Chapter 18 of Cousin Pons is here in full — 126 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Cousin Pons is here in full — 126 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well?” “I am not at home to anybody!” “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!” “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion. “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
Chapter 18 of Cousin Pons is here in full — 126 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.
any person at all
From this reading ““I am not at home to anybody!””
give a benediction to
From this reading ““Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!””
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading ““She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.”
the main good female character in a work of fiction
From this reading ““And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading ““She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading ““She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.”
freed from illness or injury
From this reading ““And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.”
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading ““And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
any person at all
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
give a benediction to
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
the main good female character in a work of fiction
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
not any; not one
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
freed from illness or injury
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
express in words
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “She is my old nurse,” the lawyer said in some confusion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I am not at home to anybody!”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well?”
but in spite of that
From this reading “And she has not recovered her figure yet,” remarked the heroine of the Halles.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Eh! bless your life, there’s no need to say that!”
Chapter 18 of Cousin Pons by Honoré de Balzac holds 126 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 18 holds 126 sentences of Cousin Pons, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Cousin Pons by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 126 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 18 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 Pons by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5291 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1856 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1856, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1059 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cousin Pons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Cousin Pons 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 Pons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
