Chapter 1 of Farewell is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Farewell is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along! We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact! Hurry up! Jump, Marquis! That’s it!
Chapter 1 of Farewell is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 low-lying region in central France
From this reading ““Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!”
someone authorized to exercise the powers of sheriff in emergencies
From this reading ““Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “Hurry up!”
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Jump, Marquis!”
humorist who wrote about the imaginary life of cockroaches (1878-1937)
From this reading “Jump, Marquis!”
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading “We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!”
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!”
be seated
From this reading “We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!”
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 We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
a low-lying region in central France
From this reading “Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!
someone authorized to exercise the powers of sheriff in emergencies
From this reading “Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading Hurry up!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That’s it!
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Jump, Marquis!
humorist who wrote about the imaginary life of cockroaches (1878-1937)
From this reading Jump, Marquis!
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
be seated
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Come, Deputy of the Centre, come along!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Hurry up!
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
at the time that
From this reading We shall have to mend our pace if we mean to sit down to dinner when every one else does, and that’s a fact!
Chapter 1 of Farewell by Honoré de Balzac holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 1 holds 420 sentences of Farewell, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Farewell by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 1 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 Farewell by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 838 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5873 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5873, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 69 minutes of reading across 168 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Farewell section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Farewell 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 Farewell, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
