Chapter 16 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ah, it is she!" said he. And this hope warned him once more. Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him. "Yes." "Cough, that I may see."
Chapter 16 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading “Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.”
exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading “"Cough, that I may see."”
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.”
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.”
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “And this hope warned him once more.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.”
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading “And this hope warned him once more.”
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.”
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 Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, it is she!" said he.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading "Cough, that I may see."
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Ah, it is she!" said he.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Cough, that I may see."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Ah, it is she!" said he.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Ah, it is she!" said he.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "Cough, that I may see."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
on one occasion
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Ah, it is she!" said he.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Cough, that I may see."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Ah, it is she!" said he.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Cough, that I may see."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading And this hope warned him once more.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Then he got close to the door, and heard a little voice-- "Are you there?" said the dyer's wife to him.
Chapter 16 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 by Honoré de Balzac holds 120 sentences, grouped into 24 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 16 holds 120 sentences of Droll Stories — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Droll Stories — Volume 1 by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 120 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 16 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.
