Jules Verne

French listening practice with side-by-side translation

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  Listening comprehension: See the links at the bottom for lessons related to the phrases in italics.

Jules Verne Jules Verne
Quel autre nom que le sien a autant fait écho aux rêves de l’enfance, à ces aventures improbables qui ont peuplé l’imaginaire des petits et des grands ? Car il faut bien se l’avouer, Jules Verne a entraîné avec lui des générations enthousiastes dans les abîmes des profondeurs, au centre de la Terre ou sur la lune avec l’aplomb et la confiance de ceux qui connaissent le chemin.
Translation

What other name has echoed as much as his in childhood dreams, in these improbable adventures that have filled the imaginations of young and old? Because you have to admit that Jules Verne carried enthusiastic generations with him to the depths of abysses, to the center of the Earth, and to the moon with the self-assurance and confidence of those who know the way.

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Selon la légende, le petit Jules, âgé de 11 ans, se serait embarqué comme mousse sur un long courrier à destination des Indes. Son père l’aurait récupéré de justesse à Paimbœuf, à 34 km de là. Jules Verne aurait avoué s’être enfui pour partir en quête d’un collier de corail pour sa cousine, Caroline Tronson, dont il était amoureux. Très rudement sermonné par son père, il aurait promis de ne plus voyager qu’en rêve. On connaît la suite.
Translation

Legend has it that little Jules, at age 11, embarked as a ship’s apprentice on an ocean liner headed to the Indies. His father barely caught him at Paimbœuf, 34 kilometers (21 miles) away. Jules Verne confessed having run away in search of a coral necklace for his cousin, Caroline Troson, with whom he was in love. Harshly scolded by his father, he supposedly promised to travel in the future only in his dreams. We know what happened next.

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Ce n’est qu’en 1863, alors qu’il est âgé de trente-cinq ans, que paraît chez l’éditeur Pierre-Jules Hetzel (qui deviendra un ami très cher) son premier vrai roman, « Cinq semaines en ballon », dont le succès sera immédiat, tant en France qu’à l’étranger.
Translation

It was only in 1863, when he was 35, that his first real novel, "Five Weeks in a Balloon," was published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel (who would become a very close friend). It was immediately successful, both in France and overseas.

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En mêlant la science à l’affabulation, il n’a pas été seulement un écrivain qui a su enflammer l’imaginaire de millions de lecteurs mais également un visionnaire dans de nombreux domaines incluant l’aéronautique. Le musée Jules Verne de Nantes rend hommage toute l’année à ce monument de la littérature d’aventures et d’anticipation.
Translation

By mixing science with fantasy, he was not only a writer who knew how to inflame the imaginations of millions of readers, but also a visionary in numerous domains, including aeronautics. Nantes’s Jules Verne museum pays tribute year-round to this monument of adventure and futuristic literature.

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French text, sound file, and image courtesy of Think French audiomagazine. This is part of an article in the novembre 2012 issue. Translation by LKL
Lire des extraits :

20.000 Lieues sous les mers

Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours

Read excerpts:

20.000 Lieues sous les mers

Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours

 Jules Verne Listening comprehension

Vocabulary

Grammar

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