Chapter 3 of The painted room is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The painted room is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully. No crude blotches of color for her. She knew what subtly became her. Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act. "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
Chapter 3 of The painted room is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
-ing form of “adorn” — make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading “Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.”
plural of “blotch” — an irregularly shaped spot
From this reading “No crude blotches of color for her.”
not carefully or expertly made
From this reading “No crude blotches of color for her.”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “"Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"”
makeup consisting of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks
From this reading “Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.”
with skill
From this reading “Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.”
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
From this reading “"Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"”
in a subtle manner
From this reading “She knew what subtly became her.”
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 “Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.”
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 Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
-ing form of “adorn” — make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading She knew what subtly became her.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
plural of “blotch” — an irregularly shaped spot
From this reading No crude blotches of color for her.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.
a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect
From this reading No crude blotches of color for her.
not carefully or expertly made
From this reading No crude blotches of color for her.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading No crude blotches of color for her.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading She knew what subtly became her.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
not any; not one
From this reading No crude blotches of color for her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading No crude blotches of color for her.
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
makeup consisting of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She knew what subtly became her.
with skill
From this reading Martha certainly managed her adorning skillfully.
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
in a subtle manner
From this reading She knew what subtly became her.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
up to a particular time
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She knew what subtly became her.
at the time that
From this reading Her mother hadn't thought she used rouge until a few days before, when she came upon her in the act.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why, Martha Kenworthy!" she had protested, "where did you get that stuff?"
Chapter 3 of The painted room by Margaret Wilson holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 3 holds 413 sentences of The painted room, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The painted room by Margaret Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 3 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 painted room by Margaret Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The painted room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The painted 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 painted room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
