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.
Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie. “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say. She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key. “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start. They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
Chapter 1 of Ethan Frome is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 84/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 416–420
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.
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading “Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.”
devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain
From this reading “They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.”
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading “She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.”
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading ““Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.”
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading “She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.”
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading “She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.”
-ing form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading ““It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.”
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 “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
opinion or judgment
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
express in words
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
not in physical motion
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
-ing form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
lacking natural ease
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “It’s not there!” he said, straightening himself with a start.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading They strained their eyes at each other through the icy darkness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Matt—” he began, not knowing what he meant to say.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Ethan stood before the door, his head heavy with dreams, his arm still about Mattie.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading She slipped out of his hold without speaking, and he stooped down and felt for the key.
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.
