A good woman

Chapter XV

Chapter 15 of A good woman is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Louis Bromfield • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

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LEARNER DICTIONARY

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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XV Reading 1/81

A good woman Louis Bromfield

Chapter XV

Chapter 15 of A good woman is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him. It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee. He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.” Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary. And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

A good woman

Chapter XV

Chapter 15 of A good woman is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/81 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

/ɪt wɑːz ə ˈwɪkəd θɔːt ðæt kept ˈstiːlɪŋ bæk əˈpɑːn hɪm/

Line 2

It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

/ɪt leɪ ɪn ˈhaɪdɪŋ æt ðə bæk ʌv hɪz maɪnd ˈiːvɪn ɪn ðə læst ˈpreʃəs ˈmoʊmənts bɪˈfɔːr ˈmeri hæd left wen ʃiː stʊd bɪˈsaɪd ðə stoʊv ˈmeɪkɪŋ ðə ˈkɑːfi/

Line 3

He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

/hiː hæd θɔːt əˈɡen ənd əˈɡen ɪf ˈoʊnli neɪˈoʊmi daɪd wiː kʊd biː laɪk ðɪs fərˈevər/

Line 4

Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

/ˈwɑːtʃɪŋ hɜːr hiː hæd θɔːt dɪˈspaɪt ɔːl hɪz wɪl tuː ðə ˈkɑːntreri ʌv wʌt lʌv hæd bɪn wɪð neɪˈoʊmi ənd wʌt wɪð ˈmeri/

Line 5

And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

Learner Dictionary

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.

coffee noun US /ˈkɑːfi/

a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans

From this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

despite preposition US /dɪˈspaɪt/

although something is true; in spite of

From this reading “Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.”

forever adverb US /fərˈevər/

for a limitless time

From this reading “He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.””

hated adjective US /ˈheɪtəd/

treated with dislike or contempt

From this reading “And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.”

hiding noun US /ˈhaɪdɪŋ/

the activity of keeping something secret

From this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

Naomi noun US /neɪˈoʊmi/

the mother-in-law of Ruth whose story is told in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament

From this reading “He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.””

stealing noun US /ˈstiːlɪŋ/

the act of taking something from someone unlawfully

From this reading “It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.”

stove noun US /stoʊv/

a kitchen appliance used for cooking food

From this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

stood beside verb + particle

In this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

beside the stove preposition + article + noun counted as “beside … stove”

In this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

almost hated adverb + adjective

In this reading “And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.”

never loved adverb + adjective

In this reading “And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.”

in hiding preposition + noun

quietly in concealment

In this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

lay in verb + particle

keep or lay aside for future use

In this reading “It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.”

All words in this reading · 70

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

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

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

almostadverbUS /ˈɔːlmoʊst/

(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

backadverbUS /bæk/

in or to or toward a former location

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

besideprepositionUS /bɪˈsaɪd/

next to; at the side of

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

coffeenounUS /ˈkɑːfi/

a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

contraryadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːntreri/

very opposed in nature or character or purpose

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

despiteprepositionUS /dɪˈspaɪt/

although something is true; in spite of

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

diedverbUS /daɪd/

past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

evenadjectiveUS /ˈiːvɪn/

divisible by two

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

fairadjectiveUS /fer/

free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

foreveradverbUS /fərˈevər/

for a limitless time

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

hatedadjectiveUS /ˈheɪtəd/

treated with dislike or contempt

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

hidingnounUS /ˈhaɪdɪŋ/

the activity of keeping something secret

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

IfconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

keptadjectiveUS /kept/

(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

layverbUS /leɪ/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

leftnounUS /left/

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

lovenounUS /lʌv/

a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

lovedadjectiveUS /lʌvd/

held dear

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

makingnounUS /ˈmeɪkɪŋ/

the act that results in something coming to be

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

MarynounUS /ˈmeri/

the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

mindnounUS /maɪnd/

The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

momentsnounUS /ˈmoʊmənts/

plural of “moment” — a particular point in time

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

NaominounUS /neɪˈoʊmi/

the mother-in-law of Ruth whose story is told in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

preciousadjectiveUS /ˈpreʃəs/

characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

stealingnounUS /ˈstiːlɪŋ/

the act of taking something from someone unlawfully

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

stoodverbUS /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

stovenounUS /stoʊv/

a kitchen appliance used for cooking food

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

thingsnounUS /θɪŋz/

any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

thinkverbUS /θɪŋk/

judge or regard; look upon; judge

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

toldverbUS /toʊld/

inflected form of “tell” — express in words

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

wasn't

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

From this reading And he had told himself that it wasn’t fair to think such things, because he had never loved Naomi: at such moments he had almost hated her.

WatchingnounUS /ˈwɑːtʃɪŋ/

the act of observing; taking a patient look

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading He had thought again and again, “If only Naomi died ... we could be like this forever.”

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading It lay in hiding at the back of his mind, even in the last precious moments before Mary had left, when she stood beside the stove making the coffee.

wickedadjectiveUS /ˈwɪkəd/

morally bad in principle or practice

From this reading It was a wicked thought that kept stealing back upon him.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Watching her, he had thought, despite all his will to the contrary, of what love had been with Naomi and what with Mary.

Chapter 15 of A good woman by Louis Bromfield holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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.

What does chapter 15 of A good woman contain?

Chapter 15 holds 408 sentences of A good woman, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 15 of A good woman by Louis Bromfield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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.

How do I study chapter 15 of A good woman?

Work through the 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 82 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.

Can chapter 15 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 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.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #74011, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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Chapter XV

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