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The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge

Chapter VII · Chapter 7

Chapter 7 of The Mayor of Casterbridge is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Mayor of Casterbridge
Context Illustration Reading 1/34 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.
He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.
His face flushed.
I never expected thisI did not!” he said.
It’s Providence!
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Chapter VII · Chapter 7

Chapter 7 of The Mayor of Casterbridge is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/34 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.
Line 2
He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.
Line 3
His face flushed.
Line 4
I never expected thisI did not!” he said.
Line 5
It’s Providence!

Learner Dictionary

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.

Beneath preposition US /bɪˈniːθ/

Directly under; in or to a lower position than.

From this reading “He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.”

Providence noun US /ˈprɑː.və.dəns/

The protective care of God or nature as a spiritual power. (Sự quan phòng, thiên ý phù hộ.)

From this reading ““It’s Providence!”

All words in this reading · 44

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

along

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

backward

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

beneathprepositionUS /bɪˈniːθ/

Directly under; in or to a lower position than.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

country

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

did

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

expected

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

face

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading His face flushed.

fertile

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

flushed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading His face flushed.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

hand

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

He

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

Henchard's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

His

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading His face flushed.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

It's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s Providence!

looked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

man's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

moment

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

never

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

not

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

or

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

over

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

ProvidencenounUS /ˈprɑː.və.dəns/

The protective care of God or nature as a spiritual power. (Sự quan phòng, thiên ý phù hộ.)

From this reading “It’s Providence!

reaching

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

remained

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

said

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

shaded

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

steady

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

stretched

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

that

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

them

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

this

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I never expected this—I did not!” he said.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

top

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

town

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

two

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

walk

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He looked over the fertile country that stretched beneath them, then backward along the shaded walk reaching to the top of the town.

young

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The young man’s hand remained steady in Henchard’s for a moment or two.

Chapter 7 of The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy holds 171 sentences, grouped into 35 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 7 of The Mayor of Casterbridge contain?

Chapter 7 holds 171 sentences of The Mayor of Casterbridge, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 7 of The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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.

How do I study chapter 7 of The Mayor of Casterbridge?

Work through the 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 35 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.

Can chapter 7 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Mayor of Casterbridge

Common questions about reading The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Mayor of Casterbridge?

Yes. All 6288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #143 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Mayor of Casterbridge is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #143, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Mayor of Casterbridge take to read?

About 524 minutes of reading across 1258 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Mayor of Casterbridge section by section

How to work through The Mayor of Casterbridge section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Mayor of Casterbridge to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Mayor of Casterbridge

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Mayor of Casterbridge, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Death
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Mayor of Casterbridge; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Character
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Mayor of Casterbridge; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Evening
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Mayor of Casterbridge; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Summer
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Mayor of Casterbridge; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.