The dawn came, but no day.
L’aube vint/ parut/se leva/ mais pas le jour/ la clarté du jour.
In the gray sky a red sun appeared, a dim red circle that gave a little light, like dusk;
and as that day advanced, the dusk slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered over the fallen corn.
dim
|dɪm| adjective (dimmer, dimmest)1 (of a light, colour, or illuminated object) not shining brightly or clearly: the dim glow of the fire.
• (of an object or shape) made difficult to see by darkness, shade, or distance: a dim figure in the dark kitchen.
• (of a room or other space) made difficult to see in by darkness: long dim corridors.
• (of the eyes) unable to see clearly: his eyes became dim.
• (of a sound) indistinct or muffled: the dim drone of their voices.
• not clearly recalled or formulated in the mind: dim memories | the matter was in the dim and distant past.
2 (of a situation) not giving cause for hope or optimism: their prospects for the future looked fairly dim.
3 informal stupid or slow to understand: you're just incredibly dim.
ð Sombre, faible, vague, indistinct, diffus,
whimper
|ˈwɪmpə| verb[no object] make a series of low, feeble sounds expressive of fear, pain, or unhappiness: a child in a bed nearby began to whimper | (as adjective whimpering) : a low whimpering sound.
• [with direct speech] say something in a low, feeble voice that expresses fear, pain, or unhappiness: ‘He's not dead, is he?’ she whimpered.
Dans le ciel gris apparut un soleil rouge, un cercle rouge indistinct/ aux contours flous qui émettait/ duquel émanait (un) peu de lumière, comme un/au crépuscule ; et au fil de la/cette journée/ et à mesure que cette journée passait, ce crépuscule glissa/ se fondit/s’évanouit/ se glissait/se fondait/ s’évanouissait à nouveau vers l’/ en obscurité/ pénombre, et le vent (se mettait à/ se mit à) hurlait et gémissait/ plaintif gémissait au-dessus des plants/ champs de maïs abattus/
courbés.
Men and women huddled in their houses, and they tied handkerchiefs over their noses when they went out, and wore goggles to protect their eyes.
huddle
|ˈhʌd(ə)l| verb1 [no object, with adverbial] crowd together; nestle closely: they huddled together for warmth.
• curl one's body into a small space: she huddled up close to him.
2 [with object and adverbial] British heap together in a disorderly manner: a man with his clothes all huddled on anyhow.
3 [no object] North American have a private discussion; confer: the colonel huddled with A.J. at the dining-room table.
ð S’entasser, s’amasser, se regrouper, se blottir
(Les) hommes et (les femmes) se pelotonnaient/blottissaient/ pelotonnèrent/ blottirent dans leur(s) maison(s), et / quand ils en sortaient/ ils nouaient des mouchoirs pour couvrir leur nez lorsqu’ils sortaient, et portaient des lunettes (de protection) pour (préserver/ protéger) leurs yeux/ pour se … les yeux.
When the night came again it was black night, for the stars could not pierce the dust to get down, and the window lights could not even spread beyond their own yards.
Quand vint à nouveau la nuit/ quand la nuit tomba à nouveau, ce fut une nuit noire/ il faisait nuit noire, car les étoiles ne pouvaient (trans)percer la poussière ( de leur éclat ?/ pour/ et briller ici-bas/ être perçues ici-bas? ) et la lumière des fenêtres ne dépassait pas/ ne se répandait pas au-delà des/ les jardins/terrains/cours de chacun.
Now the dust was evenly mixed with the air, an emulsion of dust and air.
A présent/ désormais la poussière et l’air se mélangeaient à part égale/ la poussière était uniformémement mélangée à l’air/ était mélangée à l’air de façon homogène, (en une) émulsion de poussière et d’air.
Houses were shut tight, and cloth wedged around doors and windows, but the dust came in so thinly that it could not be seen in the air, and it settled like pollen on the chairs and tables, on the dishes.
wedge 1 |wɛdʒ|
noun1 a piece of wood, metal, etc. having one thick end and tapering to a thin edge, that is driven between two objects or parts of an object to secure or separate them: the door was secured by a wedge.
• an object or piece of something shaped like a wedge: a wedge of cheese.
• a formation of people or animals in the shape of a wedge: the wedge of horsemen crashed forward.
2 a golf club with a low, angled face for maximum loft.
• a shot made with a wedge: Davies hit a wedge to within a yard of the hole.
3 a shoe with a fairly high heel forming a solid block with the sole.
• a heel on a wedge shoe.
4 [mass noun] British informal money or earnings: he invested his wedge in stocks and shares.
Verb
1 [with object] fix in position using a wedge: [with object and complement] : the door was wedged open.
