Chapter 39 of The Trufflers: A Story is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Trufflers: A Story is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
|THEY wandered into the crowded lobby. Friends were there from Greenwich Village. There was a high buzz of excitement. Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom. Peter had spared them.
Chapter 39 of The Trufflers: A Story is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
the feeling of being bored by something tedious
From this reading “Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.”
make a buzzing sound
From this reading “There was a high buzz of excitement.”
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading “Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.”
a borough of Greater London on the Thames; zero degrees of longitude runs through Greenwich; time is measured relative to Greenwich Mean Time
From this reading “Friends were there from Greenwich Village.”
exhausted
From this reading “Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.”
a large entrance or reception room or area
From this reading “|THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.”
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading “Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.”
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “|THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.”
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 “|THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.”
In this reading “There was a high buzz of excitement.”
In this reading “Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.”
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 There was a high buzz of excitement.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
the feeling of being bored by something tedious
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
make a buzzing sound
From this reading There was a high buzz of excitement.
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading |THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading There was a high buzz of excitement.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Friends were there from Greenwich Village.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Friends were there from Greenwich Village.
a borough of Greater London on the Thames; zero degrees of longitude runs through Greenwich; time is measured relative to Greenwich Mean Time
From this reading Friends were there from Greenwich Village.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Peter had spared them.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading There was a high buzz of excitement.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading |THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
exhausted
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
a large entrance or reception room or area
From this reading |THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a high buzz of excitement.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading Peter had spared them.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading |THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Peter had spared them.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Friends were there from Greenwich Village.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading |THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading Friends were there from Greenwich Village.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading |THEY wandered into the crowded lobby.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a high buzz of excitement.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Friends were there from Greenwich Village.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Jaded critics were smiling with pleasure; it was a relief, now and then, to be spared boredom.
Chapter 39 of The Trufflers: A Story by Samuel Merwin holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 39 holds 139 sentences of The Trufflers: A Story, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Trufflers: A Story by Samuel Merwin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 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.
Common questions about reading The Trufflers: A Story by Samuel Merwin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7537 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51985 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51985, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1508 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Trufflers: A Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Trufflers: A Story 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 Trufflers: A Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
