Chapter 31 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel. His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity. “Why, it's you!” he mumbled. “So you've got here safe?” “Safe?” growled Swithin.
Chapter 31 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
quick to understand
From this reading “His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.”
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading “His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.”
inflected form of “ferry” — transport from one place to another
From this reading “XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.”
a low flat-bottomed freight car with fixed sides but no roof
From this reading “XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.”
past form of “growl” — to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
From this reading ““Safe?” growled Swithin.”
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.”
past form of “mumble” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading ““Why, it's you!” he mumbled.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.”
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 XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
quick to understand
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
inflected form of “ferry” — transport from one place to another
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
a low flat-bottomed freight car with fixed sides but no roof
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “So you've got here safe?”
past form of “growl” — to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
From this reading “Safe?” growled Swithin.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Why, it's you!” he mumbled.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “So you've got here safe?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Why, it's you!” he mumbled.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
past form of “mumble” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “Why, it's you!” he mumbled.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “So you've got here safe?”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “So you've got here safe?”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
in the direction of
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
tired by travel
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
which person or people
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why, it's you!” he mumbled.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His brother, who was on the steps, looked at him with an apprehensive curiosity.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading XII Towards evening, five days later, Swithin, yellow and travel-worn, was ferried in a gondola to Danielli's Hotel.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Why, it's you!” he mumbled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “So you've got here safe?”
Chapter 31 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy holds 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 31 holds 204 sentences of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 31 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.
