Chapter 3 of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oh, oh!” said the draper. “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile. Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.” “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.” “Do not use new-fangled words.
Chapter 3 of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats
From this reading ““Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.”
that part of the earnings of a corporation that is distributed to its shareholders; usually paid quarterly
From this reading ““Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.””
a dealer in fabrics and sewing materials (and sometimes in clothing and drygoods)
From this reading ““Oh, oh!” said the draper.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading ““Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.””
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading ““Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.””
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading ““Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.”
the act of using
From this reading ““Do not use new-fangled words.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
that part of the earnings of a corporation that is distributed to its shareholders; usually paid quarterly
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do not use new-fangled words.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
a dealer in fabrics and sewing materials (and sometimes in clothing and drygoods)
From this reading “Oh, oh!” said the draper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
at any time
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
(of a new kind or fashion) gratuitously new
From this reading “Do not use new-fangled words.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Do not use new-fangled words.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, oh!” said the draper.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Oh, oh!” said the draper.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
express in speech
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
reappraisal of a situation or position or outlook
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Oh, oh!” said the draper.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Let us speak of something else.--Joseph, the stock-taking is done.”
the act of using
From this reading “Do not use new-fangled words.
precisely as stated
From this reading “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
(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 “Well, one must be very ill to show one’s bile.
the words that are spoken
From this reading “Do not use new-fangled words.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Yes, monsieur, and the dividend is one of the best you have ever made.”
Chapter 3 of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honoré de Balzac holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 3 holds 150 sentences of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 3 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 At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 931 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1680 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1680, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 77 minutes of reading across 187 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through At the Sign of the Cat and Racket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket 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 At the Sign of the Cat and Racket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
