Chapter 4 of Jean-Christophe in Paris is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Jean-Christophe in Paris is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It is not my fault! It is not my fault!" these grown-up children groaned. All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that. Poor little birds! Pretty birds, soft, pretty birds....
Chapter 4 of Jean-Christophe in Paris is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 New Testament book describing the development of the early church from Christ's Ascension to Paul's sojourn at Rome
From this reading “All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.”
plural of “cave” — a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading “All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.”
plural of “cellar” — the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading “All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “"It is not my fault!”
plural of “forest” — the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading “All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.”
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “It is not my fault!" these grown-up children groaned.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.”
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading “All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.”
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 All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
a New Testament book describing the development of the early church from Christ's Ascension to Paul's sojourn at Rome
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Poor little birds!
plural of “cave” — a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
plural of “cellar” — the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading It is not my fault!" these grown-up children groaned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
divisible by two
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading "It is not my fault!
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
plural of “forest” — the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading It is not my fault!" these grown-up children groaned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It is not my fault!" these grown-up children groaned.
a greyish light (as at dawn or dusk or in dim interiors)
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
only a very short time before
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is not my fault!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is not my fault!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It is not my fault!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "It is not my fault!
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor little birds!
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Pretty birds, soft, pretty birds....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Pretty birds, soft, pretty birds....
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading It is not my fault!" these grown-up children groaned.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading All through the five acts, which took place in a perpetual half-light--forests, caves, cellars, death-chambers--little sea-birds struggled: hardly even that.
Chapter 4 of Jean-Christophe in Paris by Romain Rolland holds 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 4 holds 439 sentences of Jean-Christophe in Paris, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Jean-Christophe in Paris by Romain Rolland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 4 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 Jean-Christophe in Paris by Romain Rolland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8751 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8149 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8149, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1751 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jean-Christophe in Paris section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Jean-Christophe in Paris 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 Jean-Christophe in Paris, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
