Chapter 1 of The Dream is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Dream is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And their decision was soon made. “Would you like it, my dear?” Hubert asked. Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.” Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
Chapter 1 of The Dream is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 39/43 · 5 reading units · Lines 191–195
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.
make calm or still
From this reading “Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.””
the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading “And their decision was soon made.”
a requirement of etiquette or custom
From this reading “Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.”
absolutely essential
From this reading “Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.”
held or filled or in use
From this reading “Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.”
with low volume
From this reading “Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.””
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading “Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.”
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 And their decision was soon made.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Hubert asked.
make calm or still
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
dearly loved
From this reading “Would you like it, my dear?”
the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading And their decision was soon made.
a requirement of etiquette or custom
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hubert asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Would you like it, my dear?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Would you like it, my dear?”
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading And their decision was soon made.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Would you like it, my dear?”
absolutely essential
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
held or filled or in use
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
with low volume
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
in the near future
From this reading And their decision was soon made.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading And their decision was soon made.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Hubertine replied quietly, in her calm voice: “I would indeed.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And their decision was soon made.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Immediately they occupied themselves with the necessary formalities.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “Would you like it, my dear?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Would you like it, my dear?”
Chapter 1 of The Dream by Émile Zola holds 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 1 holds 219 sentences of The Dream, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Dream by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 1 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 Dream by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dream section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Dream 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 Dream, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
