Chapter 7 of The pit is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The pit is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Such a wet night. Who would have thought it was going to rain? I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added. "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?" "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
Chapter 7 of The pit is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a grant made by a law court
From this reading “"At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"”
a special group delegated to consider some matter
From this reading “"At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"”
of great significance or value
From this reading “"At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"”
with indifference; in an indifferent manner
From this reading “"Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.”
set up or lay the groundwork for
From this reading “"At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"”
plural of “prize” — something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery
From this reading “"At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"”
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading “Who would have thought it was going to rain?”
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading “"Such a wet night.”
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 "Such a wet night.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
a grant made by a law court
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
a special group delegated to consider some matter
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
the act of departing
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
of great significance or value
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
with indifference; in an indifferent manner
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
set up or lay the groundwork for
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "Such a wet night.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
plural of “prize” — something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "Such a wet night.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading "Such a wet night.
which person or people
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
in the company of; together with
From this reading "At dinner Mrs. Cressler said you had an important committee meeting--something to do with the Art Institute, the award of prizes; was that it?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Who would have thought it was going to rain?
an affirmative
From this reading "Oh, yes," he answered, indifferently, "something of the sort was on.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I was afraid you were not coming at first," she added.
Chapter 7 of The pit by Frank Norris holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 7 holds 408 sentences of The pit, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The pit by Frank Norris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 7 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 pit by Frank Norris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4382 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4382, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The pit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The pit 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 pit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
