Chapter 39 of The Story-Book of Science is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Story-Book of Science is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise. He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees. “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees. That is about the population of our secondary towns. In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
Chapter 39 of The Story-Book of Science is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.”
third-person singular of “contain” — include or contain; have as a component
From this reading ““A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.”
a teeming multitude
From this reading ““A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.”
time available for ease and relaxation
From this reading “He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.”
the people who inhabit a territory or state
From this reading “That is about the population of our secondary towns.”
put in the mind of someone
From this reading “WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.”
being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate
From this reading “That is about the population of our secondary towns.”
cover with wax
From this reading “WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.”
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 ““A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.”
draw advantages from
In this reading “He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.”
In this reading “He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.”
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 “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
(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 In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
plural of “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
third-person singular of “contain” — include or contain; have as a component
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
a teeming multitude
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
time available for ease and relaxation
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
a particular point in time
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
absolutely essential
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
the people who inhabit a territory or state
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
put in the mind of someone
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
Identical; not different.
From this reading In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
express in words
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He took advantage of the first leisure moment to tell the children the story of the bees.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
plural of “town” — an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading That is about the population of our secondary towns.
the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
From this reading In a town all cannot follow the same trade.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
cover with wax
From this reading WAX IT was not necessary to remind Uncle Paul of his promise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A well-peopled hive contains from twenty to thirty thousand bees.
Chapter 39 of The Story-Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 39 holds 150 sentences of The Story-Book of Science, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Story-Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 39 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.
