Chapter 4 of The Blockade of Phalsburg is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Blockade of Phalsburg is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come! Have I done anything more than was natural? Why do you wonder at it?" He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us. How we are mistaken!
Chapter 4 of The Blockade of Phalsburg is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
any thing at all
From this reading “Have I done anything more than was natural?”
move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.”
move deeply
From this reading “He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.”
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!”
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading “How we are mistaken!”
(Old Testament) the Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites from Egypt across the Red sea on a journey known as the Exodus; Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai
From this reading “He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!”
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading “Have I done anything more than was natural?”
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading “Why do you wonder at it?"”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.”
move away from a place into another direction
In this reading “He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
any thing at all
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading How we are mistaken!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Why do you wonder at it?"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
move deeply
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Why do you wonder at it?"
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How we are mistaken!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Why do you wonder at it?"
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading How we are mistaken!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
(Old Testament) the Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites from Egypt across the Red sea on a journey known as the Exodus; Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
on one occasion
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He laughed, and said: "Come now, Father Moses; come!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Have I done anything more than was natural?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading How we are mistaken!
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He went at once to get his things and carry them to his new room; and then went away, so as not to disturb us.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why do you wonder at it?"
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading Why do you wonder at it?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Why do you wonder at it?"
Chapter 4 of The Blockade of Phalsburg by Erckmann-Chatrian holds 450 sentences, grouped into 90 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 450 sentences of The Blockade of Phalsburg, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Blockade of Phalsburg by Erckmann-Chatrian exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 450 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 The Blockade of Phalsburg by Erckmann-Chatrian on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3558 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36858 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36858, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 296 minutes of reading across 712 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Blockade of Phalsburg section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Blockade of Phalsburg 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 Blockade of Phalsburg, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
