A Room with a View | Progressive Translation Books for French A1 Students

A Room with a View | Progressive Translation Books for French A1 Students

Unlock the potential of this modern translation approach, designed to enhance your language learning experience. By allowing you to choose your difficulty level, it guarantees a personalized challenge that's suited to your progress. This method promotes comprehension by encouraging you to infer the meaning of new words from context, rather than relying heavily on direct translations. Though some translations are obscured to stimulate guessing, it's perfectly fine to consult a dictionary when needed. This technique combines challenge and support, making language learning fun and effective. Explore these translated classics to enjoy literature while advancing your language skills.

ChapterITheBertolini
“TheSignorahad
pas
no
businesstodoit,”
dit
said
MissBartlett,“nobusinessat
tout
all
.
Shepromisedussouthrooms
avec
with
aviewclosetogether,insteadof
laquelle
which
herearenorthrooms,
regardant
looking
intoacourtyard,anda
long
long
wayapart.
Oh,Lucy!”
“And
un
a
Cockney,besides!”
saidLucy,
qui
who
hadbeenfurthersaddenedby
la
the
Signora’sunexpectedaccent.
“It
pourrait
might
beLondon.”
Shelookedatthe
deux
two
rowsofEnglishpeople
qui
who
weresittingatthetable;
attherowofwhitebottlesofwater
et
and
redbottlesofwine
qui
that
ranbetweentheEnglishpeople;
attheportraitsofthelateQueen
et
and
thelatePoetLaureate
qui
that
hungbehindtheEnglish
peuple
people
,heavilyframed;
atthenoticeoftheEnglishchurch(Rev.
CuthbertEager,M.
Un
A
.
Oxon.),thatwasthe
seule
only
otherdecorationofthewall.
“Charlotte,don’tyoufeel,
aussi
too
,thatwemightbeinLondon?
Icanhardly
croire
believe
thatallkindsofotherthingsare
juste
just
outside.
Isupposeitisone’sbeingsotired.”
“Thismeathassurelybeenusedforsoup,”
dit
said
MissBartlett,layingdownherfork.
“I
veux
want
sotoseetheArno.
TheroomstheSignorapromisedusinherletterwouldhavelooked
sur
over
theArno.
TheSignorahad
pas
no
businesstodoitatall.
Oh,itisashame!”
“Anynookdoesforme,”
Mlle
Miss
Bartlettcontinued;
“butitdoesseem
difficile
hard
thatyoushouldn’thave
une
a
view.”
Lucyfeltthatshehadbeenselfish.
“Charlotte,youmustn’tspoil
me
me
:
ofcourse,youmust
regarder
look
overtheArno,too.
Imeantthat.
La
The
firstvacantroomin
la
the
front—”
“Youmusthaveit,”
dit
said
MissBartlett,partofwhosetravellingexpenseswerepaidbyLucy’smother—apieceofgenerositytowhichshe
fait
made
manyatactfulallusion.
“No,
non
no
.Youmusthaveit.”
“Iinsistonit.
Your
mère
mother
wouldneverforgiveme,Lucy.”
“Shewould
jamais
never
forgiveme.”
Theladies’voicesgrewanimated,and—ifthesad
vérité
truth
beowned—alittlepeevish.
Theyweretired,
et
and
undertheguiseofunselfishnesstheywrangled.
Certains
Some
oftheirneighboursinterchangedglances,
et
and
oneofthem—oneof
la
the
ill-bredpeoplewhomonedoes
rencontre
meet
abroad—leantforwardoverthetable
et
and
actuallyintrudedintotheirargument.
He
dit
said:
.
“Ihaveaview,Ihave
une
a
view.”
MissBartlettwasstartled.
Generallyatapension
gens
people
lookedthemoverfora
jour
day
ortwobeforespeaking,
et
and
oftendidnotfindoutthattheywould“do”tilltheyhad
partis
gone
.
Sheknewthattheintruderwasill-bred,
même
even
beforesheglancedathim.
Hewasanold
homme
man
,ofheavybuild,withafair,shaven
visage
face
andlargeeyes.
Therewas
quelque chose
something
childishinthoseeyes,thoughitwasnot
la
the
childishnessofsenility.
What
exactement
exactly
itwasMissBartlettdidnot
arrêté
stop
toconsider,forherglancepassedontohisclothes.
