Chapter 2 of My four weeks in France is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of My four weeks in France is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
9. American cigarettes are not procurable. Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth. 10. Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
Chapter 2 of My four weeks in France is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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 native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading “American cigarettes are not procurable.”
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.”
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “American cigarettes are not procurable.”
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.”
not often
From this reading “Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.”
a physiological need to drink
From this reading “Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.”
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 “Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.”
In this reading “Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 10.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 9.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading American cigarettes are not procurable.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading American cigarettes are not procurable.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading American cigarettes are not procurable.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading American cigarettes are not procurable.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
and nothing more
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
capable of being obtained
From this reading American cigarettes are not procurable.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
not often
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
a physiological need to drink
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Water must never be used as a thirst quencher, and seldom for any other purpose.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading Bum ones may be bought at any tabac store or café for only five times what they are worth.
Chapter 2 of My four weeks in France by Ring Lardner holds 461 sentences, grouped into 93 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 2 holds 461 sentences of My four weeks in France, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of My four weeks in France by Ring Lardner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 461 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 2 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 My four weeks in France by Ring Lardner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2311 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73059 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73059, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 192 minutes of reading across 463 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My four weeks in France section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of My four weeks in France 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 My four weeks in France, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
