Chapter 4 of Original Short Stories — Volume 05 is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Original Short Stories — Volume 05 is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He turned to his wife again. “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son. He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is. I do not know, and I never did know, never, never! I cannot tell you, my boy.”
Chapter 4 of Original Short Stories — Volume 05 is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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 youthful male person
From this reading “I cannot tell you, my boy.””
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading ““If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.”
precisely, exactly
From this reading “He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.”
a male human offspring
From this reading ““If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.”
express in words
From this reading ““If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.”
moved around an axis or center
From this reading “He turned to his wife again.”
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “He turned to his wife again.”
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 He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
anew
From this reading He turned to his wife again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
a youthful male person
From this reading I cannot tell you, my boy.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I cannot tell you, my boy.”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading I do not know, and I never did know, never, never!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do not know, and I never did know, never, never!
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned to his wife again.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He turned to his wife again.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I do not know, and I never did know, never, never!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I cannot tell you, my boy.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I do not know, and I never did know, never, never!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
precisely, exactly
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
a male human offspring
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
express in words
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He turned to his wife again.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned to his wife again.
which person or people
From this reading He is a man, now, and he has the right to know who his father is.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading He turned to his wife again.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “If you will not tell me, at any rate tell your son.
Chapter 4 of Original Short Stories — Volume 05 by Guy de Maupassant holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 185 sentences of Original Short Stories — Volume 05, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Original Short Stories — Volume 05 by Guy de Maupassant exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Original Short Stories — Volume 05 by Guy de Maupassant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2398 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3081 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3081, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 199 minutes of reading across 480 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Original Short Stories — Volume 05 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Original Short Stories — Volume 05 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 Original Short Stories — Volume 05, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
