Chapter 9 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash? Does the grass clothe a new-built wall? Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?" Kipling. It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
Chapter 9 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading “UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?”
provide with clothes or put clothes on
From this reading “Does the grass clothe a new-built wall?”
property of a personal character that is portable but not used in business
From this reading “UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?”
move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading “UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?”
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading “Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"”
English author of novels and poetry who was born in India (1865-1936)
From this reading “Kipling.”
-ing form of “manifest” — provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes
From this reading “It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.”
the state of being under the control of another person
From this reading “Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"”
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 “Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"”
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 Does the grass clothe a new-built wall?
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
a youthful male person
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
provide with clothes or put clothes on
From this reading Does the grass clothe a new-built wall?
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
property of a personal character that is portable but not used in business
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
shoot down, of birds
From this reading Does the grass clothe a new-built wall?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
English author of novels and poetry who was born in India (1865-1936)
From this reading Kipling.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
-ing form of “manifest” — provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
a particular point in time
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Does the grass clothe a new-built wall?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
the state of being under the control of another person
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
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 Does the grass clothe a new-built wall?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
which person or people
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Is she under thirty, the woman who holds a boy in her thrall?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would have been a shock to little Olwen had she realized what other result of the Charm was manifesting itself already at that moment.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading UNFORSEEN EFFECTS OF THE CHARM "Does the wood-pecker flit round the young ferash?
Chapter 9 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck holds 243 sentences, grouped into 49 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 9 holds 243 sentences of The Disturbing Charm, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 243 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 9 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 Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5925 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36442 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36442, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 493 minutes of reading across 1185 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Disturbing Charm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Disturbing Charm 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 Disturbing Charm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
