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.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
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.
At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.” As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid. Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil. “Yes, yes, it’s true!” they all said. “He wasn’t a thief.
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 124/133 · 5 reading units · Lines 616–620
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.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading “At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.””
plural of “defender” — a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading “As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.”
someone who hunts or fishes illegally on the property of another
From this reading “As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.”
professing to be qualified
From this reading “Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.”
larceny by threat of violence
From this reading “At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.””
past form of “suffice” — be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading “As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.”
a solemn statement made under oath
From this reading “As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.”
plural of “workman” — an employee who performs manual or industrial labor
From this reading “Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.”
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 At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
in addition
From this reading Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
plural of “case” — an occurrence of something
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a particular cause, action, or attitude
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
plural of “defender” — a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
a boy or man
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, yes, it’s true!” they all said.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
not any; not one
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
many times at short intervals
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
someone who hunts or fishes illegally on the property of another
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
professing to be qualified
From this reading Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.
larceny by threat of violence
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Yes, yes, it’s true!” they all said.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
past form of “suffice” — be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
a solemn statement made under oath
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Yes, yes, it’s true!” they all said.
a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “He wasn’t a thief.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As often happens in such cases, the testimony of this poacher sufficed to bring other defenders to Miette’s aid.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “Yes, yes, it’s true!” they all said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At all events Chantegreil was a decent fellow; he committed no robbery.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He wasn’t a thief.
plural of “workman” — an employee who performs manual or industrial labor
From this reading Several workmen also professed to have known Chantegreil.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, yes, it’s true!” they all said.
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.
