Chapter 40 of Arthur is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of Arthur is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--. I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day. What a strange fate is mine! This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm. It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
Chapter 40 of Arthur is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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 date on which an event occurred in some previous year (or the celebration of it)
From this reading “It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.”
the time when something begins (especially life)
From this reading “It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.”
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading “THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.”
be a farmer; work as a farmer
From this reading “This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.”
of an obscure nature
From this reading “It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.”
third-person singular of “occupy” — keep busy with
From this reading “It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.”
a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading “THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.”
plural of “tower” — a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading What a strange fate is mine!
united by being of the same opinion
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the date on which an event occurred in some previous year (or the celebration of it)
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
the time when something begins (especially life)
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.
to come or go into
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
be a farmer; work as a farmer
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading What a strange fate is mine!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What a strange fate is mine!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading What a strange fate is mine!
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
of an obscure nature
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
third-person singular of “occupy” — keep busy with
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
only a very short time before
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
slender long-legged African wildcat having large untufted ears and tawny black-spotted coat
From this reading THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading What a strange fate is mine!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PORTRAIT SERVAL, 10th December, 18--.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
plural of “tower” — a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the anniversary of Marie's birth; she had promised to allow me to enter the mysterious chamber that she occupies in one of the towers.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading This morning, as we had agreed, I went to the farm.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I can scarcely believe what I have seen to-day.
Chapter 40 of Arthur by Eugène Sue holds 278 sentences, grouped into 56 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 40 holds 278 sentences of Arthur, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of Arthur by Eugène Sue exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 278 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 40 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 Arthur by Eugène Sue on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7890 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66473 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66473, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1578 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Arthur section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Arthur 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 Arthur, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
