Chapter 15 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring! Farewell, All-hallown summer!" Shakespeare. "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling. "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
Chapter 15 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
English clergyman who invented the power loom (1743-1823)
From this reading “"It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.”
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading “THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!”
made known or openly avowed
From this reading “"It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.”
an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting
From this reading “THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “"It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.”
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading “Shakespeare.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “"It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.”
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 “"It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.”
in reality or actuality
In this reading “"In fact, as easy as it is with them.”
a highly pleasurable or exciting experience
In this reading “"It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.”
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 "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Farewell, All-hallown summer!"
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
English clergyman who invented the power loom (1743-1823)
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
made known or openly avowed
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
the force of workers available
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading Shakespeare.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
the season of growth
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading Farewell, All-hallown summer!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading THE LOSING OF THE CHARM "Farewell, thou latter Spring!
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "In fact, as easy as it is with them.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading "It's perfectly easy to have a good time in this world without any men," declared Mrs. Cartwright, smiling.
Chapter 15 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 15 holds 148 sentences of The Disturbing Charm, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 15 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.
