Chapter 10 of The Infant's Skull is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Infant's Skull is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE BUCK'S TRACK. Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut. Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails. During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen. Yvon went out.
Chapter 10 of The Infant's Skull is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
possessive form of “buck” — a gymnastic horse without pommels and with one end elongated; used lengthwise for vaulting
From this reading “ON THE BUCK'S TRACK.”
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading “Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.”
internal organs collectively (especially those in the abdominal cavity)
From this reading “Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.”
possessive form of “family” — a social unit living together
From this reading “Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.”
past form of “gnaw” — bite or chew on with the teeth
From this reading “Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.”
a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
From this reading “Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.”
temporary military shelter
From this reading “Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.”
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading “ON THE BUCK'S TRACK.”
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 “Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “Yvon went out.”
In this reading “During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.”
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 During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.
anew
From this reading Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.
possessive form of “buck” — a gymnastic horse without pommels and with one end elongated; used lengthwise for vaulting
From this reading ON THE BUCK'S TRACK.
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.
internal organs collectively (especially those in the abdominal cavity)
From this reading Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.
possessive form of “family” — a social unit living together
From this reading Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
past form of “gnaw” — bite or chew on with the teeth
From this reading Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
From this reading Hunger gnawed again at the family's entrails.
temporary military shelter
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE BUCK'S TRACK.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Yvon went out.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE BUCK'S TRACK.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading During these thirty-six hours a heavy snow had fallen.
being six more than thirty
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading ON THE BUCK'S TRACK.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Yvon went out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yvon went out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thirty-six hours of fast had followed upon the meal of clay in Yvon's hut.
Chapter 10 of The Infant's Skull by Eugène Sue holds 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 holds 50 sentences of The Infant's Skull, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Infant's Skull by Eugène Sue exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 10 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 Infant's Skull by Eugène Sue on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1187 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31759 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31759, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 98 minutes of reading across 238 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Infant's Skull section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Infant's Skull 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 Infant's Skull, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
