Chapter 5 of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) is here in full — 370 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) is here in full — 370 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door. Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed: "Telegram for Madame." "Give it to me ... quick!" Mme. Chambannes said.
Chapter 5 of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) is here in full — 370 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading “Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:”
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading “It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.”
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “"Telegram for Madame."”
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.
mail that is delivered by a special carrier (for an additional charge)
In this reading “Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:”
In this reading “It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.”
In this reading “It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.”
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 Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
being one more than ten
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Telegram for Madame."
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Give it to me ... quick!"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
the act of retaining something
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
and nothing more
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading "Telegram for Madame."
a female domestic
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Give it to me ... quick!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
according to the clock
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
go across or through
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
the time that has elapsed
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading "Give it to me ... quick!"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Mme. Chambannes said.
a person, without saying who
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading "Telegram for Madame."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
at the time that
From this reading It was past eleven o'clock and Mme. Chambannes had almost finished dressing when someone knocked at her door.
during the time that
From this reading Her maid opened it just enough to allow one arm to pass in, holding a special delivery letter, while a voice proclaimed:
Chapter 5 of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) by Fernand Vandérem holds 370 sentences, grouped into 74 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 5 holds 370 sentences of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives), unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) by Fernand Vandérem exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 370 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 5 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 Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) by Fernand Vandérem on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7455 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45857 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45857, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1491 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives) 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 Two Banks of the Seine (Les Deux Rives), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
