Chapter 3 of A Romance of Wastdale is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of A Romance of Wastdale is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness. After a while she turned. Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile. "And it pleases you to torture me! You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.
Chapter 3 of A Romance of Wastdale is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
From this reading “Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.”
derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading “You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.”
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.”
third-person singular of “please” — give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “"And it pleases you to torture me!”
structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure
From this reading “She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.”
undergo or be subjected to
From this reading “You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.”
torment emotionally or mentally
From this reading “"And it pleases you to torture me!”
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.
rest on for support
In this reading “She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.”
In this reading “She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.”
In this reading “You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.”
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 After a while she turned.
later than; following
From this reading After a while she turned.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
third-person singular of “please” — give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
undergo or be subjected to
From this reading You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She leaned against the sill, gazing into the darkness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
torment emotionally or mentally
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
moved around an axis or center
From this reading After a while she turned.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
during the time that
From this reading After a while she turned.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Hawke was watching her with a complacent smile.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading You enjoy seeing a woman suffer.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "And it pleases you to torture me!
Chapter 3 of A Romance of Wastdale by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason holds 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 3 holds 229 sentences of A Romance of Wastdale, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of A Romance of Wastdale by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 3 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 Romance of Wastdale by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1870 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38719 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38719, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 155 minutes of reading across 374 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Romance of Wastdale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of A Romance of Wastdale 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 Romance of Wastdale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
