Chapter 11 of A Singer from the Sea is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of A Singer from the Sea is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FATHERLY AND MOTHERLY. "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss." "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict." "Like as a father pitieth his children." "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."
Chapter 11 of A Singer from the Sea is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “"In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."”
like or befitting a father or fatherhood; kind and protective
From this reading “FATHERLY AND MOTHERLY.”
obtain
From this reading “"In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."”
superlative of “holy” — belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power
From this reading “"A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."”
impose something unpleasant
From this reading “"The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."”
befitting a mother; warm and nurturing
From this reading “FATHERLY AND MOTHERLY.”
the least favorable outcome
From this reading “"The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."”
plural of “wound” — an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading “"The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."”
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 “"The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."”
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 "Like as a father pitieth his children."
how long something has existed
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
possessing life
From this reading "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading FATHERLY AND MOTHERLY.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Like as a father pitieth his children."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading "Like as a father pitieth his children."
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Like as a father pitieth his children."
like or befitting a father or fatherhood; kind and protective
From this reading FATHERLY AND MOTHERLY.
obtain
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
usually; as a rule
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Like as a father pitieth his children."
superlative of “holy” — belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power
From this reading "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
impose something unpleasant
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Like as a father pitieth his children."
something that is lost
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."
befitting a mother; warm and nurturing
From this reading FATHERLY AND MOTHERLY.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
have ownership or possession of
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Like as a father pitieth his children."
not in physical motion
From this reading "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
a special situation
From this reading "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive."
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
the least favorable outcome
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
plural of “wound” — an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading "The worst wounds are those our own hands inflict."
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading "In youth change appears to be certain gain; Age knows that it is generally certain loss."
Chapter 11 of A Singer from the Sea by Amelia E. Barr holds 450 sentences, grouped into 90 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 11 holds 450 sentences of A Singer from the Sea, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of A Singer from the Sea by Amelia E. Barr exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 450 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 11 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 Singer from the Sea by Amelia E. Barr on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5674 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29909 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29909, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 472 minutes of reading across 1135 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Singer from the Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of A Singer from the Sea 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 Singer from the Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
