Chapter 30 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VIGIL "The raid is still in progress." Morning Paper. To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful. Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk. Not funk for himself!
Chapter 30 of The Disturbing Charm is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain
From this reading “Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.”
full of events or incidents
From this reading “To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.”
a state of nervous depression
From this reading “Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.”
search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on
From this reading “VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."”
members of a governing board
From this reading “Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.”
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.”
not possible to deny
From this reading “Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.”
a period of sleeplessness
From this reading “VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."”
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 “To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.”
In this reading “Morning Paper.”
In this reading “Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.”
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 Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
later than; following
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
full of events or incidents
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Not funk for himself!
a state of nervous depression
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Not funk for himself!
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
plural of “member” — one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization)
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Morning Paper.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
a daughter of your brother or sister
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not funk for himself!
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading Morning Paper.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
gradual improvement or growth or development
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
members of a governing board
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
not in physical motion
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To other members of the party that raid had been less (obviously) eventful.
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
not possible to deny
From this reading Little Mr. Brown, after he had seen Mrs. Cartwright's niece, the nurse, back to her rooms, trotted back to the Regent Palace Hotel all in a dither of undeniable funk.
a period of sleeplessness
From this reading VIGIL "The raid is still in progress."
Chapter 30 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck holds 183 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.
Chapter 30 holds 183 sentences of The Disturbing Charm, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 30 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.
