Chapter 7 of The seven stairs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The seven stairs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.” But it didn’t come out that way. I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over. To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do? Get me killed?
Chapter 7 of The seven stairs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 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.
any person at all
From this reading “What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.””
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?”
let fall to the ground
From this reading “What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.””
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “Get me killed?”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?”
do one's shopping
From this reading “To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?”
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading “I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.”
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading “What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.””
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.
In this reading “To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?”
as might be expected
In this reading “What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.””
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “But it didn’t come out that way.”
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 What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
(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 I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
any person at all
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
let fall to the ground
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get me killed?
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading Get me killed?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
a brief written record
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
above and across; more than
From this reading I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
express in words
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
do one's shopping
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
in the near future
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
hard to endure
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading I walked out of the studio thinking it was all over.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading But it didn’t come out that way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What I really meant to say, of course, was, “If anyone is watching, won’t he please drop me a note and say so.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading To my great astonishment, Quinlan soon reached me by phone at the shop, saying, “What are you trying to do?
Chapter 7 of The seven stairs by Stuart Brent holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 7 holds 428 sentences of The seven stairs, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The seven stairs by Stuart Brent exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 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.
