The Span o' Life

Chapter VII

Chapter 7 of The Span o' Life is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By William McLennan • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

"Such a man!

I have known women silly and vain; I have known women cruel and brainless; but such a combination of the qualities I never expected to meet in man; it makes me blush for the vices of my sex!"

"Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

"My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

Narrator

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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.

Chapter VII Reading 1/32

The Span o' Life

Chapter VII

Chapter 7 of The Span o' Life is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/32 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

Line 2

"Such a man!

/sʌtʃ ə mæn/

Line 3

I have known women silly and vain; I have known women cruel and brainless; but such a combination of the qualities I never expected to meet in man; it makes me blush for the vices of my sex!"

/aɪ hæv noʊn ˈwɪmən ˈsɪli ənd veɪn aɪ hæv noʊn ˈwɪmən ˈkruːəl ənd ˈbreɪnlɪs bʌt sʌtʃ ə ˌkɑːmbəˈneɪʃən ʌv ðə ˈkwɑːlətiz aɪ ˈnevər ɪkˈspektəd tuː miːt ɪn mæn ɪt meɪks miː blʌʃ fɔːr ðə ˈvaɪsəz ʌv maɪ seks/

Line 4

"Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

Line 5

"My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

/maɪ hɑːrt ɪz tuː fʊl ʌv ˈθæŋkfəlnes tuː hiːr ə wɜːrd əˈɡenst hɪm/

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.

blush verb US /blʌʃ/

turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame

From this reading “I have known women silly and vain; I have known women cruel and brainless; but such a combination of the qualities I never expected to meet in man; it makes me blush for the vices of my sex!"”

brainless adjective US /ˈbreɪnlɪs/

not using intelligence

combination noun US /ˌkɑːmbəˈneɪʃən/

a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities

outburst noun US /ˈaʊtbɜːrst/

an unrestrained expression of emotion

From this reading “HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:”

scold verb US /skoʊld/

censure severely or angrily

From this reading “"Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.”

sex noun US /seks/

activities associated with sexual intercourse

thankfulness noun US /ˈθæŋkfəlnes/

warm friendly feelings of gratitude

From this reading “"My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."”

vices noun US /ˈvaɪsəz/

plural of “vice” — moral weakness

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

fully expected adverb + adjective

In this reading “HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:”

never expected adverb + adjective

In this reading “I have known women silly and vain; I have known women cruel and brainless; but such a combination of the qualities I never expected to meet in man; it makes me blush for the vices of my sex!"”

hear a word verb + article + noun counted as “hear … word”

In this reading “"My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."”

too full adverb + adjective

In this reading “"My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."”

FALL IN verb + particle

break down, literally or metaphorically

In this reading “HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:”

All words in this reading · 67

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading "Such a man!

AGAINadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

blushverbUS /blʌʃ/

turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame

From this reading I have known women silly and vain; I have known women cruel and brainless; but such a combination of the qualities I never expected to meet in man; it makes me blush for the vices of my sex!"

brainlessadjectiveUS /ˈbreɪnlɪs/

not using intelligence

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

coachverbUS /koʊtʃ/

teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

combinationnounUS /ˌkɑːmbəˈneɪʃən/

a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities

COMPANYnounUS /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

criedverbUS /kraɪd/

inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

crueladjectiveUS /ˈkruːəl/

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

dearadjectiveUS /dɪr/

dearly loved

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

Doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

expectedadjectiveUS /ɪkˈspektəd/

considered likely or probable to happen or arrive

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

FALLverbUS /fɔːl/

descend in free fall under the influence of gravity

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

fulladjectiveUS /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

fullyadverbUS /ˈfʊli/

to the greatest degree or extent; completely or entirely; (“full” in this sense is used as a combining form)

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

hearverbUS /hiːr/

perceive (sound) via the auditory sense

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

HOW

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

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

Jane

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

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

joyouslyadverb

in a joyous and gleeful manner

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

knownadjectiveUS /noʊn/

apprehended with certainty

LadynounUS /ˈleɪdi/

a polite name for any woman

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

makesnounUS /meɪks/

plural of “make” — a recognizable kind

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading "Such a man!

Margaret

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

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

meetverbUS /miːt/

come together

momentnounUS /ˈmoʊmənt/

a particular point in time

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

outburstnounUS /ˈaʊtbɜːrst/

an unrestrained expression of emotion

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

qualitiesnounUS /ˈkwɑːlətiz/

plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone

ROADnounUS /roʊd/

an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

scoldverbUS /skoʊld/

censure severely or angrily

From this reading "Do not scold him, dear, do not scold him!" cried Margaret, joyously.

sexnounUS /seks/

activities associated with sexual intercourse

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

sillyadjectiveUS /ˈsɪli/

ludicrous, foolish

SuchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading "Such a man!

TAKEverbUS /teɪk/

carry out

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

thankfulnessnounUS /ˈθæŋkfəlnes/

warm friendly feelings of gratitude

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

TOparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

vainadjectiveUS /veɪn/

characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance

vicesnounUS /ˈvaɪsəz/

plural of “vice” — moral weakness

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

WITHprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading HOW I TAKE TO THE ROAD AGAIN, AND OF THE COMPANY I FALL IN WITH I fully expected an outburst from Lady Jane the moment we were in the coach, but all she said was:

womennounUS /ˈwɪmən/

plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)

wordnounUS /wɜːrd/

a unit of language that native speakers can identify

From this reading "My heart is too full of thankfulness to hear a word against him."

Chapter 7 of The Span o' Life by William McLennan holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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.

What does chapter 7 of The Span o' Life contain?

Chapter 7 holds 161 sentences of The Span o' Life, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 7 of The Span o' Life by William McLennan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 7 of The Span o' Life?

Work through the 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 33 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 7 be read aloud to me?

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.

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Yes. All 4268 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33731 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #33731, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 355 minutes of reading across 854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Span o' Life

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Span o' Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Louisbourg: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Span o' Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Chapter VII

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