Chapter 17 of Ancestors: A Novel is here in full — 804 sentences across 161 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Ancestors: A Novel is here in full — 804 sentences across 161 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well!" exclaimed Isabel. "What do you think of us? Is it not a wonderful scene?" Gwynne nodded. "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
Chapter 17 of Ancestors: A Novel is here in full — 804 sentences across 161 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/160 · 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.
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
spectators at a golf or tennis match
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Gwynne nodded.”
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
plural of “ruffle” — a strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trim
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
bound or secured closely
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
nonexistent
From this reading “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
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 “"All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.”
keep in mind for attention or consideration
In this reading “"What do you think of us?”
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 Is it not a wonderful scene?"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
a person's social heritage: previous experience or training
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What do you think of us?
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Well!" exclaimed Isabel.
spectators at a golf or tennis match
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gwynne nodded.
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 "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is it not a wonderful scene?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well!" exclaimed Isabel.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Is it not a wonderful scene?"
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Gwynne nodded.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Is it not a wonderful scene?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "What do you think of us?
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
plural of “ruffle” — a strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trim
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading Is it not a wonderful scene?"
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "What do you think of us?
bound or secured closely
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "What do you think of us?
nonexistent
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
(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!" exclaimed Isabel.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What do you think of us?
in the company of; together with
From this reading "All that is wanting is a background of caballeros in the gallery, silk and ruffles, and hair tied with ribbons.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Is it not a wonderful scene?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What do you think of us?
Chapter 17 of Ancestors: A Novel by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton holds 804 sentences, grouped into 161 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 17 holds 804 sentences of Ancestors: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 161 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Ancestors: A Novel by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 804 sentences, grouped into 161 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 161 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 161 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 17 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Ancestors: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
