Chapter 31 of A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he? Well?” “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.” “Red! say auburn gilt. I never saw such lovely hair.”
Chapter 31 of A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
(of hair) colored a moderate reddish-brown
From this reading ““Red! say auburn gilt.”
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading ““Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.””
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading ““Red! say auburn gilt.”
a substance used to ignite or kindle a fire
From this reading ““Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.””
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading “I never saw such lovely hair.””
a smooth fabric of silk or rayon; has a glossy face and a dull back
From this reading ““Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.””
a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading ““Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.””
Scottish archaeologist (1890-1976)
From this reading “WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?”
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 “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
(of hair) colored a moderate reddish-brown
From this reading “Red! say auburn gilt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading “Red! say auburn gilt.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
a polite name for any woman
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
a substance used to ignite or kindle a fire
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading I never saw such lovely hair.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I never saw such lovely hair.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
with low volume
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
a smooth fabric of silk or rayon; has a glossy face and a dull back
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
cut with a saw
From this reading I never saw such lovely hair.”
express in words
From this reading “Red! say auburn gilt.
term of address for a man
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I never saw such lovely hair.”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “Sir Charles is lighter than I am: Lady Bassett has a skin like satin, and red hair.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well?”
Scottish archaeologist (1890-1976)
From this reading WHEELER, instead of being thunder-stricken, said quietly, “Oh, is he?
Chapter 31 of A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day by Charles Reade holds 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 31 holds 50 sentences of A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day by Charles Reade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 31 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 Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day by Charles Reade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8713 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7895 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7895, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1743 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Terrible Temptation: 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 Terrible Temptation: 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 Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
