Chapter 13 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters. It is decided; he will buy the little café. But for some months he will not run it himself. He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it. "Do you understand?" he says to me.
Chapter 13 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 state of being absent
From this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “It is decided; he will buy the little café.”
a port town in northwestern France on the English Channel; site of a naval base
From this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
(of persons) worthy of trust or confidence
From this reading “He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.”
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 “He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.”
In this reading “But for some months he will not run it himself.”
In this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
In this reading “He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.”
In this reading “Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.”
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 He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
the state of being absent
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But for some months he will not run it himself.
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
a port town in northwestern France on the English Channel; site of a naval base
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
recognizable; marked
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do you understand?" he says to me.
a social unit living together
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading But for some months he will not run it himself.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
go away from a place
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Do you understand?" he says to me.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading But for some months he will not run it himself.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But for some months he will not run it himself.
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading But for some months he will not run it himself.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "Do you understand?" he says to me.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading But for some months he will not run it himself.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
carry out
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joseph has obtained from Madame six days' leave of absence, and to-morrow he is to start for Cherbourg, pretending to be called by family matters.
(of persons) worthy of trust or confidence
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "Do you understand?" he says to me.
which person or people
From this reading He has some one there, a trusted friend, who is to take charge of it.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading It is decided; he will buy the little café.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Do you understand?" he says to me.
Chapter 13 of A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 13 holds 422 sentences of A Chambermaid's Diary, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 13 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.
