Chapter 7 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Yes. But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.' As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near. Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand. 'Is that she?' he asked.
Chapter 7 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.”
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading “As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.”
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.”
death of a person
From this reading “But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'”
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading “But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'”
record on photographic film
From this reading “Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.”
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'”
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 But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading 'Is that she?' he asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
opinion or judgment
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
death of a person
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Is that she?' he asked.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
record on photographic film
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Is that she?' he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
be standing; be upright
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'Is that she?' he asked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Somers followed the direction of his glance to a photograph on a stand.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading As he spoke his eyes turned, and remained fixed on a table near.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading But I shall be at the island--looking at a dead woman's grave.'
an affirmative
From this reading 'Yes.
Chapter 7 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy holds 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 189 sentences of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3405 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3326 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3326, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 681 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament 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 Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
