Chapter 35 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXV
Chapter 35 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. DENNISON'S JOURNAL. How many years will this last? I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so. I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
Chapter 35 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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 special loved one
From this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading “I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.”
a state of misfortune or affliction
From this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “DENNISON'S JOURNAL.”
come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
From this reading “I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.”
inflected form of “pet” — stroke or caress gently
From this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
being ten more than sixty
From this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
a state of inactivity (in business or art etc)
From this reading “I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.”
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 “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
In this reading “How many years will this last?”
a man who is very old
In this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
In this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
In this reading “I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.”
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.
how long something has existed
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
a special loved one
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DENNISON'S JOURNAL.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
a state of misfortune or affliction
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How many years will this last?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading DENNISON'S JOURNAL.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
immediately past
From this reading How many years will this last?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading How many years will this last?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
not any; not one
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
inflected form of “pet” — stroke or caress gently
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
being ten more than sixty
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
a state of inactivity (in business or art etc)
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading How many years will this last?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I knew that he was seventy years of age, and thought it would be no great hardship to be petted as an old man's darling, for the few years that might follow.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading How many years will this last?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I did not expect that this dull stagnation of life would oppress me so.
a late time of life
From this reading How many years will this last?
Chapter 35 of Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 255 sentences, grouped into 51 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 35 holds 255 sentences of Wives and Widows, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 35 of Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 255 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 35 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 Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7751 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36374 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36374, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1551 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wives and Widows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Wives and Widows 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 Wives and Widows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
