Chapter 6 of A Bicycle of Cathay is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of A Bicycle of Cathay is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again. Why should she? Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices. I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
Chapter 6 of A Bicycle of Cathay is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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 city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading “CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.”
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.”
no person; not anyone
From this reading “Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading “CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.”
push for something
From this reading “I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.”
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading “CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.”
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.”
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 CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
anew
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
not any; not one
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
no person; not anyone
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
push for something
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Why should she?
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I might certainly recommend this inn as a quiet place.
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
during the time that
From this reading CHESTER IS TROUBLED I sat on that porch a good while, but she did not come out again.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why should she?
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading Nobody came out, and within I could hear no sound of voices.
Chapter 6 of A Bicycle of Cathay by Frank R. Stockton holds 253 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 6 holds 253 sentences of A Bicycle of Cathay, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of A Bicycle of Cathay by Frank R. Stockton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 253 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 6 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 A Bicycle of Cathay by Frank R. Stockton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2857 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12334 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12334, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 238 minutes of reading across 572 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Bicycle of Cathay section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of A Bicycle of Cathay 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 A Bicycle of Cathay, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
