French reading practice with side-by-side translation
Reading comprehension: See the links at the bottom for lessons related to the phrases in italics.
| Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours, de Jules Verne | Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne |
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I : Dans lequel Phileas Fogg et Passepartout s’acceptent rĂ©ciproquement l’un comme maĂ®tre, l’autre comme domestique |
Translation
Chapter I: In which Phileas Fogg and Passepartout accept each other, one as master, the other as servant [collapse]
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En l’annĂ©e 1872, la maison portant le numĂ©ro 7 de Saville-row, Burlington Gardens—maison dans laquelle Sheridan mourut en 1814—, Ă©tait habitĂ©e par Phileas Fogg, esq., l’un des membres les plus singuliers et les plus remarquĂ©s du Reform-Club de Londres, bien qu’il semblât prendre Ă tâche de ne rien faire qui pĂ»t attirer l’attention. |
Translation
In 1872, the house at number 7, Savile Row, Burlington Gardens—the house in which Sheridan died in 1814—, was inhabited by Phileas Fogg, Esq., one of the most remarkable and conspicuous members of London’s Reform Club, even though he seemed to take it upon himself to do nothing that might attract attention. [collapse]
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Ă€ l’un des plus grands orateurs qui honorent l’Angleterre, succĂ©dait donc ce Phileas Fogg, personnage Ă©nigmatique, dont on ne savait rien, sinon que c’Ă©tait un fort galant homme et l’un des plus beaux gentlemen de la haute sociĂ©tĂ© anglaise. |
Translation
This enigmatic character Phileas Fogg, about whom nothing was known, other than that he was a very courteous man and one of the handsomest gentleman in England’s high society, thus succeeded one of the greatest orators who honor England. [collapse]
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On disait qu’il ressemblait Ă Byron—par la tĂŞte, car il Ă©tait irrĂ©prochable quant aux pieds—, mais un Byron Ă moustaches et Ă favoris, un Byron impassible, qui aurait vĂ©cu mille ans sans vieillir. |
Translation
They said he resembled Byron—about the head, because his feet were irreproachable—, but a Byron with a mustache and sideburns, an impassive Byron, who would have lived a thousand years without aging. [collapse]
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Anglais, Ă coup sĂ»r, Phileas Fogg n’Ă©tait peut-ĂŞtre pas Londonner. On ne l’avait jamais vu ni Ă la Bourse, ni Ă la Banque, ni dans aucun des comptoirs de la CitĂ©. Ni les bassins ni les docks de Londres n’avaient jamais reçu un navire ayant pour armateur Phileas Fogg. Ce gentleman ne figurait dans aucun comitĂ© d’administration. Son nom n’avait jamais retenti dans un collège d’avocats, ni au Temple, ni Ă Lincoln’s-inn, ni Ă Gray’s-inn. |
Translation
He was definitely English, but Phileas Fogg may not have been a Londoner. He’d never been seen at the Stock Exchange, nor the Bank, nor in any of the City’s branches. Neither the docks nor the dockyards had ever accommodated a ship owned by Phileas Fogg. This gentleman was not on any administrative committees. His name had never rung out in a law school, nor at the Temple; not at Lincoln’s Inn nor Gray’s Inn. [collapse]
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Jamais il ne plaida ni Ă la Cour du chancelier, ni au Banc de la Reine, ni Ă l’Échiquier, ni en Cour ecclĂ©siastique. Il n’Ă©tait ni industriel, ni nĂ©gociant, ni marchand, ni agriculteur. Il ne faisait partie ni de l’Institution royale de la Grande-Bretagne, ni de l’Institution de Londres, ni de l’Institution des Artisans, ni de l’Institution Russell, ni de l’Institution littĂ©raire de l’Ouest, ni de l’Institution du Droit, ni de cette Institution des Arts et des Sciences rĂ©unis, qui est placĂ©e sous le patronage direct de Sa Gracieuse MajestĂ©. |
Translation
He’d never tried a case at the Chancellor’s Court, the Queen’s Bank, the Exchequer’s, or the ecclesiastical court. He wasn’t an industrialist, merchant, shopkeeper, or farmer. He wasn’t a member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, or the London Institution, or the Artisan’s Association, or the Russell Institution, or the Literary Institution of the West, or the Law Institute, or that Institute of the Arts and Sciences which is placed under the direct patronage of Her Gracious Majesty. [collapse]
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Il n’appartenait enfin Ă aucune des nombreuses sociĂ©tĂ©s qui pullulent dans la capitale de l’Angleterre, depuis la SociĂ©tĂ© de l’Armonica jusqu’Ă la SociĂ©tĂ© entomologique, fondĂ©e principalement dans le but de dĂ©truire les insectes nuisibles. Phileas Fogg Ă©tait membre du Reform-Club, et voilĂ tout. |
Translation
In short, he didn’t belong to any of the numerous societies that abound in England’s capital, from the Harmonica Society to the Entomological Society, founded mainly with the goal of destroying the pesky insects. Phileas Fogg was a member of the Reform Club, and that’s it.
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| Translation by LKL | |
| Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours est un roman français classique. Écrit en 1873, il est dans le domaine public. TĂ©lĂ©chargez l’original en format Ă©lectronique pour lire la suite gratuitement : | Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic French novel. It was written in 1873 and is now in the public domain. Download the translated ebook to read the rest for free: |
| Note: If you click one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission: Ad and Affiliate Disclosure | |
| Écouter : mini biographie de Jules Verne | Listen: mini biography of Jules Verne |
Reading comprehension
Expressions
Vocabulary
Grammar
- Dans lequel, En l’annĂ©e 1872 – prepositions
- Phileas Fogg et Passepartout s’acceptent – pronominal verb
- L’un vs un
- la maison portant le numĂ©ro 7, un navire ayant – present participles
- la maison … Ă©tait habitĂ©e – passive voice in the imperfect
- Sheridan mourut, Jamais il ne plaida – passĂ© simple
- remarquĂ©s, fondĂ©e – past participles
- il semblât, qui pĂ»t – imperfect subjunctive
- ne rien faire – negative pronoun with an infinitive
- Ă€ … succĂ©dait, on ne savait rien – imperfect
- ce Phileas Fogg – demonstrative adjective
- dont on ne savait rien – relative pronoun
- on ne savait rien, Il n’appartenait enfin Ă aucune des nombreuses sociĂ©tĂ©s – negative pronouns
- la haute sociĂ©tĂ© anglaise – adjective placement
- qui aurait vĂ©cu – conditional perfect
- On ne l’avait jamais vu – direct object
- On ne l’avait jamais vu, Ni les bassins … n’avaient jamais reçu – past perfect
- Ce gentleman ne figurait dans aucun comitĂ© – negative adjective
- qui est placĂ©e – passive voice
- Sa Gracieuse MajestĂ© – possessive adjective
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