Chapter 30 of Tante is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of Tante is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap. The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind. She tried to tell Mrs. Talcott what had happened. "She does not love me, Mrs. Talcott. She has turned me out.
Chapter 30 of Tante is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
extremely hungry
From this reading “The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.”
past form of “flow” — move or progress freely as if in a stream
From this reading “The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.”
the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual
From this reading “The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.”
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading “The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.”
the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Thailand and Burmese borderlands
From this reading “Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.”
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading “Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.”
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading “Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.”
the quality of being simple or uncompounded
From this reading “The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.”
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.
a woman who is old
In this reading “The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.”
In this reading “Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.”
In this reading “Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.”
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 Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "She does not love me, Mrs. Talcott.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
extremely hungry
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
past form of “flow” — move or progress freely as if in a stream
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She tried to tell Mrs. Talcott what had happened.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading She tried to tell Mrs. Talcott what had happened.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She has turned me out.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Thailand and Burmese borderlands
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "She does not love me, Mrs. Talcott.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "She does not love me, Mrs. Talcott.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "She does not love me, Mrs. Talcott.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She has turned me out.
above and across; more than
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
with low volume
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
the quality of being simple or uncompounded
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
express in words
From this reading She tried to tell Mrs. Talcott what had happened.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading She tried to tell Mrs. Talcott what had happened.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She has turned me out.
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She tried to tell Mrs. Talcott what had happened.
during the time that
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mrs. Talcott sat down on the bed and Karen knelt before her with her head in her lap.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The old woman's passed quietly over her hair while she wept, and the homely gentleness, like the simplicity of milk to famished lips, flowed into her horror-haunted mind.
Chapter 30 of Tante by Anne Douglas Sedgwick holds 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 30 holds 367 sentences of Tante, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of Tante by Anne Douglas Sedgwick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 30 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 Tante by Anne Douglas Sedgwick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9938 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30115 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30115, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1988 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tante section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Tante 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 Tante, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
