Chapter 7 of Half Portions is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Half Portions is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The crowd shouted back with one voice. They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing. Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation. "She asked them what they want her to sing. They told her.
Chapter 7 of Half Portions is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
an expectation
From this reading “Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.”
in mental comfort; without stress
From this reading “They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.”
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading “The crowd shouted back with one voice.”
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading “Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “The crowd shouted back with one voice.”
deliver by singing
From this reading “"She asked them what they want her to sing.”
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.
an expectation
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
in mental comfort; without stress
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
deliver by singing
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
having a supporting base
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their faces held the broad smile of anticipation.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They settled themselves comfortably, sitting or standing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading They told her.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "She asked them what they want her to sing.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The crowd shouted back with one voice.
Chapter 7 of Half Portions by Edna Ferber holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 402 sentences of Half Portions, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Half Portions by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Half Portions by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5692 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14714 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14714, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 474 minutes of reading across 1139 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half Portions section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Half Portions 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 Half Portions, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
