Wuthering Heights — Page 9
"
"
I bowed and returned the pledge; beginning to perceive that it would be foolish to sit sulking for the misbehaviour of a pack of curs; besides, I felt loth to yield the fellow further amusement at my expense; since his humour took that turn.
Je m'inclinai et rendis la politesse ; commençant à percevoir qu'il serait sot de rester à bouder pour la mauvaise conduite d'une meute de chiens ; de plus, je répugnais à offrir davantage à ce bonhomme l'occasion de s'amuser à mes dépens ; puisque son humeur prenait ce tour.
He—probably swayed by prudential consideration of the folly of offending a good tenant—relaxed a little in the laconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs, and introduced what he supposed would be a subject of interest to me,—a discourse on the advantages and disadvantages of my present place of retirement.
Il — probablement influencé par la considération prudente de la sottise qu'il y aurait à offenser un bon locataire — se détendit un peu dans son style laconique de rogner ses pronoms et ses verbes auxiliaires, et introduisit ce qu'il supposait être un sujet d'intérêt pour moi — un discours sur les avantages et les inconvénients de mon lieu de retraite actuel.
I found him very intelligent on the topics we touched; and before I went home, I was encouraged so far as to volunteer another visit to-morrow.
Je le trouvai très intelligent sur les sujets que nous abordâmes ; et avant de rentrer chez moi, je fus encouragé au point de proposer de moi-même une autre visite pour le lendemain.
He evidently wished no repetition of my intrusion.
Il ne souhaitait manifestement pas que mon intrusion se répétât.
I shall go, notwithstanding.
J'irai, néanmoins.
It is astonishing how sociable I feel myself compared with him.
Il est étonnant de voir combien je me sens sociable en comparaison de lui.
Vocabulary
- inclinai
- an-klee-nay — Past tense of 'incliner'; bowed or leaned forward respectfully.
- rendis
- rahn-dee — Past tense of 'rendre'; returned or gave back something.
- politesse
- po-lee-tess — Politeness or courtesy shown in social interaction.
- commençant
- ko-mahn-sahn — Present participle of 'commencer'; beginning or starting something.
- percevoir
- pehr-suh-vwahr — To perceive, notice, or become aware of something.
- serait
- suh-ray — Conditional form of 'être'; would be.
- sot
- so — Foolish or stupid; a fool or silly person.
- rester
- res-tay — To stay, remain, or continue in a place or state.
- bouder
- boo-day — To sulk or pout in displeasure or resentment.
- mauvaise
- mo-vez — Feminine adjective meaning 'bad', 'poor', or 'wrong'.
- conduite
- kon-dweet — Conduct, behavior, or manner of acting.
- meute
- muht — A pack, especially of dogs or wolves hunting together.
- chiens
- shyan — Plural of 'chien'; dogs.
- répugnais
- ray-poo-nyay — Imperfect of 'répugner'; was reluctant or found repugnant.
- offrir
- o-freer — To offer or give something to someone.
- davantage
- da-vahn-tazh — More, further, or to a greater extent.
- bonhomme
- bo-nom — An ordinary, good-natured fellow or simple man.
- occasion
- o-ka-zyon — Opportunity or chance to do something.
- amuser
- a-moo-zay — To amuse, entertain, or have fun.
- dépens
- day-pahn — Expense or cost; used in 'à mes dépens' meaning 'at my expense'.
- puisque
- pwees-kuh — Conjunction meaning 'since' or 'seeing that'.
- humeur
- oo-muhr — Mood, humor, or temperament of a person.
- prenait
- pruh-nay — Imperfect of 'prendre'; was taking or assuming a quality.
- tour
- toor — Turn, direction, or character something takes.
- probablement
- pro-ba-bluh-mahn — Adverb meaning 'probably' or 'most likely'.
- influencé
- an-floo-ahn-say — Past participle of 'influencer'; influenced or affected by something.
- considération
- kon-see-day-ra-syon — Consideration, regard, or careful thought about something.
