Won from the Waves — Page 2

English → Fr CHAPTER ONE. Level 6/10

Over the door of one might be seen the figure-head of some unfortunate vessel.

Au-dessus de la porte de l'une d'elles, on pouvait voir la figure de proue de quelque malheureux navire.

An arbour, not rustic but nautical, was composed of the carved work of a Dutch galliot; indeed, the owners of few had failed to secure some portion of the numerous hapless vessels which from time to time had been driven on their treacherous coast.

Un berceau, non pas rustique mais nautique, était composé des sculptures d'une galiote hollandaise ; en effet, peu de propriétaires avaient manqué de s'approprier quelque partie des nombreux malheureux navires qui, de temps à autre, avaient été jetés sur leur côte perfide.

On the level ground between the cliff and the river stood two or three other cottages.

Sur le terrain plat entre la falaise et la rivière se dressaient deux ou trois autres chaumières.

One, the largest of them, appeared to be built almost entirely of wreck wood, from the uneven appearance presented by the walls and roof, the architect having apparently adapted such pieces of timber as came to hand without employing the saw to bring them into more fitting shape; the chimney, however, and the lower portions of the walls, were constructed of hewn stone, taken probably from some ancient edifice long demolished.

L'une d'elles, la plus grande, semblait être construite presque entièrement de bois d'épave, à en juger par l'aspect inégal des murs et du toit, l'architecte ayant apparemment utilisé les pièces de bois qui lui tombaient sous la main sans recourir à la scie pour leur donner une forme plus appropriée ; la cheminée, cependant, ainsi que les parties inférieures des murs, étaient construites en pierre de taille, tirée probablement de quelque ancien édifice depuis longtemps démoli.

Though the exterior of the cottage, with its boat and fish sheds, looked somewhat rough, it had altogether a substantial and not uncomfortable appearance.

Bien que l'extérieur de la chaumière, avec ses hangars à bateaux et à poissons, parût quelque peu rustique, elle avait dans l'ensemble une apparence solide et non sans confort.

The most conspicuous object in the landscape was a windmill standing a little way to the southward on the top of the cliff.

L'objet le plus remarquable du paysage était un moulin à vent se dressant un peu vers le sud au sommet de la falaise.

Its sails were moving slowly round, but their tattered condition showed that but a small amount of grist was ground within.

Ses ailes tournaient lentement, mais leur état délabré montrait que bien peu de grain y était moulu.

Such was the aspect of the little village of Hurlston and its surroundings towards the end of the last century.

Tel était l'aspect du petit village de Hurlston et de ses alentours vers la fin du siècle dernier.

