Chapter 3 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box. "Don Mateo! You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula. "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?" "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
Chapter 3 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 is here in full — 144 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.
several beads threaded together on a string
From this reading “"Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.”
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
third-person singular of “continue” — continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
a Spanish courtesy title or form of address for a woman
From this reading “You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.”
a dramatic or musical entertainment
From this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
a man who is very old
In this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “"Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"”
In this reading “THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.”
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 THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
several beads threaded together on a string
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
third-person singular of “continue” — continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
From this reading "Don Mateo!
a Spanish courtesy title or form of address for a woman
From this reading You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don Mateo!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.
a dramatic or musical entertainment
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
on the contrary
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
express in words
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
at the time that
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
a Caucasian
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE PERFORMANCE CONTINUES When the curtain fell, a bent old man with spectacles and a long white beard crept, rather than walked, to the Belinchons' box.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Well, what would you have me do at home, Papulina?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You never miss a performance," exclaimed Dona Paula.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Tell your beads and go to bed," said Venturita.
Chapter 3 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 by Armando Palacio Valdés holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 3 holds 144 sentences of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 by Armando Palacio Valdés exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 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 3 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 Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 by Armando Palacio Valdés on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3632 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38393 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38393, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 727 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Fourth Estate, Vol. 1 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 Fourth Estate, Vol. 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