- prudente
- proo-dahnt — Feminine adjective meaning 'prudent', 'cautious', or 'wise'.
- sottise
- so-teez — Foolishness, stupidity, or a foolish act or remark.
- aurait
- o-ray — Conditional of 'avoir'; would have.
- offenser
- o-fahn-say — To offend, insult, or cause displeasure to someone.
- locataire
- lo-ka-tehr — A tenant or renter who occupies a property.
- détendit
- day-tahn-dee — Past tense of 'détendre'; relaxed or loosened up.
- style
- steel — Style or manner of doing or expressing something.
- laconique
- la-ko-neek — Laconic; using very few words to express meaning.
- rogner
- ro-nyay — To trim, clip, or cut down; here, to omit words.
- pronoms
- pro-non — Pronouns; words used to replace nouns in a sentence.
- verbes
- vehrb — Verbs; words expressing actions or states.
- auxiliaires
- og-zee-lyehr — Auxiliary or helping verbs used with main verbs.
- introduisit
- an-tro-dwee-zee — Past tense of 'introduire'; introduced or brought in a topic.
- supposait
- soo-po-zay — Imperfect of 'supposer'; supposed or assumed something.
- sujet
- soo-zhay — Subject or topic of conversation or discussion.
- intérêt
- an-tay-ray — Interest, curiosity, or concern about something.
- discours
- dees-koor — A speech, discourse, or extended conversation on a topic.
- avantages
- a-vahn-tazh — Advantages or benefits of a situation or choice.
- inconvénients
- an-kon-vay-nyahn — Inconveniences or disadvantages of a situation.
- lieu
- lyuh — Place, location, or spot where something occurs.
- retraite
- ruh-tret — Retreat, retirement, or a secluded place of refuge.
- actuel
- ak-too-el — Current, present, or existing at this moment in time.
- trouvai
- troo-vay — Past tense of 'trouver'; found or considered something to be.
- intelligent
- an-teh-lee-zhahn — Intelligent, clever, or mentally sharp.
- sujets
- soo-zhay — Plural of 'sujet'; subjects or topics of discussion.
- abordâmes
- a-bor-dahm — Past tense of 'aborder'; broached or approached a topic.
- avant
- a-vahn — Preposition or adverb meaning 'before' in time or order.
- rentrer
- rahn-tray — To go back inside or return home.
- chez
- shay — Preposition meaning 'at the home of' or 'at someone's place'.
- fus
- foo — Past tense of 'être'; was (first person singular).
- encouragé
- ahn-koo-ra-zhay — Past participle of 'encourager'; encouraged or motivated by something.
- point
- pwan — Point, degree, or extent; here 'au point de' means 'to the point of'.
- proposer
- pro-po-zay — To propose, suggest, or put forward an idea or plan.
- même
- mem — Same, even, or itself; used for emphasis.
- visite
- vee-zeet — A visit or call made to someone's home or place.
- lendemain
- lahnd-man — The next day or the day after.
- souhaitait
- soo-ay-tay — Imperfect of 'souhaiter'; wished or desired something.
- manifestement
- ma-nee-fest-mahn — Manifestly or obviously; in a clearly evident manner.
- intrusion
- an-troo-zyon — An intrusion or unwelcome entry into someone's space.
- répétât
- ray-pay-tah — Subjunctive past of 'répéter'; that it be repeated.
- irai
- ee-ray — Future tense of 'aller'; I will go.
- néanmoins
- nay-ahn-mwan — Nevertheless or however; used to introduce a contrast.
- étonnant
- ay-to-nahn — Astonishing, surprising, or remarkable.
- combien
- kom-byan — How much or how many; to what degree.
- sens
- sahn — Present tense of 'sentir'; feel (here, 'I feel').
- sociable
- so-syabl — Sociable or friendly; enjoying the company of others.
- comparaison
- kom-pa-ray-zon — Comparison between two or more things or people.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →