Chapter 1 of Ethan Frome is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Ethan Frome is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He paused, a question struggling in him. “Then you meant to walk home all alone?” “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed. They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars. He brought his question out.
Chapter 1 of Ethan Frome is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 66/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 326–330
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.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading “They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.”
a slight suggestion or vague understanding
From this reading “They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “He paused, a question struggling in him.”
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.”
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading “He paused, a question struggling in him.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.”
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 He paused, a question struggling in him.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed.
(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 “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
Having no one else present.
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading He brought his question out.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
a slight suggestion or vague understanding
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He paused, a question struggling in him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He paused, a question struggling in him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He brought his question out.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He paused, a question struggling in him.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He brought his question out.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading He paused, a question struggling in him.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading He paused, a question struggling in him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Oh, I ain’t afraid!” she laughed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading He paused, a question struggling in him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Then you meant to walk home all alone?”
Chapter 1 of Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 1 holds 441 sentences of Ethan Frome, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 1 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 Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1758 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4517 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4517, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 146 minutes of reading across 352 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ethan Frome section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Ethan Frome 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 Ethan Frome, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
