Chapter 18 of German Fiction is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of German Fiction is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write. But even that was too much for him. "I cannot do it, not to-day." And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning. Then he wrote very briefly.
Chapter 18 of German Fiction is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 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.
for a short time
From this reading “Then he wrote very briefly.”
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
a Russian river in Siberia; flows northward into the Laptev Sea
From this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.”
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
produce a literary work
From this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading “Then he wrote very briefly.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.”
In this reading “And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
In this reading “Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
for a short time
From this reading Then he wrote very briefly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But even that was too much for him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I cannot do it, not to-day."
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "I cannot do it, not to-day."
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
divisible by two
From this reading But even that was too much for him.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But even that was too much for him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I cannot do it, not to-day."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I cannot do it, not to-day."
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
a Russian river in Siberia; flows northward into the Laptev Sea
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading But even that was too much for him.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
on one occasion
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he wrote very briefly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I cannot do it, not to-day."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading But even that was too much for him.
up to a particular time
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
precisely as stated
From this reading Then he wrote very briefly.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading And so he let the day go by and waited until the next morning.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But even that was too much for him.
at the time that
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
produce a literary work
From this reading Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading Then he wrote very briefly.
Chapter 18 of German Fiction by William Allan [Editor] Neilson holds 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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.
Chapter 18 holds 125 sentences of German Fiction, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of German Fiction by William Allan [Editor] Neilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 German Fiction by William Allan [Editor] Neilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9080 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34506 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34506, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1816 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through German Fiction section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of German Fiction 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 German Fiction, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
