Chapter 9 of His Masterpiece is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of His Masterpiece is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement. ‘What’s up?’ ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly. ‘Since when?’ ‘Since three months ago.’
Chapter 9 of His Masterpiece is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
in the past
From this reading “‘Since three months ago.’”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.”
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “‘Since three months ago.’”
with low volume
From this reading “‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.”
an artist who creates sculptures
From this reading “‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.”
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading “Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.”
produce a literary work
From this reading “‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.”
the act of creating written works
From this reading “Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.”
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.
in the past
From this reading ‘Since three months ago.’
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
for more time
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading ‘Since three months ago.’
not any; not one
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
with low volume
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
an artist who creates sculptures
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading ‘Since when?’
express in speech
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading ‘Since three months ago.’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading ‘What’s up?’
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘What’s up?’
at the time that
From this reading ‘Since when?’
which person or people
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
produce a literary work
From this reading ‘We no longer speak to one another; we write,’ said the sculptor, quietly.
the act of creating written works
From this reading Claude, who had watched him writing, turned to the other in amazement.
Chapter 9 of His Masterpiece by Émile Zola holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 9 holds 417 sentences of His Masterpiece, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of His Masterpiece by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 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 9 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 His Masterpiece by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7129 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15900 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15900, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 594 minutes of reading across 1426 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through His Masterpiece section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of His Masterpiece 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 His Masterpiece, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
