Chapter 10 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I understood the gentleman!" "What, is it done then?" "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk." The monk approached. The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
Chapter 10 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “The monk approached.”
a man of refinement
From this reading “"I understood the gentleman!"”
rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading “The king said to him, "Kneel down!"”
a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
From this reading “"Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."”
make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading “"Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."”
in the direction of
From this reading “"Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."”
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading “"Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."”
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading “"I understood the gentleman!"”
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.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading The monk approached.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "What, is it done then?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
a man of refinement
From this reading "I understood the gentleman!"
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I understood the gentleman!"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What, is it done then?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What, is it done then?"
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I understood the gentleman!"
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "What, is it done then?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The king said to him, "Kneel down!"
in the direction of
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading "I understood the gentleman!"
precisely as stated
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
(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 "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What, is it done then?"
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, sire," "Very well then"--turning towards the monk--"come here, monk."
Chapter 10 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 by Honoré de Balzac holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 10 holds 139 sentences of Droll Stories — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 10 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 Droll Stories — Volume 1 by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2085 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1925 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1925, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 173 minutes of reading across 417 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Droll Stories — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Droll Stories — Volume 1 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 Droll Stories — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
