Les Souvenirs (imparfait tense) Flashcards
Quel genre d’enfants étiez-vous? J’étais très calme et très curieuse.
Comment passiez-vous votre temps libre? enfant, je sortais peu de chez moi. je jouais avec mes frères et sœurs et nous passions les mercredis et les dimanches tranquillement en famille. Parfois, on allait au cinéma, mais c’était très rare.
Vous n’aviez pas d’amis? Si bien sûr, j’avais des camarades de classes, mais ils ne venaient jamais à la maison.
Vous pratiquiez un sport? je faisais de l’équitation tous les mercredis après-midi. j’adorais ça.
Jouiez-vous d’un instrument de la musique? Oui, je jouais du violon. D’ailleurs, mes parents jouaient aussi du violon.
Òu passiez-vous vos vacances? alors, chaque année, mes parents nous emmenaient en Bretagne près de Saint-Malo. Mon oncle avait une maison secondaire là-bas. J’adorais cet endroit. On pouvait aller à la mer tous les jours.
Journalist: What kind of child were you?
Writer: I was very calm and curious.
Journalist: How did you spend your free time?
Writer: I didn’t get out of the house much as a child. I played with my brothers and sisters, and we spent Wednesdays and Sundays quietly together as a family. Sometimes we went to the movies as a family, but that was very rare.
Journalist: Didn’t you have any friends?
Writer: Of course I had classmates, but they never came to the house.
Journalist: Did you play any sports?
Writer: I went horseback riding every Wednesday afternoon. I loved it.
Journalist: Did you play an instrument?
Writer: Yes, I played the violin. In fact, my parents also played the violin.
Journalist: Where did you spend your vacations?
Writer: Well, every year, my parents took us to Brittany near Saint-Malo. My uncle had a second home there. I loved it there. We could go to the seaside every day.
Vous pouviez me parler de la maison de votre oncle? Oui, elle était très grande. Il y avait cinq ou six chambres. La salle à manger était gigantesque. On faisait des repas incroyables. Mon oncle invitait tous des tas d’amis, qui apportaient tous un petit quelque chose à manger, et à la fin, ça faisait un grand repas. Ils appelaient ça “la compotatio”, mais je ne suis pas certain que le terme existe vraiment.
Est-ce qu’il y avait le jardin? Le jardin n’était pas à l’échelle de la maison. Il était minuscule , presque ridicule comparé à cette immense demeure. Mais, cela n’avait pas d’importance, on allait toujours à la mer car la maison était située à deux pas de la plage.
Journalist: Could you tell me about your uncle’s house?
Writer: Yes, it was big. There were five or six bedrooms. The dining room was gigantic. We had incredible meals. My uncle would always invite lots of friends over, who would all bring a little something to eat, and in the end it would make a big meal. They called it “la compotatio”, but I’m not sure if the term actually exists…
Journalist: Did they have a garden?
Writer Paradoxically, the garden was not on the scale of the house. It was tiny, almost ridiculous compared to this immense mansion. But it didn’t matter - we were always by the sea, because the house was just a stone’s throw from the beach.
Tu regardes le foot, toi?
oui, j’aime bien. je regarde le foot depuis que je suis enfant, et c’est mon père qui m’a donné le virus. On regardait les matches de l’OM et on suivait les résultats de toutes les équipes de championnats.
Vous alliez aussi au stade? et None, je ne sais pas pourquoi. C’était peut-être un peu loin, ou bien il considérait que c’était trop dangereux d’emmener ses enfants au stade, ou bien était-ce à cause du prix de la places.
C’était peut-être les trois à la fois.
Va savoir! Mais une fois, c’était lors d’un de mes séjours en Angleterre, je l’ai invité à voir MU au stade et je crois qu’il a apprécié.
Phil : Do you watch soccer?
Nina : Yes, I like it. I’ve been watching soccer since I was a kid, and my father gave me the bug. We used to watch all the OM matches and follow the results of all the teams in the league.
Phil : Did you also go to the stadium?
Nina: And no, I don’t know why. Maybe it was a bit far away, or maybe he thought it was too dangerous to take his children to the stadium, or maybe it was the price of the tickets…
Phil: Maybe it was all three.
Nina : Who knows! But once, when I was in England, I invited him to see Manchester United at the stadium. I think he enjoyed it.
Alexis: Hello, who’s speaking?
Estéban: Er… Is that you, Alexis?
Alexis: Yes, but I don’t recognize the voice.
Estéban : Alexis! It’s Estéban! Do you remember me?
Alexis: Estéban! You’ve got to be kidding me! The Estéban from Barcelona I knew when I was a student? What a surprise!
Estéban: Oh, it’s so good to see you again! I was afraid I’d never see you again.
Alexis: I’ve never forgotten you, old brother! But how did you find me? I’ve changed address and number since then.
Estéban: You won’t believe this, but a mutual friend gave me your number.
Alexis: A mutual friend?
Estéban: Do you remember Angèle? The pretty French girl who was in our English class. You always told me you weren’t interested in her, but I really liked her.
Alexis : Oh, I remember! You used to turn red every time you saw her come into the classroom. I’d make fun of you and you’d get mad, and the madder you got, the more I’d laugh. So, what does Angèle have to do with our reunion?
Estéban : Well, we’ve kept in touch. When you left Barcelona, she and I went out for two months. I recently asked her if she could find your new number, which she did by tracking down the school where you work.
Alexis: Fine, but what about you two?
Estéban: Well, after the two months, she had to go back to France for her new job. It was very important for her. But for my part, I couldn’t leave my mother who had just fallen ill at the time. We gradually drifted apart, but we kept in touch from time to time.
Alexis: Estéban I didn’t know about you two, Estéban. And your mother…
Estéban: She’s fine now. We were very worried, but it wasn’t as serious as we thought and her treatment worked well. She’s cured and everything’s fine.
Alexis: That’s reassuring. I know you must have been angry with me because I didn’t give you any news after I left. I don’t have any good excuses, but I had personal reasons.
Estéban : Don’t worry about it. I don’t blame you. I know you had some problems back then… but that’s in the past. I’m mainly calling to tell you that I’m planning to come and live in France for a few years, and I’ve missed you. I thought we could be together, at least at first.
Alexis: Really? That’s a great idea!
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Allo, Qui est à l’appelle