Thesedidnotattracther.
Hewas
probablement
probably
tryingtobecomeacquainted
avec
with
thembeforetheygotinto
la
the
swim.
Sosheassumed
une
a
dazedexpressionwhenhe
parlé
spoke
toher,andthen
dit
said
:
“Aview?
Oh,aview!
Howdelightfulaviewis!”
“Thisismyson,”
dit
said
theoldman;
“hisname’sGeorge.
Hehas
une
a
viewtoo.”
“Ah,”said
Mlle
Miss
Bartlett,repressingLucy,whowas
sur
about
tospeak.
“WhatImean,”hecontinued,“is
que
that
youcanhaveourrooms,
et
and
we’llhaveyours.
We’llchange.”
The
meilleure
better
classoftouristwasshockedat
cela
this
,andsympathizedwiththenew-comers.
Mlle
Miss
Bartlett,inreply,openedhermouthaslittleas
possible
possible
,andsaid“Thankyouvery
beaucoup
much
indeed;
thatisoutofthequestion.”
“Why?”
dit
said
theoldman,with
deux
both
fistsonthetable.
“Becauseitisquite
hors
out
ofthequestion,thankyou.”
“You
voyez
see
,wedon’tliketotake—”
beganLucy.
Hercousin
nouveau
again
repressedher.
“Butwhy?”
hepersisted.
“Women
aiment
like
lookingataview;
mendon’t.”
Et
And
hethumpedwithhisfists
comme
like
anaughtychild,and
tourné
turned
tohisson,saying,“George,persuadethem!”
“It’ssoobviousthey
devraient
should
havetherooms,”saidthe
fils
son
.
“There’snothingelsetosay.”
Hedidnot
regardé
look
attheladiesashe
parlé
spoke
,buthisvoicewasperplexed
et
and
sorrowful.
Lucy,too,wasperplexed;
mais
but
shesawthattheywereinforwhatis
connu
known
as“quiteascene,”
et
and
shehadanoddfeelingthatwhenever
ces
these
ill-bredtouristsspokethecontestwidened
et
and
deepenedtillitdealt,not
avec
with
roomsandviews,butwith—well,
avec
with
somethingquitedifferent,whoseexistenceshehadnotrealized
avant
before
.
Nowtheoldmanattacked
Mlle
Miss
Bartlettalmostviolently:
Why
devrait
should
shenotchange?
Whatpossibleobjection
avoir
had
she?
Theywouldclearoutin
demi
half
anhour.
MissBartlett,thoughskilledinthedelicaciesofconversation,waspowerlessinthepresenceofbrutality.
Itwasimpossibletosnubanyonesogross.
Her
visage
face
reddenedwithdispleasure.
She
regarda
looked
aroundasmuchasto
dire
say
,“Areyoualllikethis?”
Et
And
twolittleoldladies,
qui
who
weresittingfurtherupthetable,
avec
with
shawlshangingoverthebacksofthechairs,
regardé
looked
back,clearlyindicating“Wearenot;
wearegenteel.”
“Eatyour
dîner
dinner
,dear,”shesaidtoLucy,
et
and
begantotoyagain
avec
with
themeatthatshehad
autrefois
once
censured.
Lucymumbledthat
ces
those
seemedveryoddpeopleopposite.
“Eatyour
dîner
dinner
,dear.
Thispensionis
un
a
failure.
To-morrowwewill
faire
make
achange.”
Hardlyhadsheannounced
cette
this
felldecisionwhenshereversedit.
Thecurtainsattheendoftheroomparted,
et
and
revealedaclergyman,stout
mais
but
attractive,whohurriedforwardto
prendre
take
hisplaceatthetable,cheerfullyapologizingforhislateness.
Lucy,
qui
who
hadnotyetacquireddecency,atoncerosetoherfeet,exclaiming:
“Oh,oh!
Why,it’sMr.Beebe!
Oh,howperfectlylovely!
Oh,Charlotte,we
devons
must
stopnow,howeverbad
les
the
roomsare.
Oh!”
MissBartlett
dit
said
,withmorerestraint:.
“Howdoyoudo,Mr.Beebe?
Iexpect
que
that
youhaveforgottenus:
Mlle
Miss
BartlettandMissHoneychurch,whowereatTunbridgeWells
quand
when
youhelpedtheVicarofSt.Peter’sthat
très
very
coldEaster.”
