Chapter 17 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 XVII
Chapter 17 of The painted room is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs. "Mammie, what are you doing? Can't you come down a minute?" And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart. "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
Chapter 17 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.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading “And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.”
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “"Mammie, what are you doing?”
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading “And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.”
abnormal hardening or thickening of tissue
From this reading “And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “Can't you come down a minute?"”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.”
-ing form of “vow” — make a vow; promise
From this reading “"I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.”
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.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “Can't you come down a minute?"”
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 Can't you come down a minute?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Mammie, what are you doing?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can't you come down a minute?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Can't you come down a minute?"
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "Mammie, what are you doing?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Can't you come down a minute?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart.
divisible by two
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
the act of departing
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
destroyed or killed
From this reading And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart.
abnormal hardening or thickening of tissue
From this reading And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And Emily had gone down, hardening her heart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mammie, what are you doing?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Can't you come down a minute?"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
express in words
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
in or at that place or location
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
-ing form of “vow” — make a vow; promise
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I'm never going to tell her the truth," she was vowing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Mammie, what are you doing?
during the time that
From this reading And even while she sat there feeling sick at heart, Martha's voice came dancing up the stairs.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Mammie, what are you doing?
Chapter 17 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 17 holds 413 sentences of The painted room, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 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 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 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.
