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From the Memoirs of a Minister of France
From the Memoirs of a Minister of France

Chapter XX · Chapter 20

Chapter 20 of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for From the Memoirs of a Minister of France
Context Illustration Reading 1/37 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.
But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.
"You did?"
"Yes!"
Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

From the Memoirs of a Minister of France

Chapter XX · Chapter 20

Chapter 20 of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.
/aɪ dɪd jɔːr ˈekˈslensi æz ɡɑːd ɪz əˈbʌv aɪ dɪd hiː ˈænsərd/
Line 2
But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.
/bʌt hiː hæd ɡroʊn peɪl ənd hiː lʊkt æt ðə kɪŋ ɪn ə ˈterəfaɪd weɪ/
Line 3
"You did?"
/juː dɪd/
Line 4
"Yes!"
/jes/
Line 5
Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.
/jet aɪ dɪd nɑːt bɪˈliːv hɪm ənd aɪ wɑːz əˈbaʊt tuː ɡɪv hɪm ðə laɪ əˈɡen wen ðə kɪŋ ˌɪntərˈviːnd/

Learner Dictionary

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.

above preposition US /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading “"I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.”

believe verb US /bɪˈliːv/

accept as true; take to be true

From this reading “Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.”

excellency noun US /ˈekˈslensi/

a title used to address dignitaries (such as ambassadors or governors); usually preceded by “Your” or “His” or “Her”

From this reading “"I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.”

grown adjective US /ɡroʊn/

(of animals) fully developed

From this reading “But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.”

intervened verb US /ˌɪntərˈviːnd/

past form of “intervene” — get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force

From this reading “Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.”

lie verb US /laɪ/

be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

From this reading “Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.”

pale adjective US /peɪl/

very light colored; highly diluted with white

From this reading “But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.”

terrified adjective US /ˈterəfaɪd/

thrown into a state of intense fear or desperation

From this reading “But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.”

All words in this reading · 37

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

answeredverbUS /ˈænsərd/

past form of “answer” — react verbally

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

believeverbUS /bɪˈliːv/

accept as true; take to be true

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

excellencynounUS /ˈekˈslensi/

a title used to address dignitaries (such as ambassadors or governors); usually preceded by “Your” or “His” or “Her”

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

giveverbUS /ɡɪv/

cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

GodnounUS /ɡɑːd/

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

grownadjectiveUS /ɡroʊn/

(of animals) fully developed

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

intervenedverbUS /ˌɪntərˈviːnd/

past form of “intervene” — get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

KingnounUS /kɪŋ/

a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

lieverbUS /laɪ/

be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

lookedverbUS /lʊkt/

past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

paleadjectiveUS /peɪl/

very light colored; highly diluted with white

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

terrifiedadjectiveUS /ˈterəfaɪd/

thrown into a state of intense fear or desperation

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

waynounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

From this reading But he had grown pale, and he looked at the King in a terrified way.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

YesnounUS /jes/

an affirmative

From this reading "Yes!"

YetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading Yet I did not believe him, and I was about to give him the lie again, when the King intervened.

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "You did?"

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "I did, your excellency; as God is above, I did!" he answered.

Chapter 20 of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France by Stanley John Weyman holds 188 sentences, grouped into 38 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.

What does chapter 20 of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France contain?

Chapter 20 holds 188 sentences of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 20 of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 188 sentences, grouped into 38 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.

How do I study chapter 20 of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France?

Work through the 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 38 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.

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Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 20 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.

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Yes. All 4090 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2079 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #2079, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in From the Memoirs of a Minister of France

Words and structures a reader meets early in From the Memoirs of a Minister of France, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

French
A word that appears in the opening chapter of From the Memoirs of a Minister of France; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Words
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Accents
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Omitted
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