Chapter 6 of The Greater Inclination is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Greater Inclination is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Warland_. If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time. But I’d sooner break stones in the road. _Isabel_. It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
Chapter 6 of The Greater Inclination is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
terminate
From this reading “But I’d sooner break stones in the road.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.”
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading “It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.”
the body of people in a learned occupation
From this reading “It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.”
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading “But I’d sooner break stones in the road.”
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading “But I’d sooner break stones in the road.”
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “But I’d sooner break stones in the road.”
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 If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
terminate
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Isabel_.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
and nothing more
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
the body of people in a learned occupation
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But I’d sooner break stones in the road.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading If I only had a head for business, now, I might have done something by this time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
precisely as stated
From this reading It must be very hard to get an opening in that profession.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Warland_.
Chapter 6 of The Greater Inclination by Edith Wharton holds 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 6 holds 436 sentences of The Greater Inclination, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Greater Inclination by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 6 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 Greater Inclination by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3378 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9190 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9190, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 281 minutes of reading across 676 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Greater Inclination section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Greater Inclination 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 Greater Inclination, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
