Chapter 8 of A Woman of Thirty is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A Woman of Thirty is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off. “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!” “Not alone!” he said in a low voice. “Not alone! My husband, perhaps----?”
Chapter 8 of A Woman of Thirty is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
lacking funds
From this reading ““_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.”
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading ““_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading ““You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!””
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading ““Not alone!” he said in a low voice.”
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading ““_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.”
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading ““_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.”
articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise
From this reading ““_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.”
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 “Not alone!” he said in a low voice.
Having no one else present.
From this reading “Not alone!” he said in a low voice.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
lacking funds
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading My husband, perhaps----?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “Not alone!” he said in a low voice.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not alone!” he said in a low voice.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
by chance
From this reading My husband, perhaps----?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise
From this reading “_Arthur!_” “Madame,” he said, looking down, “I came here in utter desperation; I meant----” he broke off.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “Not alone!” he said in a low voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You meant to die by your own hand here in my house!”
Chapter 8 of A Woman of Thirty by Honoré de Balzac holds 162 sentences, grouped into 33 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 8 holds 162 sentences of A Woman of Thirty, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A Woman of Thirty by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 8 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 Woman of Thirty by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3279 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1950 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1950, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 273 minutes of reading across 656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Woman of Thirty section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of A Woman of Thirty 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 Woman of Thirty, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
