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The Old Room
The Old Room

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of The Old Room is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Old Room
Context Illustration Reading 1/70 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.
Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.
“If only you would speak, Cordt....
If only you would ask me something.
Why don’t you ask me something?”
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 Old Room

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of The Old Room is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.
Line 2
Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.
Line 3
“If only you would speak, Cordt....
Line 4
If only you would ask me something.
/ɪf ˈoʊnli juː wʊd æsk miː ˈsʌmθɪŋ/
Line 5
Why don’t you ask me something?”

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.

ask verb US /æsk/

make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading “If only you would ask me something.”

bouquet noun US /buːˈkeɪ/

an arrangement of flowers that is usually given as a present

From this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

chair noun US /tʃer/

a seat for one person, with a support for the back

From this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

floor noun US /flɔːr/

the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)

From this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

flowers noun US /ˈflaʊərz/

plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

From this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

leaning adjective US /ˈliːnɪŋ/

departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal

From this reading “Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.”

pieces noun US /ˈpiːsəz/

plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole

From this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

pulled verb US /pʊld/

past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling

From this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

on the floor preposition + article + noun counted as “on … floor”

In this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

looked at verb + particle counted as “look at”

take into consideration for exemplifying purposes

In this reading “Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.”

lay on verb + particle

In this reading “Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.”

All words in this reading · 35

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.

Adelheid

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

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

askverbUS /æsk/

make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading If only you would ask me something.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

bouquetnounUS /buːˈkeɪ/

an arrangement of flowers that is usually given as a present

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

chairnounUS /tʃer/

a seat for one person, with a support for the back

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

Cordt

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

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

don't

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

From this reading Why don’t you ask me something?”

floornounUS /flɔːr/

the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

flowersnounUS /ˈflaʊərz/

plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

Fru

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

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

headnounUS /hed/

the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

IfconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading “If only you would speak, Cordt....

layverbUS /leɪ/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

leaningadjectiveUS /ˈliːnɪŋ/

departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

lookedverbUS /lʊkt/

past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading If only you would ask me something.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading “If only you would speak, Cordt....

piecesnounUS /ˈpiːsəz/

plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

pulledverbUS /pʊld/

past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

satnounUS /sæt/

the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading If only you would ask me something.

speakverbUS /spiːk/

express in speech

From this reading “If only you would speak, Cordt....

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Fru Adelheid lay on the floor before her chair and pulled the flowers of her bouquet to pieces.

WhynounUS /waɪ/

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading Why don’t you ask me something?”

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Cordt sat with his head leaning on his hand and looked at the flowers.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “If only you would speak, Cordt....

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “If only you would speak, Cordt....

Chapter 11 of The Old Room by Carl Ewald holds 350 sentences, grouped into 70 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 11 of The Old Room contain?

Chapter 11 holds 350 sentences of The Old Room, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 11 of The Old Room by Carl Ewald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 350 sentences, grouped into 70 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 11 of The Old Room?

Work through the 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 70 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 11 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 11 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 Old Room

Common questions about reading The Old Room by Carl Ewald on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Old Room?

Yes. All 3288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Old Room is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #62883, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Old Room take to read?

About 274 minutes of reading across 658 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Old Room section by section

How to work through The Old Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Old Room 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 Old Room

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Old Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Old Room; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Little
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Old Room; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Two-legs
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Old Room; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Spider
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Old Room; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.