Chapter 30 of The Story-Book of Science is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of The Story-Book of Science is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants. Who would not listen to a talk on flowers? Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more. How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday? What is to be seen inside them?
Chapter 30 of The Story-Book of Science is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 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.
with attention; in an attentive manner
From this reading “THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.”
produce or yield flowers
From this reading “THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.”
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading “What is to be seen inside them?”
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading “THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.”
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading “THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.”
plural of “plant” — buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading “THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.”
having the qualities or effects of a poison
From this reading “THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.”
the day immediately before today
From this reading “How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?”
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.
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 Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
(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 THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
with attention; in an attentive manner
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What is to be seen inside them?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
produce or yield flowers
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading What is to be seen inside them?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What is to be seen inside them?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
hear with intention
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Jules and Claire, however, would have been glad to hear more.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
plural of “plant” — buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
having the qualities or effects of a poison
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading What is to be seen inside them?
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
precisely as stated
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What is to be seen inside them?
at the time that
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
which person or people
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Who would not listen to a talk on flowers?
an affirmative
From this reading THE BLOSSOM YES, they had listened very attentively the day before when Uncle Paul told them all about poisonous plants.
the day immediately before today
From this reading How are the flowers made that their uncle showed them yesterday?
Chapter 30 of The Story-Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 30 holds 140 sentences of The Story-Book of Science, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of The Story-Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 30 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 Story-Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5236 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56795 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56795, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 436 minutes of reading across 1048 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story-Book of Science section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Story-Book of Science 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 Story-Book of Science, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
