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The Rise of Silas Lapham
The Rise of Silas Lapham

Chapter XX

Cover illustration for The Rise of Silas Lapham
Context Illustration Reading 1/41 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.
Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.
She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."
"Why should Pen care what impression she made?
I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Rise of Silas Lapham

Chapter XX

Reading 1/41 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.
Line 2
Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.
Line 3
She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."
Line 4
"Why should Pen care what impression she made?
Line 5
I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Chilly adjective US /ˈtʃɪli/

unpleasantly cold

From this reading “Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.”

Suppose noun US /ˈsuppose/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."”

Whether conjunction US /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading “I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."”

All words in this reading · 48

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

absently

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

any

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

call

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

care

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

chillyadjectiveUS /ˈtʃɪli/

unpleasantly cold

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

Corey

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

Corey's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.

didn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

difference

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

don't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

head

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

impression

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

Lapham

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

liked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

made

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

Mrs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

Pen

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

Penelope's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.

reduced

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

rouse

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.

said

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

shook

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She only shook her head absently, and said, "I don't know."

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

supposenounUS /ˈsuppose/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

torpor

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

vehemence

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Penelope's vehemence did not rouse her.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

whetherconjunctionUS /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading Mrs. Lapham was still in the chilly torpor to which Mrs. Corey's call had reduced her.

Why

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Why should Pen care what impression she made?

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading I didn't suppose it would make any difference to her whether Mrs. Corey liked her or not."