2 [with object and adverbial] force into a narrow space: she wedged her bag between two bags.
to drive a wedge between X and Y monter X contre Y it's (only) the thin end of the wedge ce n'est qu'un début
ð 1) Une cale, un coin, une tranche/un morceau/ 2) cocheur de sable (golf) / 3 semelle compensée ð Caler/ coincer/ enfoncer/
On barricadait les maisons/ Les maisons étaient fermées à double tour/ soigneusement fermées/ barricadées, on coinçait/caler des linges/ des chiffons pour boucher/ colmater/
calfeutrer les encadrements de portes et de fenêtres, mais la poussière s’infiltrait/ s’immiscait, si fine qu’elle était invisible dans l’air, et elle se déposait, tel du pollen, sur les chaises et les tables, sur la vaisselle/ les plats.
The people brushed it from their shoulders. Little lines of dust lay at the door sills.
Les gens époussetaient leurs épaules pour la retirer/s’en débarrasser/ se dépoussièraient les épaules d’un geste. De petit-e-s lignes/ sillons/ rais de poussière se formaient/ se déposaient/
reposaient/ gisaient sur le pas/ au seuil des portes.
In the middle of that night the wind passed on and left the land quiet.
Au beau milieu de la nuit, le vent se tut/ tomba/ poursuivit sa course, laissant/ et laissa/plongea la terre/ ce pays/ la région dans le silence.
The dust-filled air muffled sound more completely than fog does.
muffle
|ˈmʌf(ə)l| verb [with object]1 wrap or cover for warmth: everyone was muffled up in coats and scarves.
2 cover or wrap up (a source of sound) to reduce its loudness: (as adjective muffled) : the soft beat of a muffled drum.
• make (a sound) quieter or less distinct: his voice was muffled
| figurative : the trade unions fear their voice within the party is being muffled.
L’air saturé/ de poussière atténuait/étouffait les sons encore plus parfaitement/ de façon plus totale encore / que le brouillard/la brume.
The people, lying in their beds, heard the wind stop.
Les gens, couchés/ étendus dans leur lit, entendirent le vent s’arrêter.
They awakened when the rushing wind was gone.
Ils se réveillèrent lorsque ce vent déchaîné/ ces bourrasques de vent/ fut parti/ eut cessé/
furent parties/ eurent cessé/ .
They lay quietly and listened deep into the stillness.
Allongés sans bouger/calmement/ils restèrent allongés sans bruit et , ils écoutaient/
écoutèrent (attentivement) le silence profond.
Then the roosters crowed, and their voices were muffled, and the people stirred restlessly in their beds and wanted the morning.
Puis les coqs chantèrent, et/ mais leurs voix/ chants étaient étouffé.e.s/ assourdi.e.s, et les gens s’agitèrent/ s’agitaient, fébriles/ nerveux/ sans cesse dans leur lit, pressés/ impatients d’être au matin.
They knew it would take a long time for the dust to settle out of the air.
Ils savaient qu’il faudrait longtemps à la poussière pour se déposer et libérer l’air ?/ qu’il faudrait du temps avant que le poussière ne retombe et se désolidarise de l’air/ pour que l’air se débarasse/ se libère de la poussière et qu’elle retombe..
In the morning the dust hung like fog, and the sun was as red as ripe new blood.
Le matin, la poussière restait en suspension comme un/du brouillard/ de la brume et le soleil était rouge comme du sang frais et juteux/mûr.
All day the dust sifted down from the sky, and the next day it sifted down.
Toute la journée, la poussière tomba du ciel comme d’un tamis/ tomba du crible du ciel, le lendemain, elle tomba encore.
sift
|sɪft| verb [with object]1 put (a fine or loose substance) through a sieve so as to remove lumps or large particles: sift the flour into a large bowl.
• cause to flow or pass as through a sieve: Miranda sifted the warm sand through her fingers.
• [no object, with adverbial of direction] (of snow, ash, etc.) descend lightly or sparsely as if sprinkled from a sieve: ash began to sift down round them.
2 examine (something) thoroughly so as to isolate that which is most important: until we sift the evidence ourselves, we can't comment objectively |
[no object] : the fourth stage involves sifting through the data and evaluating it.
• (sift something out) separate something, especially something to be discarded, from something else: he asked for streamlined procedures to sift out frivolous applications.
An even blanket covered the earth. It settled on the corn, piled up on the tops of the fence posts, piled up on the wires; it settled on roofs, blanketed the weeds and trees.
Une couverture homogène recouvrit la terre. La poussière/ elle se déposa sur le maïs, s’amoncela au sommet des piquets/pieux des barrières, s’amoncela sur les câblages/ les clôtures métalliques, elle se déposa sur les toits, recouvrit/ enveloppa les mauvaises herbes/ herbes folles et les arbres.
