Chapter 7 of Fennel and Rue is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Fennel and Rue is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"That's too bad of it. Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night? You might as well. The weather has been known to change its mind. You might even change your plans."
Chapter 7 of Fennel and Rue is here in full — 198 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “"That's too bad of it.”
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “The weather has been known to change its mind.”
stop moving or become immobilized
From this reading “Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?”
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?”
apprehended with certainty
From this reading “The weather has been known to change its mind.”
plural of “plan” — a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
From this reading “You might even change your plans."”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “The weather has been known to change its mind.”
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 Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You might as well.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "That's too bad of it.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
divisible by two
From this reading You might even change your plans."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
stop moving or become immobilized
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "That's too bad of it.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading You might as well.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "That's too bad of it.
plural of “plan” — a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
From this reading You might even change your plans."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's too bad of it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "That's too bad of it.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading The weather has been known to change its mind.
(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 You might as well.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why not hope for a hard freeze to-night?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You might as well.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You might even change your plans."
Chapter 7 of Fennel and Rue by William Dean Howells holds 198 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 7 holds 198 sentences of Fennel and Rue, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Fennel and Rue by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 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 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 Fennel and Rue by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2136 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3363, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 428 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fennel and Rue section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Fennel and Rue 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 Fennel and Rue, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
