Chapter 32 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXII
Chapter 32 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened. Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold. Evidently she had been set to wait for him. "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily. G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
Chapter 32 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
slightly open
From this reading “THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.”
a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
From this reading “G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.”
plural of “cellar” — the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading “"The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.”
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading “THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.”
small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading “Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold.”
disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
From this reading “G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.”
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading “Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold.”
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.
slightly open
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
(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 "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
plural of “cellar” — the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
most important element
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
a hard crystalline metamorphic rock that takes a high polish; used for sculpture and as building material
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
in a perky manner
From this reading "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
precisely, exactly
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold.
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "The men-servants are all in the cellars," said she perkily.
disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading Robin, the secretary, stood at the threshold.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Evidently she had been set to wait for him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE ROOF The main door of LECHFORD HOUSE was ajar, and at the sound of G.J.'s footsteps on the marble of the porch it opened.
in the company of; together with
From this reading G.J. retorted with sardonic bitterness: "And quite right, too.
Chapter 32 of The Pretty Lady by Arnold Bennett holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 32 holds 205 sentences of The Pretty Lady, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 32 of The Pretty Lady by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 32 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 Pretty Lady by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5883 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12673 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12673, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 490 minutes of reading across 1177 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pretty Lady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Pretty Lady 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 Pretty Lady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
