Chapter 6 of The Brightener is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Brightener is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink. "I know you. I----" "And I know you!" I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed. Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
Chapter 6 of The Brightener is here in full — 207 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.
past form of “cow” — subdue, restrain, or overcome by affecting with a feeling of awe; frighten (as with threats)
From this reading “I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.”
take in liquids
From this reading “THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.”
unpleasantly stern
From this reading “THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.”
affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)
From this reading “Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.”
past form of “rasp” — scrape with a rasp
From this reading “THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.”
plural of “spring” — the season of growth
From this reading “Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.”
sounding as if pronounced low in the throat
From this reading “THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.”
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 “Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.”
In this reading “Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.”
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 THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I----" "And I know you!"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
past form of “cow” — subdue, restrain, or overcome by affecting with a feeling of awe; frighten (as with threats)
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
take in liquids
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
unpleasantly stern
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I know you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I know you.
immediately past
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
past form of “rasp” — scrape with a rasp
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
used of skin roughened as a result of cold or exposure
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
plural of “spring” — the season of growth
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
sounding as if pronounced low in the throat
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I cut her short, to show that I was not cowed.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Sitting up in bed, hugging her knees, she started at my words so that the springs shook.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I know you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WOMAN OF THE PAST "Oh, you've come at last!" she rasped, in a harsh, throaty voice roughened by drink.
Chapter 6 of The Brightener by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 6 holds 207 sentences of The Brightener, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Brightener by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 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 6 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 The Brightener by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6165 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32428 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32428, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 513 minutes of reading across 1233 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brightener section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Brightener 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 The Brightener, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
