Chapter 18 of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees. The priest stopped her with a gesture. 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help. Listen to me, father. Do not withdraw from me.
Chapter 18 of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
lacking funds
From this reading “Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.”
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading “The priest stopped her with a gesture.”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.”
hear with intention
From this reading “Listen to me, father.”
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading “The priest stopped her with a gesture.”
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading “Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.”
a state of acute pain
From this reading “'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.”
pull back or move away or backward
From this reading “Do not withdraw from me.”
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 “Do not withdraw from me.”
In this reading “The priest stopped her with a gesture.”
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 priest stopped her with a gesture.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
lacking funds
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do not withdraw from me.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Listen to me, father.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Do not withdraw from me.
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading The priest stopped her with a gesture.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
hear with intention
From this reading Listen to me, father.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Listen to me, father.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Do not withdraw from me.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading The priest stopped her with a gesture.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The priest stopped her with a gesture.
a state of acute pain
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The priest stopped her with a gesture.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Listen to me, father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Her voice broke down and she almost slipped upon her knees.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The priest stopped her with a gesture.
pull back or move away or backward
From this reading Do not withdraw from me.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'And now, to-day,' she cried, 'I am suffering and have need of your help.
Chapter 18 of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) by Émile Zola holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 18 holds 393 sentences of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans), unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 18 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 Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7999 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56860 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56860, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1600 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) 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 Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
