Chapter 33 of The City of the Discreet is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of The City of the Discreet is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale: “I can imagine why you have come.” “You can? It would be rather hard. But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
Chapter 33 of The City of the Discreet is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
having the wind against the forward side of the sails
From this reading “THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:”
a man who drives a coach (or carriage)
From this reading “But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.””
marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
From this reading “THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:”
a feeling of favorable regard
From this reading “But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.””
plural of “peseta” — formerly the basic unit of money in Spain; equal to 100 centimos
From this reading “But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.””
the lowest stone in an arch -- from which it springs
From this reading “THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:”
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading “THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:”
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 “It would be rather hard.”
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 THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
having the wind against the forward side of the sails
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It would be rather hard.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
a man who drives a coach (or carriage)
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
to come or go into
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
a feeling of favorable regard
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
the act of giving
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It would be rather hard.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would be rather hard.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
plural of “peseta” — formerly the basic unit of money in Spain; equal to 100 centimos
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
on the contrary
From this reading It would be rather hard.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
cut with a saw
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
to a small degree or extent
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
the lowest stone in an arch -- from which it springs
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
at the time that
From this reading THE CITY OF THE DISCREET Springer was somewhat taken aback when he saw Quentin enter his store, and he rose to his feet and said, turning a trifle pale:
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading But first do me the favour of giving me a few pesetas with which to pay the coachman.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would be rather hard.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I can imagine why you have come.”
Chapter 33 of The City of the Discreet by Pío Baroja holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 33 holds 198 sentences of The City of the Discreet, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of The City of the Discreet by Pío Baroja exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 33 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 City of the Discreet by Pío Baroja on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6657 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56324, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 554 minutes of reading across 1332 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The City of the Discreet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The City of the Discreet 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 City of the Discreet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
