Chapter 17 of The easiest way is here in full — 293 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The easiest way is here in full — 293 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated. Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl. John might arrive any moment. She must decide at once on what was to be done. What could she say to him?
Chapter 17 of The easiest way is here in full — 293 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading “With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.”
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “John might arrive any moment.”
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading “She must decide at once on what was to be done.”
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading “With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.”
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.”
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading “With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.”
past form of “vacate” — leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
From this reading “With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.”
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 With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
(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 Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading John might arrive any moment.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading John might arrive any moment.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading What could she say to him?
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading What could she say to him?
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading John might arrive any moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading John might arrive any moment.
a particular point in time
From this reading John might arrive any moment.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
on one occasion
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
express in words
From this reading What could she say to him?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
past form of “vacate” — leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Everything had come so suddenly that the girl's brain was all awhirl.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She must decide at once on what was to be done.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a sigh of intense relief, Laura sank utterly exhausted into the armchair which Brockton had vacated.
Chapter 17 of The easiest way by Eugene Walter holds 293 sentences, grouped into 59 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 17 holds 293 sentences of The easiest way, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The easiest way by Eugene Walter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 293 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 17 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 easiest way by Eugene Walter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5470 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21116 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21116, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 455 minutes of reading across 1094 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The easiest way section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The easiest way 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 easiest way, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
