Chapter 17 of The Old Room is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Old Room is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it. But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind. Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster. It began to grow dusk. Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
Chapter 17 of The Old Room is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “It began to grow dusk.”
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “It began to grow dusk.”
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading “Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.”
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading “But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.”
in or at or to some place
From this reading “Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.”
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 “Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.”
In this reading “It began to grow dusk.”
In this reading “But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.”
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 Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
anew
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
one of a number of closely spaced supports for a railing
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
for the reason that
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading It began to grow dusk.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading It began to grow dusk.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading It began to grow dusk.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
only a very short time before
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
in or at or to some place
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
having a supporting base
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The balcony-door was standing open, because they had forgotten to close it.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading But the weather was mild and there was hardly any wind.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Fru Adelheid sat with her head in her hands and stared out before her.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading Now and again, a yellow leaf fell somewhere or other from the baluster.
Chapter 17 of The Old Room by Carl Ewald holds 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 17 holds 113 sentences of The Old Room, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Old Room by Carl Ewald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 17 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 Room by Carl Ewald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62883, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 274 minutes of reading across 658 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Old Room 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 Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
