Chapter 7 of The World of Chance is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The World of Chance is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Is he as homesick as ever?” Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone. “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly. “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up. He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
Chapter 7 of The World of Chance is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading ““Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading ““He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.”
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
longing to return home
From this reading ““Is he as homesick as ever?””
without good reason
From this reading ““Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.”
a span of 1000 years
From this reading ““He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.”
a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading “Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.”
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading ““Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.”
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.
belong to an earlier time
In this reading “He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.””
In this reading ““Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.”
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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.
any thing at all
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Is he as homesick as ever?”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
at any time
From this reading “Is he as homesick as ever?”
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
destroyed or killed
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Is he as homesick as ever?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
longing to return home
From this reading “Is he as homesick as ever?”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is he as homesick as ever?”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
without good reason
From this reading “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
a span of 1000 years
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “He hasn’t got father’s faith in the millennium to keep him up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
at the time that
From this reading Ray asked Mrs. Denton, when he was gone.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He would like to go back to-morrow, if there was anything to go back to.”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes; he’s worse,” she answered lightly.
Chapter 7 of The World of Chance by William Dean Howells holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The World of Chance, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The World of Chance by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 World of Chance by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5220 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66584 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66584, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 435 minutes of reading across 1044 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The World of Chance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The World of Chance 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 World of Chance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
