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Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel
Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel

Chapter XXVII · Chapter 27

Chapter 27 of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel
Context Illustration Reading 1/50 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
But worse was to follow.
The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.
The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.
He, an heir to millions!
Could it be possible?
0:00 / 0:00
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel

Chapter XXVII · Chapter 27

Chapter 27 of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/50 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
But worse was to follow.
/bʌt wɜːrs wɑːz tuː ˈfɑːloʊ/
Line 2
The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.
Line 3
The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.
Line 4
He, an heir to millions!
/hiː æn er tuː ˈmɪljənz/
Line 5
Could it be possible?
/kʊd ɪt biː ˈpɑːsəbəl/

Learner Dictionary

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.

gossip noun US /ˈɡɑːsəp/

light informal conversation for social occasions

From this reading “The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.”

heir noun US /er/

A person legally or magically entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death.

From this reading “He, an heir to millions!”

heirs noun US /erz/

plural of “heir” — a person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another

From this reading “The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.”

likes noun US /laɪks/

plural of “like” — a similar kind

From this reading “The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.”

prominent adjective US /ˈprɑːmənənt/

having a quality that thrusts itself into attention

From this reading “The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.”

socially adverb US /ˈsoʊʃəli/

by or with respect to society

From this reading “The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.”

wealthy adjective US /ˈwelθi/

having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

From this reading “The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.”

well-known adjective US /ˈwelˈnoʊn/

widely or fully known

From this reading “The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.”

All words in this reading · 40

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

AmericannounUS /əˈmerəkən/

a native or inhabitant of the United States

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading He, an heir to millions!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading Could it be possible?

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But worse was to follow.

Couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading Could it be possible?

followverbUS /ˈfɑːloʊ/

to travel behind, go after, come after

From this reading But worse was to follow.

girlnounUS /ɡɜːrl/

a young female

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

gossipnounUS /ˈɡɑːsəp/

light informal conversation for social occasions

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He, an heir to millions!

heirnounUS /er/

A person legally or magically entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death.

From this reading He, an heir to millions!

heirsnounUS /erz/

plural of “heir” — a person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Could it be possible?

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

Kanes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

Lester

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

likesnounUS /laɪks/

plural of “like” — a similar kind

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

marriedadjectiveUS /ˈmerid/

joined in matrimony

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

millionsnounUS /ˈmɪljənz/

plural of “million” — the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros

From this reading He, an heir to millions!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

peoplenounUS /ˈpiːpəl/

(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

possibleadjectiveUS /ˈpɑːsəbəl/

capable of happening or existing

From this reading Could it be possible?

principalnounUS /ˈprɪnsəpəl/

the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

prominentadjectiveUS /ˈprɑːmənənt/

having a quality that thrusts itself into attention

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

publicnounUS /ˈpʌblɪk/

people in general considered as a whole

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

reportverbUS /riˈpɔːrt/

to give an account or representation of in words

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

servantnounUS /ˈsɜːrvənt/

a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

sociallyadverbUS /ˈsoʊʃəli/

by or with respect to society

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The report was that Lester, one of its principal heirs, had married a servant girl.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading But worse was to follow.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading But worse was to follow.

wealthyadjectiveUS /ˈwelθi/

having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

well-knownadjectiveUS /ˈwelˈnoʊn/

widely or fully known

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The American public likes gossip about well-known people, and the Kanes were wealthy and socially prominent.

worseadjectiveUS /wɜːrs/

(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability

From this reading But worse was to follow.

Chapter 27 of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser holds 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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.

What does chapter 27 of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel contain?

Chapter 27 holds 254 sentences of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 27 of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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.

How do I study chapter 27 of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel?

Work through the 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 51 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.

Can chapter 27 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 27 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.

Questions about reading Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel

Common questions about reading Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel?

Yes. All 9467 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28988 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #28988, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1894 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel section by section

How to work through Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel

Words and structures a reader meets early in Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Sister
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Carrie
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Morning
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.