/people; the earth or a group of people
soulagé: sulaʒe — Relieved; feeling better after worry or discomfort ended

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