Vocabulary

Au-dessus: oh-duh-sü — Above, overhead, at a higher position
de: duh — Of, from; common preposition with many uses
la: lah — The; feminine definite article
porte: port — Door, gate, or entrance of a building
l': l — The; elided definite article before vowel
une: ün — A, an; feminine indefinite article
d': d — Of, from; elided preposition before vowel
elles: el — They, them; third-person feminine plural pronoun
on: ohn — One, we, they; indefinite subject pronoun
pouvait: poo-veh — Could, was able to; imperfect of pouvoir
voir: vwar — To see, to observe something visually
figure: fee-gür — Figure, shape, face, or carved representation
proue: proo — Prow, the front part of a ship
quelque: kel-kuh — Some, a certain; indefinite adjective or adverb
malheureux: mal-uh-ruh — Unfortunate, unhappy, wretched, ill-fated
navire: na-veer — Ship, vessel used for sea travel
Un: uhn — A, one; masculine indefinite article or numeral
berceau: bair-soh — Cradle, crib; also an arched bower
non: nohn — No, not; negation or denial
pas: pah — Not; negative particle used with ne
rustique: rüs-teek — Rustic, rural, simple in style or appearance
mais: meh — But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
nautique: noh-teek — Nautical, relating to ships or navigation
était: eh-teh — Was, were; imperfect tense of être
composé: kohm-poh-zeh — Composed, made up of various elements
des: deh — Of the, some; plural partitive or contraction
sculptures: skülp-tür — Sculptures, carved decorative or artistic objects
hollandaise: oh-lahn-dez — Dutch, relating to Holland or the Netherlands
en: ahn — In, at, by; preposition with varied uses
effet: eh-feh — Effect, result; en effet means indeed
peu: puh — Few, little; indicates small quantity or degree
propriétaires: proh-pree-eh-tair — Owners, proprietors of land or property
avaient: a-veh — Had; third-person plural imperfect of avoir
manqué: mahn-keh — Missed, failed; past participle of manquer
s': s — Himself, herself, themselves; elided reflexive pronoun
approprier: a-proh-pree-eh — To appropriate, take possession of something
partie: par-tee — Part, portion, or section of something larger
nombreux: nohm-bruh — Numerous, many, a large number of
navires: na-veer — Ships, vessels; plural of navire
qui: kee — Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun
temps: tahn — Time, weather; de temps à autre means occasionally
à: ah — To, at, in; very common French preposition
autre: oh-truh — Other, another, different one
été: eh-teh — Been; past participle of être
jetés: zhuh-teh — Thrown, cast, hurled; past participle of jeter
sur: sür — On, upon, on top of something
leur: luhr — Their, to them; possessive or indirect pronoun
côte: koht — Coast, shore, rib; geographical shoreline
perfide: pair-feed — Treacherous, perfidious, deceitfully dangerous
Sur: sür — On, upon; preposition indicating position
le: luh — The; masculine definite article
terrain: teh-rehn — Ground, land, terrain, plot of earth
plat: plah — Flat, level, plain; describes even ground
entre: ahn-truh — Between, among; preposition indicating position
falaise: fa-lez — Cliff, steep rocky face along a coast
et: eh — And; coordinating conjunction joining elements
rivière: ree-vyair — River, stream; a flowing body of water
se: suh — Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
dressaient: dreh-seh — Stood, rose up; imperfect of se dresser
deux: duh — Two; the number two
ou: oo — Or; coordinating disjunctive conjunction
trois: trwah — Three; the number three
autres: oh-truh — Other, others; plural of autre
chaumières: shoh-myair — Thatched cottages; small rural dwellings
L': l — The; elided definite article before vowel
plus: plü — More, most; comparative or superlative adverb
grande: grahnd — Large, big, great; feminine adjective
semblait: sahm-bleh — Seemed, appeared; imperfect of sembler
être: eh-truh — To be; fundamental French auxiliary verb
construite: kohn-strweet — Built, constructed; feminine past participle
presque: presk — Almost, nearly; adverb of approximation
entièrement: ahn-tyair-mahn — Entirely, completely, wholly, fully
bois: bwah — Wood, timber; material used in construction
épave: eh-pahv — Wreck, shipwreck debris washed ashore
juger: zhü-zheh — To judge, evaluate, or assess something
par: par — By, through, per; common preposition
aspect: as-peh — Aspect, appearance, look of something
inégal: ee-neh-gal — Uneven, irregular, unequal in form
murs: mür — Walls; vertical structures of a building
du: dü — Of the; masculine contracted article
toit: twah — Roof; top covering of a building
architecte: ar-shee-tekt — Architect, designer of buildings and structures
