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The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel
The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel

Chapter XXXVII · Chapter 37

Chapter 37 of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel is here in full — 91 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel
Context Illustration Reading 1/18 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE RESCUE.
Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.
He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.
The die had been cast.
He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel

Chapter XXXVII · Chapter 37

Chapter 37 of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel is here in full — 91 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/18 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE RESCUE.
/ðə ˈreskjuː/
Line 2
Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.
Line 3
He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.
/hiː hæd saɪnd ðə ˈdɑːkjəment dɪˈklerɪŋ hɪm ə ˈbæŋkrəpt ənd hiː hæd dɪˈlɪvərd ˈoʊvər ɔːl hɪz ˈprɑːpərti tuː hɪz ˈkredɪtərz/
Line 4
The die had been cast.
/ðə daɪ hæd bɪn kæst/
Line 5
He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.
/hiː hæd bɪn ˈpaʊərfəl ənd ɡreɪt θruː ˈmʌni bʌt hɪz ˈpaʊər ənd ˈɡreɪtnəs hæd naʊ ɡɔːn frʌm hɪm fɔːr hiː wɑːz puːr/

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.

bankrupt verb US /ˈbæŋkrəpt/

reduce to bankruptcy

From this reading “He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.”

creditors noun US /ˈkredɪtərz/

plural of “creditor” — a person to whom money is owed by a debtor; someone to whom an obligation exists

From this reading “He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.”

declaring verb US /dɪˈklerɪŋ/

-ing form of “declare” — state emphatically and authoritatively

From this reading “He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.”

document noun US /ˈdɑːkjəment/

writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)

From this reading “He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.”

earthly adjective US /ˈɜːrθli/

of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven

From this reading “Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.”

greatness noun US /ˈɡreɪtnəs/

the property possessed by something or someone of outstanding importance or eminence

From this reading “He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.”

rescue verb US /ˈreskjuː/

free from harm or evil

From this reading “THE RESCUE.”

signed adjective US /saɪnd/

having a handwritten signature

From this reading “He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.”

All words in this reading · 40

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

affairsnounUS /əˈferz/

matters of personal concern

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

bankruptverbUS /ˈbæŋkrəpt/

reduce to bankruptcy

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The die had been cast.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

castverbUS /kæst/

put or send forth

From this reading The die had been cast.

closedadjectiveUS /kloʊzd/

not open or affording passage or access

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

creditorsnounUS /ˈkredɪtərz/

plural of “creditor” — a person to whom money is owed by a debtor; someone to whom an obligation exists

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

declaringverbUS /dɪˈklerɪŋ/

-ing form of “declare” — state emphatically and authoritatively

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

deliveredverbUS /dɪˈlɪvərd/

past form of “deliver” — deliver (a speech, oration, or idea)

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

dieverbUS /daɪ/

pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading The die had been cast.

documentnounUS /ˈdɑːkjəment/

writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

earthlyadjectiveUS /ˈɜːrθli/

of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

goneadjectiveUS /ɡɔːn/

destroyed or killed

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

Gotzkowsky

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

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

greatnessnounUS /ˈɡreɪtnəs/

the property possessed by something or someone of outstanding importance or eminence

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

lifenounUS /laɪf/

a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

moneynounUS /ˈmʌni/

the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

pooradjectiveUS /puːr/

deserving or inciting pity

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

powernounUS /ˈpaʊər/

possession of controlling influence

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

powerfuladjectiveUS /ˈpaʊərfəl/

having great power or force or potency or effect

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

propertynounUS /ˈprɑːpərti/

something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

RESCUEverbUS /ˈreskjuː/

free from harm or evil

From this reading THE RESCUE.

signedadjectiveUS /saɪnd/

having a handwritten signature

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE RESCUE.

throughprepositionUS /θruː/

from one end or side of something to the other

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading He had signed the document declaring him a bankrupt, and he had delivered over all his property to his creditors.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading He had been powerful and great through money, but his power and greatness had now gone from him, for he was poor.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Gotzkowsky had closed with life and earthly affairs.

Chapter 37 of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel by L. (Luise) Mühlbach holds 91 sentences, grouped into 19 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.

What does chapter 37 of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel contain?

Chapter 37 holds 91 sentences of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 37 of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel by L. (Luise) Mühlbach exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 91 sentences, grouped into 19 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 37 of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel?

Work through the 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 19 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 37 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 37 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 Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel

Common questions about reading The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel by L. (Luise) Mühlbach on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel?

Yes. All 6512 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12016 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #12016, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel take to read?

About 542 minutes of reading across 1303 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel section by section

How to work through The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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Vocabulary met early in The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Frederick
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Great
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Meissen
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Love--new
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.