Chapter 23 of A Lively Bit of the Front is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of A Lively Bit of the Front is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station. He was puzzled greatly. He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all. He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell. Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
Chapter 23 of A Lively Bit of the Front is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
make a strident sound
From this reading “He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.”
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading “At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.”
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading “At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.”
filled with bewilderment
From this reading “He was puzzled greatly.”
the ability to recall past occurrences
From this reading “He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.”
freed from illness or injury
From this reading “At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.”
ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun
From this reading “He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.”
plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading “At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.”
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 “At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.”
In this reading “Somehow things didn't seem quite right.”
In this reading “He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.”
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 At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
make a strident sound
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
set up or found
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
to an extraordinary extent or degree
From this reading He was puzzled greatly.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
held up in the air
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
not any; not one
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
filled with bewilderment
From this reading He was puzzled greatly.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
the ability to recall past occurrences
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
freed from illness or injury
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means
From this reading Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had no recollection of being lifted by the blast of a shell.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Somehow things didn't seem quite right.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was puzzled greatly.
at the time that
From this reading At Düren Camp When he recovered consciousness Malcolm Carr found himself lying on a bundle of straw in an advance dressing-station.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading He could not imagine how he came there, or why he should be there at all.
Chapter 23 of A Lively Bit of the Front by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 23 holds 168 sentences of A Lively Bit of the Front, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of A Lively Bit of the Front by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 23 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 Lively Bit of the Front by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4302 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40073 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40073, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 358 minutes of reading across 861 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Lively Bit of the Front section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of A Lively Bit of the Front 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 Lively Bit of the Front, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
