Chapter 15 of The Downfall is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Downfall is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Don’t forget me! don’t forget me!” The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done. What good could money do there? Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold. “Don’t forget me! don’t forget me!”
Chapter 15 of The Downfall is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
plural of “coin” — a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
determine the number or amount of
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
an instinctive motive
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.”
fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
inclined to yield to argument or influence or control
From this reading “Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.”
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 Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
plural of “coin” — a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading What good could money do there?
determine the number or amount of
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What good could money do there?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Don’t forget me! don’t forget me!”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “Don’t forget me! don’t forget me!”
destroyed or killed
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading What good could money do there?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
an instinctive motive
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Don’t forget me! don’t forget me!”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading What good could money do there?
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
in or at that place or location
From this reading What good could money do there?
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What good could money do there?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The sergeant would have passed on and gone his way, as Bouroche had done.
inclined to yield to argument or influence or control
From this reading Then yielding to a kindly impulse, he threw some coins, never stopping to count them, into the poor hands that were already cold.
Chapter 15 of The Downfall by Émile Zola holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 15 holds 408 sentences of The Downfall, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Downfall by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 15 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 Downfall by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9053 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13851 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13851, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1811 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Downfall section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Downfall 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 Downfall, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
