Chapter 38 of What Will People Say? A Novel is here in full — 380 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of What Will People Say? A Novel is here in full — 380 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness. She fell into reverie of indefinite duration. The bell rang. She gave a start of joy. Crofts went by on his way to the door.
Chapter 38 of What Will People Say? A Novel is here in full — 380 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
expected hopefully
From this reading “Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.”
plural of “croft” — a small farm worked by a crofter
From this reading “Crofts went by on his way to the door.”
the period of time during which something continues
From this reading “She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading “Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.”
vague or not clearly defined or stated
From this reading “She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.”
the quality of being ceaselessly moving or active
From this reading “Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.”
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading “She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.”
the sound of light blow or knock
From this reading “Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.”
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 “She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.”
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 She gave a start of joy.
expected hopefully
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading The bell rang.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
plural of “croft” — a small farm worked by a crofter
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
the act of departing
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
the period of time during which something continues
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading She gave a start of joy.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
vague or not clearly defined or stated
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading She gave a start of joy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading The bell rang.
the quality of being ceaselessly moving or active
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She fell into reverie of indefinite duration.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She gave a start of joy.
the sound of light blow or knock
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The bell rang.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Crofts went by on his way to the door.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Persis awaited his departure impatiently, tapping her foot with restlessness.
Chapter 38 of What Will People Say? A Novel by Rupert Hughes holds 380 sentences, grouped into 76 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 38 holds 380 sentences of What Will People Say? A Novel, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of What Will People Say? A Novel by Rupert Hughes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 380 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 38 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 What Will People Say? A Novel by Rupert Hughes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11173 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38311 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38311, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2235 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through What Will People Say? A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of What Will People Say? A Novel 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 What Will People Say? A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
