Chapter 4 of Conscience — Volume 4 is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Conscience — Volume 4 is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable. What did this maternal hunger require? A son to love. She would find one in her son-in-law. In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
Chapter 4 of Conscience — Volume 4 is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 contract granting the right to operate a subsidiary business
From this reading “CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.”
having unsuitable feminine qualities
From this reading “CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.”
a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
From this reading “What did this maternal hunger require?”
(followed by “of”) lacking capacity or ability
From this reading “CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.”
characteristic of a mother
From this reading “What did this maternal hunger require?”
all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading “CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.”
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading “What did this maternal hunger require?”
the husband of your daughter
From this reading “She would find one in her son-in-law.”
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 CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
a youthful male person
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
a contract granting the right to operate a subsidiary business
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
a female human offspring
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading What did this maternal hunger require?
having unsuitable feminine qualities
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading She would find one in her son-in-law.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She would find one in her son-in-law.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
From this reading What did this maternal hunger require?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
(followed by “of”) lacking capacity or ability
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading A son to love.
characteristic of a mother
From this reading What did this maternal hunger require?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She would find one in her son-in-law.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading What did this maternal hunger require?
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading In seeing her daughter happy, how could she help being happy herself?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She would find one in her son-in-law.
a male human offspring
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
the husband of your daughter
From this reading She would find one in her son-in-law.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What did this maternal hunger require?
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading CONCESSION TO CONSCIENCE He asked nothing better than to be a son to this poor woman; in reality he was worth much more than this unfortunate boy, effeminate and incapable.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She would find one in her son-in-law.
Chapter 4 of Conscience — Volume 4 by Hector Malot holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 4 holds 128 sentences of Conscience — Volume 4, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Conscience — Volume 4 by Hector Malot exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 4 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 Conscience — Volume 4 by Hector Malot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 970 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3989 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3989, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 80 minutes of reading across 194 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Conscience — Volume 4 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Conscience — Volume 4 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 Conscience — Volume 4, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
