Chapter 11 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“And do you think that she loves him?” “At his age!” said the old maid. “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade. Alas! old age, old age!--Good-morning, Celestine. How do, my jewel!--And the brat?
Chapter 11 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading “Alas! old age, old age!--Good-morning, Celestine.”
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading ““Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.”
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading ““Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.”
a very troublesome child
From this reading “How do, my jewel!--And the brat?”
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading “How do, my jewel!--And the brat?”
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading ““And do you think that she loves him?””
a female domestic
From this reading ““At his age!” said the old maid.”
nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
From this reading ““Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.”
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.
how long something has existed
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas! old age, old age!--Good-morning, Celestine.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
a very troublesome child
From this reading How do, my jewel!--And the brat?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alas! old age, old age!--Good-morning, Celestine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alas! old age, old age!--Good-morning, Celestine.
student and mistress and wife of Abelard (circa 1098-1164)
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How do, my jewel!--And the brat?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading How do, my jewel!--And the brat?
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
a female domestic
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading How do, my jewel!--And the brat?
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “At his age!” said the old maid.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
at the time that
From this reading “Oh, what an owl I am!” cried Crevel, “when I myself allowed Heloise to keep her artist exactly as Henri IX. allowed Gabrielle her Bellegrade.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “And do you think that she loves him?”
Chapter 11 of Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac holds 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 11 holds 182 sentences of Cousin Betty, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 11 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 Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7747 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1749 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1749, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1550 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cousin Betty section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Cousin Betty 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 Cousin Betty, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
