Chapter 21 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?” “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.” “You did not take a coach to come home?” “No.” “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
Chapter 21 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading ““You did not take a coach to come home?””
a potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry
From this reading ““And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?””
where you live at a particular time
From this reading ““You did not take a coach to come home?””
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading ““Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?””
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading ““Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.””
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading ““And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?””
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading ““And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?””
Having or showing the qualities or abilities that merit recognition in character or magic.
From this reading ““Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?””
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 “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
a potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
not any; not one
From this reading “No.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
carry out
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You did not take a coach to come home?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading “And you have walked from the Rue des Tournelles?”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
Having or showing the qualities or abilities that merit recognition in character or magic.
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, at their house; I made a mistake.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Worthy Madame Florent--” “You said the Rocher de Cancale.--Were you at the Florents’?”
Chapter 21 of Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 21 holds 194 sentences of Cousin Betty, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 21 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
