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Four Short Stories By Emile Zola
Four Short Stories By Emile Zola

Chapter XIX

Cover illustration for Four Short Stories By Emile Zola
Context Illustration Reading 1/23 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.
Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.
The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.
The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.
Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Four Short Stories By Emile Zola

Chapter XIX

Reading 1/23 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.
Line 2
Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.
Line 3
The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.
Line 4
The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.
Line 5
Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Afternoon noun US /ˈafternoon/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.”

Terrible noun US /ˈterrible/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.”

All words in this reading · 65

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

anguish

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

announcing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

black

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

brass

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

causing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

changed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

clouds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

contented

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

covered

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

cutthroats

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

den

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

Dominique

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

fate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

filled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

Francoise

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

FRENCH

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

full

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

gay

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

gloom

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

GreatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

heavens

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

imprisoned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

neighboring

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

noon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

o'clock

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

officer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

Prussian

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

reserved

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

RETURN

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

Rocreuse

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

SinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

sinister

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

sky

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

slowly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

storm

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

sunlight

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

terriblenounUS /ˈterrible/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

three

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

torn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible anguish.

trail

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Great black clouds, the trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky.

uniforms

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

valley

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading The Prussian officer had contented himself with causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he reserved for him.

yellow

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full of sinister gloom.