Chapter 1 of The Fortune of the Rougons is here in full — 666 sentences across 134 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Fortune of the Rougons is here in full — 666 sentences across 134 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing. Castel-le-Vieux! Sainte-Anne! Graille! Estourmel!
Chapter 1 of The Fortune of the Rougons is here in full — 666 sentences across 134 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 109/133 · 5 reading units · Lines 541–545
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 “contingent” — a gathering of persons representative of some larger group
From this reading “Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.”
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading “Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.”
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading “Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.”
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading “Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.”
plural of “pitchfork” — a long-handled hand tool with sharp widely spaced prongs for lifting and pitching hay
From this reading “Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.”
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 Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Castel-le-Vieux!
plural of “contingent” — a gathering of persons representative of some larger group
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Estourmel!
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Graille!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
plural of “pitchfork” — a long-handled hand tool with sharp widely spaced prongs for lifting and pitching hay
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sainte-Anne!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Still more scythes and pitchforks, the contingents of country folk are still passing.
Chapter 1 of The Fortune of the Rougons by Émile Zola holds 666 sentences, grouped into 134 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 666 sentences of The Fortune of the Rougons, unabridged, divided into 134 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Fortune of the Rougons by Émile Zola exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 666 sentences, grouped into 134 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 134 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 134 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 Fortune of the Rougons by Émile Zola on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6898 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5135 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5135, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 574 minutes of reading across 1380 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fortune of the Rougons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Fortune of the Rougons 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 Fortune of the Rougons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
