Chapter 38 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘Not now--not now.’ ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’ ‘You cannot,’ she said faintly. His words began to terrify her. ‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.
Chapter 38 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “His words began to terrify her.”
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.”
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading “‘You cannot,’ she said faintly.”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’”
express in words
From this reading “‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.”
express in words
From this reading “‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’”
fill with terror; frighten greatly
From this reading “His words began to terrify her.”
the words that are spoken
From this reading “His words began to terrify her.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading His words began to terrify her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘You cannot,’ she said faintly.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading ‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading ‘You cannot,’ she said faintly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading His words began to terrify her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His words began to terrify her.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘Not now--not now.’
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading ‘Not now--not now.’
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘You cannot,’ she said faintly.
express in words
From this reading ‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘You cannot,’ she said faintly.
express in words
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
fill with terror; frighten greatly
From this reading His words began to terrify her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His words began to terrify her.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading ‘I will, I say!’ he exclaimed.
the words that are spoken
From this reading His words began to terrify her.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘I am your husband, I tell you, and I must come in.’
Chapter 38 of Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 38 holds 197 sentences of Desperate Remedies, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 38 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 Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7979 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3044 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3044, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1596 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Desperate Remedies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Desperate Remedies 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 Desperate Remedies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
