Chapter 40 of A pair of blue eyes is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of A pair of blue eyes is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Welcome, proud lady.” Half an hour has passed. Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow. “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight. “Can it be that I have killed her?
Chapter 40 of A pair of blue eyes is here in full — 207 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.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.”
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading ““Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.”
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading ““Can it be that I have killed her?”
originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
From this reading ““Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.”
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading ““Welcome, proud lady.””
migratory
From this reading “Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.”
accept gladly
From this reading ““Welcome, proud lady.””
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Half an hour has passed.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Half an hour has passed.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Half an hour has passed.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Half an hour has passed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading “Welcome, proud lady.”
the force of workers available
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Half an hour has passed.
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading “Welcome, proud lady.”
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Has she broken her heart?” said Henry Knight.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Can it be that I have killed her?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
migratory
From this reading Two miserable men are wandering in the darkness up the miles of road from Camelton to Endelstow.
accept gladly
From this reading “Welcome, proud lady.”
Chapter 40 of A pair of blue eyes by Thomas Hardy holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 40 holds 207 sentences of A pair of blue eyes, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of A pair of blue eyes by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 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 40 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 pair of blue eyes by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8173 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #224 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #224, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1635 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A pair of blue eyes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A pair of blue eyes 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 pair of blue eyes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
