The dangerous inheritance

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The dangerous inheritance

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

In spite of her dislike of him and reluctance to accept favors, Carlota felt a thrill of almost childish excitement over the novelty of it all as she entered the upper salon which had been turned into a private banqueting-hall for the occasion.

The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter VIII Reading 1/36

The dangerous inheritance Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire. In spite of her dislike of him and reluctance to accept favors, Carlota felt a thrill of almost childish excitement over the novelty of it all as she entered the upper salon which had been turned into a private banqueting-hall for the occasion. The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery. A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron. The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

The dangerous inheritance

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/36 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

Line 2

Line 3

The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

Line 4

A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

/ə ɡloʊ frʌm ˈhɪdən ˈʃeɪdɪd laɪts left ðə ruːm ɪn ə ˈtwaɪlaɪt heɪz ʌv ˈæmɪθɪst ənd ˈsæfrən/

Line 5

The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

/ðə er wɑːz ˈfreɪɡrənt wɪð feɪnt streɪndʒ pərˈfjuːmz/

Learner Dictionary

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.

amethyst noun US /ˈæmɪθɪst/

a transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstone

From this reading “A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.”

draperies noun US /ˈdreɪpəriz/

plural of “drapery” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)

From this reading “The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.”

embroidery noun US /emˈbrɔɪdəri/

elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative (sometimes fictitious) detail

From this reading “The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.”

favors noun US /ˈfeɪvərz/

plural of “favor” — an act of gracious kindness

From this reading “In spite of her dislike of him and reluctance to accept favors, Carlota felt a thrill of almost childish excitement over the novelty of it all as she entered the upper salon which had been turned into a private banqueting-hall for the occasion.”

perfumes noun US /pərˈfjuːmz/

plural of “perfume” — a distinctive odor that is pleasant

From this reading “The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.”

presided verb US /prɪˈzaɪdɪd/

past form of “preside” — act as president

From this reading “Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.”

saffron noun US /ˈsæfrən/

Old World crocus having purple or white flowers with aromatic pungent orange stigmas used in flavoring food

From this reading “A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.”

weighted adjective US /ˈweɪtɪd/

made heavy or weighted down with weariness

From this reading “The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

presided over verb + particle counted as “preside over”

In this reading “Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.”

felt a thrill verb + article + noun counted as “felt … thrill”

In this reading “In spite of her dislike of him and reluctance to accept favors, Carlota felt a thrill of almost childish excitement over the novelty of it all as she entered the upper salon which had been turned into a private banqueting-hall for the occasion.”

almost childish adverb + adjective

In spite preposition + noun

in a twilight preposition + article + noun counted as “in … twilight”

In this reading “A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.”

for the occasion preposition + article + noun counted as “for … occasion”

hung with verb + particle counted as “hang with”

In this reading “The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.”

All words in this reading · 77

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading In spite of her dislike of him and reluctance to accept favors, Carlota felt a thrill of almost childish excitement over the novelty of it all as she entered the upper salon which had been turned into a private banqueting-hall for the occasion.

acceptverbUS /ækˈsept/

consider or hold as true

airnounUS /er/

a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of

From this reading The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

almostadverbUS /ˈɔːlmoʊst/

(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but

amethystnounUS /ˈæmɪθɪst/

a transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstone

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

banqueting-hall

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

butlernounUS /ˈbʌtlər/

a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

Carlota

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

childishadjectiveUS /ˈtʃaɪldɪʃ/

indicating a lack of maturity

detailsnounUS /dɪˈteɪlz/

true confidential information

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

dinnernounUS /ˈdɪnər/

the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

dislikenounUS /dɪˈslaɪk/

an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

draperiesnounUS /ˈdreɪpəriz/

plural of “drapery” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

dull-gold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

embroiderynounUS /emˈbrɔɪdəri/

elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative (sometimes fictitious) detail

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

enteredverbUS /ˈentərd/

past form of “enter” — to come or go into

excitementnounUS /ɪkˈsaɪtmənt/

the feeling of lively and cheerful joy

faintadjectiveUS /feɪnt/

deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc

From this reading The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

favorsnounUS /ˈfeɪvərz/

plural of “favor” — an act of gracious kindness

feltverbUS /felt/

mat together and make felt-like

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

fragrantadjectiveUS /ˈfreɪɡrənt/

pleasant-smelling

From this reading The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

glownounUS /ɡloʊ/

an alert and refreshed state

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

handedadjectiveUS /ˈhændəd/

having or involving the use of hands

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

hazenounUS /heɪz/

atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

hiddenadjectiveUS /ˈhɪdən/

not accessible to view

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

housenounUS /haʊs/

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

hungverbUS /hʌŋ/

inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

Ishigaki

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

JapanesenounUS /ˌdʒæpəˈniːz/

a native or inhabitant of Japan

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

leftnounUS /left/

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

lightsnounUS /laɪts/

plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

millionairenounUS /ˌmɪljəˈner/

a person whose material wealth is valued at more than a million dollars

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

noveltynounUS /ˈnɑːvəlti/

originality by virtue of being refreshingly novel

occasionnounUS /əˈkeɪʒən/

an event that occurs at a critical time

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

OrientaladjectiveUS /ˌɔːriˈentəl/

denoting or characteristic of countries of the Far East

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

perfumesnounUS /pərˈfjuːmz/

plural of “perfume” — a distinctive odor that is pleasant

From this reading The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

presidedverbUS /prɪˈzaɪdɪd/

past form of “preside” — act as president

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

privateadjectiveUS /ˈpraɪvət/

confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy

reluctancenounUS /rɪˈlʌktəns/

(physics) opposition to magnetic flux (analogous to electric resistance)

roomnounUS /ruːm/

an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

saffronnounUS /ˈsæfrən/

Old World crocus having purple or white flowers with aromatic pungent orange stigmas used in flavoring food

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

salonnounUS /səˈlɑːn/

gallery where works of art can be displayed

shadedadjectiveUS /ˈʃeɪdɪd/

protected from heat and light with shade or shadow

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

spitenounUS /spaɪt/

feeling a need to see others suffer

strangeadjectiveUS /streɪndʒ/

being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird

From this reading The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

thrillnounUS /θrɪl/

the swift release of a store of affective force

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

townnounUS /taʊn/

an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

twilightnounUS /ˈtwaɪlaɪt/

the time of day immediately following sunset

From this reading A glow from hidden shaded lights left the room in a twilight haze of amethyst and saffron.

upperadjectiveUS /ˈʌpər/

the topmost one of two

wallsnounUS /wɔːlz/

plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

WardnounUS /wɔːrd/

a person who is under the protection or in the custody of another

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The air was fragrant with faint, strange perfumes.

weightedadjectiveUS /ˈweɪtɪd/

made heavy or weighted down with weariness

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading Ward had handed over the details of the dinner to his Japanese butler, Ishigaki, who presided over the town house of the millionaire.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The walls were hung with dull-gold, Oriental draperies, weighted down with embroidery.

Chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance by Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester holds 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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.

What does chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance contain?

Chapter 8 holds 184 sentences of The dangerous inheritance, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance by Izola L. (Izola Louise) Forrester exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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.

How do I study chapter 8 of The dangerous inheritance?

Work through the 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 37 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.

Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 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.

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Chapter VIII

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