Chapter 15 of Ruth Erskine's Son is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Ruth Erskine's Son is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LOOKING BACKWARD MRS. BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet. Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing. "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said. "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
Chapter 15 of Ruth Erskine's Son is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading “"She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."”
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “LOOKING BACKWARD MRS.”
United States architect who designed the first important skyscraper with a skeleton (1846-1912)
From this reading “BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.”
hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
From this reading “Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “"She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.”
a female domestic
From this reading “"She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.”
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading “Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “"She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."”
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 says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."”
In this reading “BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.”
obtain, especially accidentally
In this reading “BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.”
In this reading “BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.”
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.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading LOOKING BACKWARD MRS.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
United States architect who designed the first important skyscraper with a skeleton (1846-1912)
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading LOOKING BACKWARD MRS.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
a female domestic
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
come together
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading LOOKING BACKWARD MRS.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "She would not give any name, ma'am," the maid had said.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
in the company of; together with
From this reading BURNHAM came into the room with the air of one in doubt as to whom she was to meet.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Probably it was some one whom she ought to recognize; and if she did not, it would be embarrassing.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "She says she is an old acquaintance, and she wants to see if you will know her."
Chapter 15 of Ruth Erskine's Son by Pansy holds 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 15 holds 147 sentences of Ruth Erskine's Son, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Ruth Erskine's Son by Pansy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 15 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.
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Yes. All 4075 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43785 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43785, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 339 minutes of reading across 815 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Ruth Erskine's Son, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
