Chapter 6 of The seven stairs is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The seven stairs is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold. While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat. His capacity for work is equally limitless. He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long. But he cannot catch fish!
Chapter 6 of The seven stairs is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
concrete pavement is sometimes referred to as cement
From this reading “He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.”
without limits in extent or size or quantity
From this reading “His capacity for work is equally limitless.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.”
inflected form of “petrify” — cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned from fright
From this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them
From this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
highly seasoned minced meat stuffed in casings
From this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force
From this reading “He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
uncooked meat
In this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
In this reading “He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.”
In this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
In this reading “But he cannot catch fish!”
create by putting components or members together
In this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
In this reading “While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.”
In this reading “He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.”
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 While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
(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 He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
plural of “bag” — a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
plural of “ball” — round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
see with attention
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he cannot catch fish!
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But he cannot catch fish!
capability to perform or produce
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading But he cannot catch fish!
concrete pavement is sometimes referred to as cement
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
a solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
the act of consuming food
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading His capacity for work is equally limitless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
divisible by two
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His capacity for work is equally limitless.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
without limits in extent or size or quantity
From this reading His capacity for work is equally limitless.
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 He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
inflected form of “petrify” — cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned from fright
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
(used especially of commodities) being unprocessed or manufactured using only simple or minimal processes
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
highly seasoned minced meat stuffed in casings
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Ervin’s capacity for eating is marvelous to behold.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
during the time that
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading While the children stare at him in petrified wonder, he will put together a sandwich of cheese, sausage, fish, butter, meat balls, even strips of raw meat.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading His capacity for work is equally limitless.
combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force
From this reading He is a powerful man and can wrestle with bags of cement all day long.
Chapter 6 of The seven stairs by Stuart Brent holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 6 holds 425 sentences of The seven stairs, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The seven stairs by Stuart Brent exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 6 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 seven stairs by Stuart Brent on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3379 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69175 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69175, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 281 minutes of reading across 676 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The seven stairs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The seven stairs 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 seven stairs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
