Chapter 31 of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life is here in full — 81 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life is here in full — 81 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight. On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein. An uproar seized the assembly. "Gott scourge England! Down with France!
Chapter 31 of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life is here in full — 81 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
a group of machine parts that fit together to form a self-contained unit
From this reading “An uproar seized the assembly.”
a white sparkling wine either produced in Champagne or resembling that produced there
From this reading “CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.”
a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players
From this reading “On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.”
a major European river carrying more traffic than any other river in the world; flows into the North Sea
From this reading “On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.”
a whip used to inflict punishment (often used for pedantic humor)
From this reading “"Gott scourge England!”
attach a tag or label to
From this reading “On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.”
plural of “toast” — slices of bread that have been toasted
From this reading “On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.”
a state of commotion and noise and confusion
From this reading “An uproar seized the assembly.”
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 CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An uproar seized the assembly.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
a group of machine parts that fit together to form a self-contained unit
From this reading An uproar seized the assembly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
lacking funds
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
a white sparkling wine either produced in Champagne or resembling that produced there
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Down with France!
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading "Gott scourge England!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading Down with France!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gott scourge England!
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
held up in the air
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
unusual or striking
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
a major European river carrying more traffic than any other river in the world; flows into the North Sea
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
cut with a saw
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
a whip used to inflict punishment (often used for pedantic humor)
From this reading "Gott scourge England!
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading An uproar seized the assembly.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading CHAMPAGNE At midnight Kirtley saw a remarkable sight.
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
plural of “toast” — slices of bread that have been toasted
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
a state of commotion and noise and confusion
From this reading An uproar seized the assembly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
in the company of; together with
From this reading On the stroke of twelve, loud toasts to Der Tag were suddenly lifted high in air as the orchestra broke forth with the Wacht am Rhein.
Chapter 31 of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life by Stuart Oliver Henry holds 81 sentences, grouped into 17 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 31 holds 81 sentences of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life by Stuart Oliver Henry exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 81 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 31 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 Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life by Stuart Oliver Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4084 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19946 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19946, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 340 minutes of reading across 817 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life 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 Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
