Chapter 7 of The dark mother is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The dark mother is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible. Lois knew what this meant. She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses. Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man. But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
Chapter 7 of The dark mother is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 time of person's life when they are a child
From this reading “But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.”
befitting or characteristic of a young girl
From this reading “She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.”
plural of “impulse” — an instinctive motive
From this reading “She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.”
the quality of having little or no significance
From this reading “She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.”
steadfast in allegiance or duty
From this reading “Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.”
properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by “to”
From this reading “She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.”
showing reason or sound judgment
From this reading “The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.”
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 “The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.”
keep or lay aside for future use
In this reading “The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.”
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 important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
the time of person's life when they are a child
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
befitting or characteristic of a young girl
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
of great significance or value
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
plural of “impulse” — an instinctive motive
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
the quality of having little or no significance
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Lois knew what this meant.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
held dear
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
steadfast in allegiance or duty
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading Lois knew what this meant.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
participate in games or sport
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by “to”
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
showing reason or sound judgment
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
a special situation
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Lois knew what this meant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading She knew as well the proportional insignificance of her own girlish impulses.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But these were part of her childhood, and childhood was a special state.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Lois knew what this meant.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The important thing for Lois, since she was a woman, lay in the need of being sensible.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Lois loved to play, loved to be loyal to a friend, would have loved to love a man.
Chapter 7 of The dark mother by Waldo David Frank holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 7 holds 409 sentences of The dark mother, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The dark mother by Waldo David Frank exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 The dark mother by Waldo David Frank on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The dark mother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The dark mother 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 dark mother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