ayant: eh-yahn — Having; present participle of avoir
apparemment: a-pa-ra-mahn — Apparently, seemingly, evidently so
utilisé: ü-tee-lee-zeh — Used, employed; past participle of utiliser
les: leh — The; plural definite article
pièces: pyess — Pieces, parts; fragments of material used
lui: lwee — Him, her, to him; indirect object pronoun
tombaient: tohm-beh — Fell, were falling; imperfect of tomber
sous: soo — Under, beneath, below something
main: mehn — Hand; tomber sous la main means come to hand
sans: sahn — Without; preposition indicating absence
recourir: ruh-koo-reer — To resort to, to have recourse to
scie: see — Saw; a tool used to cut wood
pour: poor — For, in order to; purpose preposition
donner: doh-neh — To give, to provide or grant something
forme: form — Form, shape, structure of an object
appropriée: a-proh-pree-eh — Appropriate, suitable, fitting for the purpose
cheminée: shuh-mee-neh — Chimney, fireplace; structure for smoke
cependant: suh-pahn-dahn — However, nevertheless, yet; contrast conjunction
ainsi: ehn-see — Thus, so, in this way
que: kuh — That, than, which; conjunction or pronoun
parties: par-tee — Parts, sections, portions; plural of partie
inférieures: ehn-feh-ryuhr — Lower, inferior; feminine plural adjective
construites: kohn-strweet — Built, constructed; feminine plural past participle
pierre: pyair — Stone, rock; building material
taille: tah-yuh — Cut, size; pierre de taille means cut stone
tirée: tee-reh — Drawn, taken, pulled; feminine past participle
probablement: proh-bab-luh-mahn — Probably, most likely, in all probability
ancien: ahn-syehn — Old, ancient, former; adjective of age
édifice: eh-dee-fees — Edifice, building; large imposing structure
depuis: duh-pwee — Since, for; indicates time elapsed or origin
longtemps: lohn-tahn — For a long time; extended duration
démoli: deh-moh-lee — Demolished, torn down; past participle of démolir
Bien: byehn — Well, good; adverb or adjective of quality
extérieur: eks-teh-ryuhr — Exterior, outside, external appearance
chaumière: shoh-myair — Thatched cottage; small rural dwelling
avec: a-vek — With; preposition indicating accompaniment
ses: seh — His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
hangars: ahn-gar — Sheds, hangars; storage buildings or shelters
bateaux: ba-toh — Boats, vessels; plural of bateau
poissons: pwah-sohn — Fish; plural of poisson
elle: el — She, it; third-person feminine singular pronoun
avait: a-veh — Had; third-person singular imperfect of avoir
dans: dahn — In, inside, within; very common preposition
ensemble: ahn-sahm-bluh — Whole, entirety, ensemble; overall appearance
apparence: a-pa-rahns — Appearance, look, outward aspect
solide: soh-leed — Solid, sturdy, strong, firm in structure
confort: kohn-for — Comfort, ease, pleasant living conditions
objet: ob-zheh — Object, thing, item; also purpose or aim
remarquable: ruh-mar-kabl — Remarkable, notable, worthy of attention
paysage: peh-ee-zahzh — Landscape, scenery, view of countryside
un: uhn — A, one; masculine indefinite article or numeral
moulin: moo-lehn — Mill; a building housing milling machinery
vent: vahn — Wind; moulin à vent means windmill
dressant: dreh-sahn — Rising, standing up; present participle of dresser
vers: vair — Toward, towards; preposition of direction
sud: süd — South; one of the four cardinal directions
au: oh — To the, at the; masculine contracted article
sommet: soh-meh — Summit, top, peak of a hill or structure
Ses: seh — His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
ailes: el — Wings, sails; arms of a windmill
tournaient: toor-neh — Were turning, spinning; imperfect of tourner
lentement: lahnt-mahn — Slowly, at a slow pace
état: eh-tah — State, condition; current situation of something
délabré: deh-la-breh — Dilapidated, run-down, in poor condition
montrait: mohn-treh — Showed, indicated; imperfect of montrer
bien: byehn — Well, clearly; adverb confirming or emphasizing
grain: grehn — Grain; cereal ground in a mill
y: ee — There, in it; adverbial pronoun of place
moulu: moo-lü — Ground, milled; past participle of moudre
Tel: tel — Such, like; adjective of comparison or similarity
petit: puh-tee — Small, little; adjective describing small size
village: vee-lahzh — Village; small rural community or settlement
alentours: a-lahn-toor — Surroundings, vicinity, nearby area
fin: fehn — End, close; fin du siècle means end of century
siècle: syeh-kluh — Century, age; a period of one hundred years
dernier: dair-nyeh — Last, final, most recent; temporal adjective

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