Chapter 38 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face. Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her. ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm. ‘Why?’ ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
Chapter 38 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.”
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.”
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading “Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.”
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading “Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.”
brought together in one place
From this reading “She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.”
United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986)
From this reading “‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.”
worn and broken down by hard use
From this reading “‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’”
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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
brought together in one place
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986)
From this reading ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her aunt, having now discovered the direction of her flight, drove up and beckoned to her.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mrs. Goodman in alarm.
which person or people
From this reading She turned and waited, the two or three children who had gathered round her looking up sympathizingly in her face.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading ‘Why?’
worn and broken down by hard use
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘That you should run like that, and look so woebegone.’
Chapter 38 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 38 holds 178 sentences of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 38 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 Laodicean : A Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7249 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3258 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3258, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Laodicean : A Story of To-day section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day 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 Laodicean : A Story of To-day, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
