Chapter 10 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book. It appeared the acme of desire. To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it! I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained. I almost took that first book to bed with me.
Chapter 10 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
From this reading “It appeared the acme of desire.”
achieved or reached
From this reading “I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.”
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading “ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.”
provide with a covering or cause to be covered
From this reading “To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!”
superlative of “grand” — of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading “ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.”
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading “I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.”
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.”
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 “ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.”
In this reading “ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.”
In this reading “ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.”
In this reading “I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.”
In this reading “I almost took that first book to bed with me.”
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 ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
From this reading It appeared the acme of desire.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading I almost took that first book to bed with me.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It appeared the acme of desire.
achieved or reached
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading I almost took that first book to bed with me.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
provide with a covering or cause to be covered
From this reading To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading It appeared the acme of desire.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I almost took that first book to bed with me.
superlative of “grand” — of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It appeared the acme of desire.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I almost took that first book to bed with me.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
on one occasion
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading To see one’s name on a cover, oh, the joy of it!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
a special situation
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading I almost took that first book to bed with me.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
at the time that
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading I trembled with fear and pride when that wondrous end was attained.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
produce a literary work
From this reading ON THE MAKING OF BOOKS Once I thought the grandest thing in the world would be to write a book.
Chapter 10 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life by Mrs. (Ethel) Alec-Tweedie holds 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 10 holds 160 sentences of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life by Mrs. (Ethel) Alec-Tweedie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 10 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 Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life by Mrs. (Ethel) Alec-Tweedie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6278 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55263 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55263, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 523 minutes of reading across 1256 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life 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 Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
