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The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1
The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1

Chapter XIII · Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1
Context Illustration Reading 1/20 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
"What shall we do this spring?"
I asked.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1

Chapter XIII · Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/20 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
Line 2
The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
/ðə ˈwɪndoʊ wɑːz ˈoʊ.pən ɪt wɑːz wʌn ʌv ðə ˈɜːrli deɪz ɪn mɑːrtʃ ə ˈhɑːrbɪndʒər ʌv sprɪŋ/
Line 3
It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
/ɪt hæd bɪn ˈreɪnɪŋ ənd ə laɪt ˈoʊdər keɪm frʌm ðə ˈɡɑːrdən/
Line 4
"What shall we do this spring?"
/wʌt ʃæl wiː duː ðɪs sprɪŋ/
Line 5
I asked.
/aɪ æskt/

Learner Dictionary

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.

garden noun US /ˈɡɑːrdən/

a plot of ground where plants are cultivated

From this reading “It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.”

harbinger noun US /ˈhɑːrbɪndʒər/

something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone

From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”

March verb US /mɑːrtʃ/

march in a procession

From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”

odor noun US /ˈoʊdər/

any property detected by the olfactory system

From this reading “It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.”

raining adjective US /ˈreɪnɪŋ/

falling in drops or as if falling like rain

From this reading “It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.”

satiety noun US /sɑːˈtaɪətiː/

the state of being satisfactorily full and unable to take on more

From this reading “SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.”

seated adjective US /ˈsiːtɪd/

(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks

From this reading “SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.”

spring noun US /sprɪŋ/

the season of growth

From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”

All words in this reading · 37

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

askedverbUS /æskt/

past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading I asked.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

daysnounUS /deɪz/

the time during which someone's life continues

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

Desgenais

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"

earlyadjectiveUS /ˈɜːrli/

at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

eveningnounUS /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

fireverbUS /ˈfaɪər/

start firing a weapon

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

gardennounUS /ˈɡɑːrdən/

a plot of ground where plants are cultivated

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

harbingernounUS /ˈhɑːrbɪndʒər/

something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

lightadjectiveUS /laɪt/

of comparatively little physical weight or density

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

MarchverbUS /mɑːrtʃ/

march in a procession

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

odornounUS /ˈoʊdər/

any property detected by the olfactory system

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

rainingadjectiveUS /ˈreɪnɪŋ/

falling in drops or as if falling like rain

From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.

SATIETYnounUS /sɑːˈtaɪətiː/

the state of being satisfactorily full and unable to take on more

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

seatedadjectiveUS /ˈsiːtɪd/

(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"

springnounUS /sprɪŋ/

the season of growth

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"

windownounUS /ˈwɪndoʊ/

a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air

From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading SATIETY One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.

Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 by Alfred de Musset holds 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

What does chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 contain?

Chapter 13 holds 104 sentences of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 by Alfred de Musset exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

How do I study chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1?

Work through the 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 21 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.

Can chapter 13 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 13 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.

Questions about reading The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1

Common questions about reading The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 by Alfred de Musset on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1?

Yes. All 1547 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3939 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3939, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 take to read?

About 128 minutes of reading across 310 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 section by section

How to work through The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

During
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Empire
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
While
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Husbands
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.