Chapter 7 of A Bicycle of Cathay is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of A Bicycle of Cathay is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard. There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian. "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him! I will not go any farther! Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
Chapter 7 of A Bicycle of Cathay is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"”
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.”
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading “ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.”
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading “I will not go any farther!”
a woman host
From this reading “"Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.”
a native or inhabitant of Italy
From this reading “There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I will not go any farther!
any thing at all
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
have
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
a city of southeastern Pennsylvania on the Delaware river (an industrial suburb of Philadelphia)
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading I will not go any farther!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I will not go any farther!
destroyed or killed
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
a woman host
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
a native or inhabitant of Italy
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
not any; not one
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I will not go any farther!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will not go any farther!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
Chapter 7 of A Bicycle of Cathay by Frank R. Stockton holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 7 holds 164 sentences of A Bicycle of Cathay, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of A Bicycle of Cathay by Frank R. Stockton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 7 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.
