Chapter 3 of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?" "You will be like me. Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours. We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me. To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
Chapter 3 of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
plural of “appearance” — outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading “We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.”
originate
From this reading “"And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"”
completely wanting or lacking
From this reading “We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.”
not perfect; defective or inadequate
From this reading “To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.”
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading “To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.”
the state of being without a flaw or defect
From this reading “Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.”
a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
From this reading “"And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"”
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading “To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.”
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 “"And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"”
In this reading “We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.”
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 "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
a positive feeling of liking
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
plural of “appearance” — outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "You will be like me.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
an occurrence of something
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
originate
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
completely wanting or lacking
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
not perfect; defective or inadequate
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "You will be like me.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You will be like me.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
the state of being without a flaw or defect
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
by chance
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
a special situation
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We are to all appearances devoid of life, but we live, believe me.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "And what does this thing of being a puppet consist in?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "You will be like me.
the words that are spoken
From this reading To the imperfect senses of man we lack movement, words, affection, but this is far from being the case.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You will be like me.
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading Our nature is perhaps nearer perfection than yours.
Chapter 3 of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers by Antoinette [Translator] Ogden holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 393 sentences of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers by Antoinette [Translator] Ogden exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers by Antoinette [Translator] Ogden on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2835 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47333 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47333, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 236 minutes of reading across 567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers 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 Christmas Stories from French and Spanish Writers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
