Chapter 4 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois. I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?" The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered: "I hear very well. It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
Chapter 4 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:”
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading “I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"”
a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
From this reading “The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:”
held up in the air
From this reading “The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:”
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading “The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:”
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading “It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.”
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading “"No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.”
being five more than twenty
From this reading “"No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"”
In this reading “The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:”
In this reading “The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:”
In this reading “It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
opinion or judgment
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
held up in the air
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
not any; not one
From this reading "No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading "No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The good man lifted his poor eyes to Monsieur, in astonishment and gratitude, and stammered:
being five more than twenty
From this reading "No, not twenty-five,--thirty, father Pantois.
precisely as stated
From this reading "I hear very well.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "I hear very well.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading It is a pleasure to work for you, Monsieur Lanlaire.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I will pay you thirty francs, do you hear that?"
Chapter 4 of A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 419 sentences of A Chambermaid's Diary, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7550 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44303 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44303, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1510 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Chambermaid's Diary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of A Chambermaid's Diary to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Chambermaid's Diary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
