Chapter 7 of Bess of the Woods is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Bess of the Woods is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.” He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face. Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed. Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen. And were those wrinkles under the lids?
Chapter 7 of Bess of the Woods is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
From this reading “He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.”
possessive form of “cousin” — the child of your aunt or uncle
facing or experiencing financial trouble or difficulty
From this reading “Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.”
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading ““Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.””
subdued or brought low in condition or status
From this reading “He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.”
plural of “lid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “And were those wrinkles under the lids?”
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading “Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.”
plural of “wrinkle” — a slight depression or fold in the smoothness of a surface
From this reading “And were those wrinkles under the lids?”
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 “He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.”
In this reading “Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.
a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
possessive form of “cousin” — the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
facing or experiencing financial trouble or difficulty
From this reading Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
subdued or brought low in condition or status
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
plural of “lid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading And were those wrinkles under the lids?
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Miss Hardacre appeared much distressed.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And were those wrinkles under the lids?
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading And were those wrinkles under the lids?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading And were those wrinkles under the lids?
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Surely his sweet cousin’s eyes were somewhat red and swollen.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He went close to his cousin, and stood looking at her with humbled ardor on his face.
plural of “wrinkle” — a slight depression or fold in the smoothness of a surface
From this reading And were those wrinkles under the lids?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Jilian, I have come to ask you to forgive me.”
Chapter 7 of Bess of the Woods by Warwick Deeping holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 7 holds 399 sentences of Bess of the Woods, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Bess of the Woods by Warwick Deeping exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 7 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 Bess of the Woods by Warwick Deeping on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7202 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57758 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57758, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1441 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bess of the Woods section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Bess of the Woods 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 Bess of the Woods, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
