Chapter 30 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She shook her head. "It won't change anything? Don't you see that there's no hope for us?" "When is she coming back?" he asked. "I don't know.
Chapter 30 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
any thing at all
From this reading “"It won't change anything?”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “"When is she coming back?" he asked.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “"When is she coming back?" he asked.”
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “"It won't change anything?”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “"When is she coming back?" he asked.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “She shook her head.”
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “She shook her head.”
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.
any thing at all
From this reading "It won't change anything?
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "When is she coming back?" he asked.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "When is she coming back?" he asked.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading "It won't change anything?
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading "When is she coming back?" he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "When is she coming back?" he asked.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She shook her head.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I don't know.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "When is she coming back?" he asked.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It won't change anything?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I don't know.
not any; not one
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She shook her head.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading She shook her head.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
at the time that
From this reading "When is she coming back?" he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It won't change anything?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Don't you see that there's no hope for us?"
Chapter 30 of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 30 holds 185 sentences of The Rise of Silas Lapham, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 30 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 Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #154, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1632 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rise of Silas Lapham section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Rise of Silas Lapham 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 Rise of Silas Lapham, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
