Chapter 27 of The Invasion of France in 1814 is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Invasion of France in 1814 is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein. What a spectacle awaited them! The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead. It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude! Catherine?
Chapter 27 of The Invasion of France in 1814 is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
past form of “ascend” — travel up
From this reading “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
surrounded by hostile forces
From this reading “The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.”
first wife of Henry VIII; Henry VIII's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
From this reading “Catherine?”
an engagement fought between two military forces
From this reading “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
plural of “dive” — a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
From this reading “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
filled with a great quantity
From this reading “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
made from residue of grapes or apples after pressing
From this reading “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
plural of “mountaineer” — someone who climbs mountains
From this reading “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
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 “CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.”
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 What a spectacle awaited them!
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
past form of “ascend” — travel up
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
expected hopefully
From this reading What a spectacle awaited them!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
surrounded by hostile forces
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
first wife of Henry VIII; Henry VIII's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
From this reading Catherine?
an engagement fought between two military forces
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
plural of “dive” — a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
being one more than seven
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
only a very short time before
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
filled with a great quantity
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
made from residue of grapes or apples after pressing
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
plural of “mountaineer” — someone who climbs mountains
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
according to the clock
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
above and across; more than
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
a stock or supply of foods
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight)
From this reading What a spectacle awaited them!
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading What a spectacle awaited them!
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The besieged, stretched on the earth, appeared to be dead.
in the direction of
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading It seemed useless to shake them, to cry into their ears; "Jean-Claude!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a spectacle awaited them!
at the time that
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
in the company of; together with
From this reading CONCLUSION The combat was hardly over, when, toward eight o'clock, Marc Dives, Gaspard, and about thirty mountaineers, laden with provisions, ascended the Falkenstein.
Chapter 27 of The Invasion of France in 1814 by Erckmann-Chatrian holds 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 27 holds 43 sentences of The Invasion of France in 1814, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Invasion of France in 1814 by Erckmann-Chatrian exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 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 27 can be played aloud in United States English.
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About 313 minutes of reading across 753 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Invasion of France in 1814, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
