Chapter 5 of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
XX Crammon desired a friend. The one who was lost could never be replaced. The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill. To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating. Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
Chapter 5 of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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 chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.”
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading “The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.”
an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
From this reading “Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.”
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading “The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.”
set up for use
From this reading “To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.”
past form of “replace” — substitute a person or thing for (another that is broken or inefficient or lost or no longer working or yielding what is expected)
From this reading “The one who was lost could never be replaced.”
rousing or quickening activity or the senses
From this reading “To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.”
having won
From this reading “The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.”
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 “The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.”
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 XX Crammon desired a friend.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
an assertion of a right (as to money or property)
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading XX Crammon desired a friend.
wanted intensely
From this reading XX Crammon desired a friend.
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading XX Crammon desired a friend.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
set up for use
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
a tenant in someone's house
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
past form of “replace” — substitute a person or thing for (another that is broken or inefficient or lost or no longer working or yielding what is expected)
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
not in physical motion
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
rousing or quickening activity or the senses
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
in or at that place or location
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Franz Lothar von Westernach had the first claim upon the place.
which person or people
From this reading The one who was lost could never be replaced.
having won
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading The hope of winning him back still smouldered within, but the empty space in his bosom was desolate and chill.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading To install a lodger there seemed wise and would be stimulating.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading XX Crammon desired a friend.
Chapter 5 of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth by Jakob Wassermann holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 5 holds 416 sentences of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth by Jakob Wassermann exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 5 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's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth by Jakob Wassermann on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10248 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57847 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57847, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2050 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The World's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth 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's Illusion, Volume 2 (of 2): Ruth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
