Chapter 7 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Days passed by. The bombardment ceased. Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars. Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter. The town waited with bated breath.
Chapter 7 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
diminished or moderated
From this reading “The town waited with bated breath.”
the rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic communication (spoken or written)
From this reading “The bombardment ceased.”
plural of “cellar” — the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading “Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.”
a very intense and uncontrolled fire
From this reading “Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.”
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading “Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.”
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading “Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.”
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading “Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.”
process or result of becoming less or smaller
From this reading “Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.”
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.
In this reading “Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.”
In this reading “Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.”
In this reading “Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.”
In this reading “Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.”
move past
In this reading “Days passed by.”
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 Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
diminished or moderated
From this reading The town waited with bated breath.
the rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic communication (spoken or written)
From this reading The bombardment ceased.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading The town waited with bated breath.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Days passed by.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading The bombardment ceased.
plural of “cellar” — the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.
a very intense and uncontrolled fire
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
travel across or pass over
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Days passed by.
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.
made afraid
From this reading Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Days passed by.
done under pressure
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
plural of “shape” — any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading Frightened shapes emerged from the cellars.
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
process or result of becoming less or smaller
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The bombardment ceased.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The town waited with bated breath.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading The town waited with bated breath.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
at the time that
From this reading Shrinking against the walls, they stared at the conflagration and when they had to cross a street they rushed to the nearest shelter.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The town waited with bated breath.
Chapter 7 of The Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay holds 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 355 sentences of The Old House: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5724 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66344 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66344, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 477 minutes of reading across 1145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old House: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Old House: A Novel 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 Old House: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
