Chapter 7 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The telephone rang again, long and insistently. Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia. There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement: "No one's home, Jim. He couldn't get through here."
Chapter 7 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading “There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:”
in an insistent manner
From this reading “The telephone rang again, long and insistently.”
the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading “Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “The telephone rang again, long and insistently.”
a rate that is rapid
From this reading “There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:”
a result
From this reading “Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “The telephone rang again, long and insistently.”
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.
utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
In this reading “There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:”
In this reading “There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:”
finish a task completely
In this reading “He couldn't get through here."”
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 There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
anew
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He couldn't get through here."
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He couldn't get through here."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He couldn't get through here."
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading He couldn't get through here."
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "No one's home, Jim.
in an insistent manner
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No one's home, Jim.
the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
not any; not one
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No one's home, Jim.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
a rate that is rapid
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
a result
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Heavy knocking shook the back door, but it got no response from Delia.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The telephone rang again, long and insistently.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading He couldn't get through here."
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
in the company of; together with
From this reading There was a pause of silence and then a voice cried out with the rapidity of excitement:
Chapter 7 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of Short stories from Life, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Short stories from Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Short stories from Life 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 Short stories from Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
