Chapter 7 of Held to Answer: A Novel is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Held to Answer: A Novel is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms? Sympathy," he answered at last. "She never loved me. A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant. She was very sorry for me, that was all.
Chapter 7 of Held to Answer: A Novel is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Sympathy," he answered at last.”
weapons considered collectively
From this reading “"Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “"Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?”
held dear
From this reading “"She never loved me.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “She was very sorry for me, that was all.”
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
From this reading “Sympathy," he answered at last.”
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"She never loved me.”
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 A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
(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 She was very sorry for me, that was all.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Sympathy," he answered at last.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sympathy," he answered at last.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She was very sorry for me, that was all.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
immediately past
From this reading Sympathy," he answered at last.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
held dear
From this reading "She never loved me.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "She never loved me.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading She was very sorry for me, that was all.
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
From this reading Sympathy," he answered at last.
carry out
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She was very sorry for me, that was all.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
precisely as stated
From this reading She was very sorry for me, that was all.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was very sorry for me, that was all.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
which person or people
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A woman who loved a man could not do what she did in the restaurant.
but in spite of that
From this reading "Yet, why," he asked himself, "did she let me take her in my arms?
Chapter 7 of Held to Answer: A Novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of Held to Answer: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Held to Answer: A Novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Held to Answer: A Novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8277 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44633 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44633, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Held to Answer: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Held to Answer: A Novel 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 Held to Answer: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
