Chapter 24 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Hector!” At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair. “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger. I have not said a word--not I!” At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
Chapter 24 of Cousin Betty is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading ““Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.”
a nobleman (in various countries) of varying rank
From this reading “At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.”
past form of “bathe” — cleanse the entire body
From this reading “At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.”
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.”
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
(Greek mythology) a mythical Trojan who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War
From this reading ““Hector!””
the display of a motion picture
From this reading “At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.”
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading “At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.”
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 At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
a nobleman (in various countries) of varying rank
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
past form of “bathe” — cleanse the entire body
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have not said a word--not I!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
(Greek mythology) a mythical Trojan who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War
From this reading “Hector!”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have not said a word--not I!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
go away from a place
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I have not said a word--not I!”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
the display of a motion picture
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading At this heart-wrung speech the children fell at their father’s feet.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Do not leave us thus--do not go away in anger.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
in the company of; together with
From this reading At this cry the Baron turned round, suddenly showing his wife a face bathed in tears; she threw her arms round him with the strength of despair.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading I have not said a word--not I!”
Chapter 24 of Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 24 holds 195 sentences of Cousin Betty, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Cousin Betty by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 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 24 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.
