Chapter 4 of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion is here in full — 1467 sentences across 294 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion is here in full — 1467 sentences across 294 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I. THE CONFESSIONAL. It was the eve of the New Year. The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable. A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
Chapter 4 of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion is here in full — 1467 sentences across 294 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/293 · 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.
combined or mixed together so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable
From this reading “The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.”
a booth where a priest sits to hear confessions
From this reading “THE CONFESSIONAL.”
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading “It was the eve of the New Year.”
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading “A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.”
continuing at full strength or intensity
From this reading “The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.”
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading “The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.”
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 A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
later than; following
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
combined or mixed together so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
a booth where a priest sits to hear confessions
From this reading THE CONFESSIONAL.
without stop or interruption
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading It was the eve of the New Year.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the eve of the New Year.
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading It was the eve of the New Year.
the middle of the day
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the eve of the New Year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CONFESSIONAL.
continuing at full strength or intensity
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
not capable of being distinguished or differentiated
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the eve of the New Year.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The snow-storm continued in unabated violence, and the weather was so gray that the lines of earth and sky were blended and utterly undistinguishable.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading It was the eve of the New Year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A little after the hour of noon, Zulma Sarpy knelt in the little church of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
Chapter 4 of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion by John Lespérance holds 1467 sentences, grouped into 294 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 1467 sentences of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion, unabridged, divided into 294 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion by John Lespérance exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1467 sentences, grouped into 294 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 294 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 294 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.
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Yes. All 6081 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18967 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18967, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 506 minutes of reading across 1217 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion 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 The Bastonnais Tale of the American Invasion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
