Read and study this complete chapter with synchronized narration, pronunciation, and vocabulary support.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Read the complete chapter in order, with its original wording preserved for focused English study.
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.
Study this chapter through synchronized reading, listening, pronunciation, and contextual vocabulary.
Reading 7/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 31–35
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.
go together
From this reading “When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.”
third-person singular of “admire” — feel admiration for
From this reading “The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.”
a conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts
From this reading “Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading “When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.”
be of different opinions
From this reading “When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.”
noticeable heterogeneity
From this reading “Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”
to a high degree; extremely; in high concentration or density
From this reading “The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.”
urgently needed; absolutely necessary
From this reading “Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”
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 Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
go together
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
feel admiration for
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
third-person singular of “admire” — feel admiration for
From this reading The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All art is quite useless.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
a conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
be of different opinions
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
noticeable heterogeneity
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
accept an excuse for
From this reading The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
to a high degree; extremely; in high concentration or density
From this reading The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
and nothing more
From this reading The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading All art is quite useless.
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
a special situation
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
being of use or service
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
urgently needed; absolutely necessary
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
at the time that
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
in the company of; together with
From this reading When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