Theclergyman,
qui
who
hadtheairofoneonaholiday,didnotremembertheladiesquiteasclearlyastheyrememberedhim.
Mais
But
hecameforwardpleasantlyenough
et
and
acceptedthechairinto
laquelle
which
hewasbeckonedbyLucy.
“Iamsogladto
voir
see
you,”saidthegirl,
qui
who
wasinastateofspiritualstarvation,
et
and
wouldhavebeengladto
voir
see
thewaiterifhercousinhadpermittedit.
“Justfancyhow
petit
small
theworldis.
SummerStreet,
aussi
too
,makesitsospeciallyfunny.”
“MissHoneychurchlivesintheparishofSummerStreet,”
dit
said
MissBartlett,fillingupthegap,“andshehappenedto
dit
tell
meinthecourseofconversation
que
that
youhavejustacceptedtheliving—”.
“Yes,I
entendu
heard
frommothersolast
semaine
week
.
Shedidn’tknowthatIknewyouatTunbridgeWells;
mais
but
Iwrotebackatonce,
et
and
Isaid:
‘Mr.
Beebeis—’”.
“Quiteright,”
dit
said
theclergyman.
“ImoveintotheRectoryatSummerStreet
prochain
next
June.
Iamluckytobeappointedtosuch
un
a
charmingneighbourhood.”
“Oh,howgladIam!
Le
The
nameofourhouseisWindyCorner.”
Mr.Beebebowed.
“Thereis
mère
mother
andmegenerally,andmy
frère
brother
,thoughit’snotoftenwegethimtoch——
Thechurchisrather
loin
far
off,Imean.”
“Lucy,dearest,
laisse
let
Mr.Beebeeathisdinner.”
“Iam
mange
eating
it,thankyou,andenjoyingit.”
Hepreferredto
parler
talk
toLucy,whoseplayingheremembered,ratherthanto
Mlle
Miss
Bartlett,whoprobablyrememberedhissermons.
He
demandé
asked
thegirlwhethershe
connaissait
knew
Florencewell,andwasinformedat
une certaine
some
lengththatshehad
jamais
never
beentherebefore.
Itisdelightfultoadvise
un
a
newcomer,andhewas
premier
first
inthefield.
“Don’tneglect
la
the
countryround,”hisadviceconcluded.
“The
premier
first
fineafternoondriveuptoFiesole,
et
and
roundbySettignano,or
quelque chose
something
ofthatsort.”
“No!”
cried
une
a
voicefromthetopof
la
the
table.
“Mr.
Beebe,youarewrong.
Le
The
firstfineafternoonyourladies
doivent
must
gotoPrato.”
“That
dame
lady
lookssoclever,”whispered
Mlle
Miss
Bartletttohercousin.
“Weareinluck.”
Et
And
,indeed,aperfecttorrentofinformationburston
eux
them
.
Peopletoldthemwhatto
voir
see
,whentoseeit,howto
arrêter
stop
theelectrictrams,howtogetridofthebeggars,howmuchto
donner
give
foravellumblotter,howmuchtheplace
allait
would
growuponthem.
ThePensionBertolinihaddecided,
presque
almost
enthusiastically,thattheywould
feraient
do
.
Whicheverwaytheylooked,kindladiessmiled
et
and
shoutedatthem.
Andabove
tout
all
rosethevoiceof
la
the
cleverlady,crying:
“Prato!
They
doivent
must
gotoPrato.
That
endroit
place
istoosweetlysqualidforwords.
Iloveit;
Irevelinshakingoffthetrammelsofrespectability,asyouknow.”
The
jeune
young
mannamedGeorgeglancedattheclever
dame
lady
,andthenreturnedmoodilytohisplate.
Obviouslyhe
et
and
hisfatherdidnot
ne
do
.
Lucy,inthemidstofhersuccess,
trouvé
found
timetowishthey
fassent
did
.
Itgavehernoextrapleasure
que
that
anyoneshouldbe
laissé
left
inthecold;
and
quand
when
sherosetogo,sheturnedback
et
and
gavethetwooutsiders
une
a
nervouslittlebow.
The
père
father
didnotseeit;
the
fils
son
acknowledgedit,notby
autre
another
bow,butbyraisinghiseyebrows
et
and
smiling;
heseemedtobesmilingacross
quelque chose
something
.
