Chapter 23 of The Choice of Life is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Choice of Life is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed. There is no silence, no work. The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me. We cannot settle upon anything. "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
Chapter 23 of The Choice of Life is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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 part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading “This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.”
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading “This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.”
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading “This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.”
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading “The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.”
plural of “fuss” — an excited state of agitation
From this reading “The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.”
a female domestic
From this reading “The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.”
settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
From this reading “We cannot settle upon anything.”
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading “The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
any thing at all
From this reading We cannot settle upon anything.
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We cannot settle upon anything.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
plural of “fuss” — an excited state of agitation
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
a female domestic
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
not any; not one
From this reading There is no silence, no work.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
express in words
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
From this reading We cannot settle upon anything.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There is no silence, no work.
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading The maid fusses about, spreading out my dresses before Rose and me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is no silence, no work.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading We cannot settle upon anything.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We cannot settle upon anything.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading This afternoon, the whole atmosphere of the house is changed.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading There is no silence, no work.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "We shall have to try them on you," I say.
Chapter 23 of The Choice of Life by Georgette Leblanc holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 23 holds 201 sentences of The Choice of Life, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Choice of Life by Georgette Leblanc exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 23 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 Choice of Life by Georgette Leblanc on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2783 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22411 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22411, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 231 minutes of reading across 557 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Choice of Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Choice of 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 The Choice of Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
