Chapter 6 of A lady in black is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of A lady in black is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. BANKS. There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin. Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed. The visitor, however, remained standing.
Chapter 6 of A lady in black is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
From this reading “There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.”
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
an open river valley (in a hilly area)
From this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
a judgment disposing of the matter without a trial
From this reading “There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.”
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
From this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure
From this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
someone who visits
From this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
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 “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
In this reading “There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.”
In this reading “The visitor, however, remained standing.”
In this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
In this reading “Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.”
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 There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
later than; following
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
English botanist who accompanied Captain Cook on his first voyage to the Pacific Ocean (1743-1820)
From this reading BANKS.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
an open river valley (in a hilly area)
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
a judgment disposing of the matter without a trial
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading The visitor, however, remained standing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading The visitor, however, remained standing.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
having a supporting base
From this reading The visitor, however, remained standing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
someone who visits
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was silence in the room for a few minutes after the abrupt dismissal of Mabin.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Mrs. Dale made a perfunctory gesture of invitation to her unwelcome visitor to be seated, and threw herself into a hard horsehair-covered armchair by the window, which she carefully closed.
Chapter 6 of A lady in black by Florence Warden holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 6 holds 208 sentences of A lady in black, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of A lady in black by Florence Warden exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 6 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 A lady in black by Florence Warden on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2947 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72314 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72314, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 590 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A lady in black section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of A lady in black 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 A lady in black, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
