Chapter 7 of Crucial Instances is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Crucial Instances is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?” “That is the Count’s wish.” She wavered a moment. “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length. “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
Chapter 7 of Crucial Instances is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading ““I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.”
a place of worship that has its own altar
From this reading ““You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?””
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading ““Will you come back later and hear my confession here?””
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading ““I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.”
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading ““You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?””
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading ““I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading ““I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.”
past form of “waver” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “She wavered a moment.”
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 She wavered a moment.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
a place of worship that has its own altar
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That is the Count’s wish.”
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “That is the Count’s wish.”
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
a particular point in time
From this reading She wavered a moment.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
express in words
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She wavered a moment.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “That is the Count’s wish.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
past form of “waver” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading She wavered a moment.
(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 “I am not well enough to walk up to the village this afternoon,” she said at length.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Will you come back later and hear my confession here?”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “That is the Count’s wish.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You are coming to say mass in the chapel to-morrow morning?”
Chapter 7 of Crucial Instances by Edith Wharton holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of Crucial Instances, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Crucial Instances by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Crucial Instances by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3051 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7516 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7516, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 254 minutes of reading across 611 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Crucial Instances section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Crucial Instances 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 Crucial Instances, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
