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The Rise of Silas Lapham
The Rise of Silas Lapham

Chapter XXXIX · Chapter 39

Chapter 39 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Rise of Silas Lapham
Context Illustration Reading 1/42 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.
"That's all," she said to the hackman.
"I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.
Corey stood helpless.
Irene turned upon him, and gave him her hand.
0:00 / 0:00
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Rise of Silas Lapham

Chapter XXXIX · Chapter 39

Chapter 39 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.
Line 2
"That's all," she said to the hackman.
Line 3
"I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.
Line 4
Corey stood helpless.
Line 5
Irene turned upon him, and gave him her hand.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Stood verb US /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading “Corey stood helpless.”

All words in this reading · 38

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.

all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "That's all," she said to the hackman.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

bags

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

checks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

composure

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

Corey

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Corey stood helpless.

door

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

driven

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

entered

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

explained

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

expressman

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

following

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

gave

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

hackman

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

hand

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene turned upon him, and gave him her hand.

helpless

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Corey stood helpless.

her

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

him

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene turned upon him, and gave him her hand.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

Irene

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

kissed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

my

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

Penelope

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I gave my checks to the expressman," she explained to Penelope.

resolute

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

said

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "That's all," she said to the hackman.

she

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "That's all," she said to the hackman.

sister

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

small

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

stoodverbUS /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading Corey stood helpless.

That's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "That's all," she said to the hackman.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

turned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene turned upon him, and gave him her hand.

unheard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

upon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene turned upon him, and gave him her hand.

who

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Irene entered with the hackman, who had driven her unheard to the door, following with her small bags, and kissed her sister with resolute composure.

Chapter 39 of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells holds 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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.

What does chapter 39 of The Rise of Silas Lapham contain?

Chapter 39 holds 210 sentences of The Rise of Silas Lapham, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 39 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 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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.

How do I study chapter 39 of The Rise of Silas Lapham?

Work through the 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 42 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.

Can chapter 39 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 39 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.

Questions about reading The Rise of Silas Lapham

Common questions about reading The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Rise of Silas Lapham?

Yes. All 8158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Rise of Silas Lapham is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #154, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Rise of Silas Lapham take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1632 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Rise of Silas Lapham section by section

How to work through The Rise of Silas Lapham section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Rise of Silas Lapham to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Rise of Silas Lapham

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Rise of Silas Lapham, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Bartley
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rise of Silas Lapham; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Hubbard
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rise of Silas Lapham; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Interview
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rise of Silas Lapham; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Silas
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rise of Silas Lapham; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.