Shehastenedafterhercousin,whohad
déjà
already
disappearedthroughthecurtains—curtainswhichsmote
un
one
intheface,andseemedheavy
avec
with
morethancloth.
Beyondthem
tenait
stood
theunreliableSignora,bowinggood-eveningtoherguests,
et
and
supportedby’Enery,herlittle
garçon
boy
,andVictorier,herdaughter.
It
fait
made
acuriouslittlescene,
cette
this
attemptoftheCockneytoconvey
la
the
graceandgenialityof
la
the
South.
Andevenmorecuriouswas
le
the
drawing-room,whichattemptedtorival
le
the
solidcomfortofaBloomsburyboarding-house.
Wasthis
vraiment
really
Italy?
MissBartlettwas
déjà
already
seatedonatightlystuffedarm-chair,
qui
which
hadthecolourandthecontoursof
un
a
tomato.
ShewastalkingtoMr.Beebe,
et
and
asshespoke,her
longue
long
narrowheaddrovebackwards
et
and
forwards,slowly,regularly,as
si
though
sheweredemolishingsomeinvisibleobstacle.
“Wearemostgratefultoyou,”shewas
disait
saying
.
“Thefirsteveningmeansso
beaucoup
much
.
Whenyouarrivedwewereinfor
un
a
peculiarlymauvaisquartd’heure.”
Heexpressedhisregret.
“Doyou,byanychance,
savez
know
thenameofanold
homme
man
whosatoppositeusatdinner?”
“Emerson.”
“Ishe
un
a
friendofyours?”
“Wearefriendly—asoneisinpensions.”
“ThenIwill
dirai
say
nomore.”
Hepressedher
très
very
slightly,andshesaid
plus
more
.
“Iam,asitwere,”sheconcluded,“thechaperonofmy
jeune
young
cousin,Lucy,andit
suis
would
beaseriousthing
si
if
Iputherunderanobligationto
gens
people
ofwhomweknow
rien
nothing
.
Hismannerwassomewhatunfortunate.
IhopeIactedfor
le
the
best.”
“Youactedverynaturally,”
dit
said
he.
Heseemedthoughtful,
et
and
afterafewmomentsadded:
“Allthesame,Idon’t
pense
think
muchharmwouldhavecomeofaccepting.”
“Noharm,of
sûr
course
.
Butwecouldnotbe
sous
under
anobligation.”
“Heisrather
un
a
peculiarman.”
Againhehesitated,andthen
dit
said
gently:
“Ithinkhewouldnottakeadvantageofyouracceptance,norexpectyouto
montriez
show
gratitude.
Hehasthemerit—ifitisone—of
dire
saying
exactlywhathemeans.
Hehasroomshedoesnotvalue,
et
and
hethinksyouwouldvalue
les
them
.
Henomorethoughtofputtingyouunderanobligationthanhe
pensé
thought
ofbeingpolite.
Itissodifficult—at
moins
least
,Ifinditdifficult—to
comprendre
understand
peoplewhospeakthetruth.”
Lucywaspleased,
et
and
said:
“Iwashopingthathewas
gentil
nice
;
Idosoalwayshope
que
that
peoplewillbenice.”
“I
pense
think
heis;
niceandtiresome.
Idifferfromhimon
presque
almost
everypointofanyimportance,
et
and
so,Iexpect—Imay
dire
say
Ihope—youwilldiffer.
Mais
But
hisisatypeonedisagrees
avec
with
ratherthandeplores.
Whenhe
première
first
cameherehenotunnaturallyputpeople’sbacksup.
Hehas
pas
no
tactandnomanners—Idon’tmeanbythatthathehasbadmanners—andhe
veux
will
notkeephisopinionstohimself.
WenearlycomplainedabouthimtoourdepressingSignora,
mais
but
Iamgladto
dire
say
wethoughtbetterofit.”
“AmItoconclude,”
dit
said
MissBartlett,“thatheis
un
a
Socialist?”
Mr.
Beebeaccepted
le
the
convenientword,notwithout
une
a
slighttwitchingofthelips.
“Andpresumablyhehasbroughtuphis
fils
son
tobeaSocialist,too?”
“Ihardly
connais
know
George,forhehasn’t
appris
learnt
totalkyet.