Chapter 17 of One Basket is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of One Basket is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that! My nerves are killing me. I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business. I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have. Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.
Chapter 17 of One Basket is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.”
using the minimum of time or resources necessary for effectiveness
From this reading “I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.”
Austrian general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire during the War of the Spanish Succession (1663-1736)
From this reading “Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.”
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading “My nerves are killing me.”
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.”
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading “My nerves are killing me.”
-ing form of “ramp” — behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “"Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “"Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading My nerves are killing me.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
using the minimum of time or resources necessary for effectiveness
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
Austrian general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire during the War of the Spanish Succession (1663-1736)
From this reading Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading My nerves are killing me.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My nerves are killing me.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My nerves are killing me.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading My nerves are killing me.
not any; not one
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing matters but Eugene, anyway.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
-ing form of “ramp” — behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
a thing, without saying which
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading I'm sure no wife could have been more economical than I have.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Charnsworth, won't you please stop ramping up and down like that!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I can't help it if the war has done something or other to your business.
Chapter 17 of One Basket by Edna Ferber holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 17 holds 208 sentences of One Basket, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of One Basket by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 17 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 One Basket by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3863 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #489 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #489, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 773 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through One Basket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of One Basket 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 One Basket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
