Chapter 4 of The Firefly of France is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Firefly of France is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. VAN BLARCOM. U. S. A. For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days. The weather was bad.
Chapter 4 of The Firefly of France is here in full — 143 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.”
pleasing to the mind or feeling
From this reading “For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.”
established beyond doubt
From this reading “For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.”
a journey for some purpose (usually including the return)
From this reading “For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.”
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading “For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.”
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading “VAN BLARCOM.”
an act of traveling by water
From this reading “For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “The weather was bad.”
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 U. S. A.
a disappointing decline after a previous rise
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading The weather was bad.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VAN BLARCOM.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
pleasing to the mind or feeling
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
established beyond doubt
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
a rare heavy polyvalent metallic element that resembles manganese chemically and is used in some alloys; is obtained as a by-product in refining molybdenum
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
possessing material wealth
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading U. S. A.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
a journey for some purpose (usually including the return)
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading U. S. A.
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading VAN BLARCOM.
an act of traveling by water
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The weather was bad.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading The weather was bad.
in the company of; together with
From this reading For a trip that had begun with such rich promise of the unusual, my voyage on the _Re d’Italia_ proved a gratifying anticlimax during its first few days.
Chapter 4 of The Firefly of France by Marion Polk Angellotti holds 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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.
Chapter 4 holds 143 sentences of The Firefly of France, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Firefly of France by Marion Polk Angellotti exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 143 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 4 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 Firefly of France by Marion Polk Angellotti on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3834 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3676 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3676, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 767 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Firefly of France section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Firefly of France 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 Firefly of France, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
