Chapter 7 of Sketches New and Old is here in full — 16 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Sketches New and Old is here in full — 16 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.] “My dear sir, it is useless to talk. I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.” “Sir, I am poor, I grant you. But is fame nothing?
Chapter 7 of Sketches New and Old is here in full — 16 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/3 · 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.
housing that someone is living in
From this reading “[Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.]”
the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed
From this reading “But is fame nothing?”
let have
From this reading ““Sir, I am poor, I grant you.”
chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned
From this reading “I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.””
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading “I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.””
capital and largest city of Italy; on the Tiber; seat of the Roman Catholic Church; formerly the capital of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
From this reading “[Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.]”
a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period
From this reading “I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.””
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading ““My dear sir, it is useless to talk.”
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 I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “Sir, I am poor, I grant you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
any thing at all
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
a female human offspring
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
dearly loved
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
housing that someone is living in
From this reading [Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed
From this reading But is fame nothing?
let have
From this reading “Sir, I am poor, I grant you.
chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.]
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
take in marriage
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Sir, I am poor, I grant you.
capital and largest city of Italy; on the Tiber; seat of the Roman Catholic Church; formerly the capital of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
From this reading [Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Scene-A Dwelling in Rome.]
term of address for a man
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading “My dear sir, it is useless to talk.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I haven't anything against you, but I can't let my daughter marry a hash of love, art, and starvation--I believe you have nothing else to offer.”
Chapter 7 of Sketches New and Old by Mark Twain holds 16 sentences, grouped into 4 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 7 holds 16 sentences of Sketches New and Old, unabridged, divided into 4 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Sketches New and Old by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 16 sentences, grouped into 4 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 4 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 4 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 Sketches New and Old by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2319 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3189 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3189, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 193 minutes of reading across 464 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sketches New and Old section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Sketches New and Old 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 Sketches New and Old, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
