Chapter 30 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Swithin pointed up the stairs. The man grinned, and shook his head. “I want to go up,” said Swithin. The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs. The rooms were empty.
Chapter 30 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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 person who makes or repairs shoes
From this reading “The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “The man grinned, and shook his head.”
having a point
From this reading “Swithin pointed up the stairs.”
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading “The rooms were empty.”
done under pressure
From this reading “The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.”
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading “The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “Swithin pointed up the stairs.”
on a floor above
From this reading “The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The man grinned, and shook his head.
a person who makes or repairs shoes
From this reading The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading The rooms were empty.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “I want to go up,” said Swithin.
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading The man grinned, and shook his head.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The man grinned, and shook his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The man grinned, and shook his head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I want to go up,” said Swithin.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man grinned, and shook his head.
having a point
From this reading Swithin pointed up the stairs.
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading The rooms were empty.
done under pressure
From this reading The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I want to go up,” said Swithin.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The man grinned, and shook his head.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Swithin pointed up the stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Swithin pointed up the stairs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Swithin pointed up the stairs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I want to go up,” said Swithin.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Swithin pointed up the stairs.
on a floor above
From this reading The cobbler shrugged his shoulders, and Swithin rushed upstairs.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “I want to go up,” said Swithin.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The rooms were empty.
Chapter 30 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy holds 225 sentences, grouped into 45 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 30 holds 225 sentences of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 30 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 Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7123 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2639 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2639, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 593 minutes of reading across 1425 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Villa Rubein, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories 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 Villa Rubein, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
