Chapter 17 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST. He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf. Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it. “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you! You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
Chapter 17 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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 very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.”
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.”
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading ““No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!”
a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
From this reading “You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?”
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading “Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.”
a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
From this reading “He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.”
past form of “snatch” — to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading “Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.”
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.”
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.
(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 You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
Having no one else present.
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
eat an early morning meal
From this reading THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
take in solid food
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
not any; not one
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
past form of “snatch” — to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Tommy sprang from his lair and snatched at it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BABY HAS HER BREAKFAST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He waked Tommy, and showed him the loaf.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
in the company of; together with
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading You would eat it all; and if I died of hunger, what would become of baby, left alone with you?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “No, Tommy,” said Clare, drawing back, “I can’t trust you!
Chapter 17 of A Rough Shaking by George MacDonald holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 17 holds 151 sentences of A Rough Shaking, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of A Rough Shaking by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 17 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 Rough Shaking by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6421 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8886 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8886, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 535 minutes of reading across 1285 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Rough Shaking section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Rough Shaking 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 Rough Shaking, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
