Chapter 7 of The Hero is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Hero is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked. "Your hands are too fine." He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger. Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems. "I like to be gaudy.
Chapter 7 of The Hero is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
of surpassing excellence
From this reading “Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.”
in a self-satisfied manner
From this reading “Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.”
tastelessly showy
From this reading “"I like to be gaudy.”
plural of “gem” — art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
From this reading “Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.”
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading “"Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.”
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading “Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.”
past form of “venture” — proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
From this reading “He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.”
be dressed in
From this reading “"Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.”
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.
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 Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
react verbally
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Your hands are too fine."
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I like to be gaudy.
of surpassing excellence
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
in a self-satisfied manner
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading "Your hands are too fine."
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
tastelessly showy
From this reading "I like to be gaudy.
plural of “gem” — art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
disposed to please
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading "Your hands are too fine."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I like to be gaudy.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I like to be gaudy.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
not any; not one
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I like to be gaudy.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Your hands are too fine."
past form of “venture” — proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
be dressed in
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her answer came with a little, good-humoured laugh; she stretched out her fingers, looking complacently at the brilliant gems.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He would never have ventured the question, but now there was no danger.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why do you wear so many rings?" he asked.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Your hands are too fine."
Chapter 7 of The Hero by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 7 holds 410 sentences of The Hero, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Hero by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 7 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 Hero by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4952 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27063 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27063, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 412 minutes of reading across 991 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Hero section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Hero 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 Hero, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
