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A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance
A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Bertram Mitford • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance
Context Illustration Reading 1/83 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.
By one of these Mona was standing.
She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.
All was over.
What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.
Line 2
By one of these Mona was standing.
/baɪ wʌn ʌv ðiːz ˈmoʊnə wɑːz ˈstændɪŋ/
Line 3
She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.
Line 4
All was over.
/ɔːl wɑːz ˈoʊvər/
Line 5
What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.
/wʌt hɜːr ˈkaʊntənəns ɪkˈsprest ɪt wʊd hæv bɪn ˈdɪfəkəlt tuː dɪˈfaɪn/

Learner Dictionary

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.

bees noun US /biːz/

plural of “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species

From this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cicada noun US /səˈkeɪdə/

stout-bodied insect with large membranous wings; male has drum-like organs for producing a high-pitched drone

From this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cloudless adjective US /ˈklaʊdləs/

free from clouds

From this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
define verb US /dɪˈfaɪn/

determine the essential quality of

From this reading “What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hum verb US /hʌm/

sing with closed lips

From this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Mona noun US /ˈmoʊnə/

an island to the northwest of Wales

From this reading “By one of these Mona was standing.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
scent noun US /sɛnt/

A distinctive smell or aroma.

From this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

Velmora curated lexicon
wafted verb US /ˈwɑːftɪd/

past form of “waft” — be driven or carried along, as by the air

From this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

open windows verb + noun

In this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

1,827 times in 225,867 chapters
hum of verb + particle

In this reading “It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.”

4,358 times in 225,867 chapters
with an effort preposition + article + noun counted as “with … effort”

In this reading “She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.”

5,836 times in 225,867 chapters

All words in this reading · 51

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AlladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 All was over.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beesnounUS /biːz/

plural of “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ByprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading By one of these Mona was standing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
chirrupnoun

a series of chirps

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cicadanounUS /səˈkeɪdə/

stout-bodied insect with large membranous wings; male has drum-like organs for producing a high-pitched drone

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cloudlessadjectiveUS /ˈklaʊdləs/

free from clouds

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
constrainedlyadverb

in a constrained manner

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cooladjectiveUS /kuːl/

neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
countenancenounUS /ˈkaʊntənəns/

the appearance conveyed by a person's face

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
defineverbUS /dɪˈfaɪn/

determine the essential quality of

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
difficultadjectiveUS /ˈdɪfəkəlt/

not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
effortnounUS /ˈefərt/

earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
expressedadjectiveUS /ɪkˈsprest/

communicated in words

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
flowersnounUS /ˈflaʊərz/

plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
half-darkened

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Pending verification
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
humverbUS /hʌm/

sing with closed lips

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
jerkilyadverb

with spasms

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lovelyadjectiveUS /ˈlʌvli/

appealing to the emotions as well as the eye

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
metverbUS /met/

inflected form of “meet” — come together

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
MonanounUS /ˈmoʊnə/

an island to the northwest of Wales

From this reading By one of these Mona was standing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
morningnounUS /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

the time period between dawn and noon

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading By one of these Mona was standing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora curated lexicon
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading All was over.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
scentnounUS /sɛnt/

A distinctive smell or aroma.

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora curated lexicon
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
sitting-room

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Pending verification
standingadjectiveUS /ˈstændɪŋ/

having a supporting base

From this reading By one of these Mona was standing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading By one of these Mona was standing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading She turned, as with an effort, jerkily, constrainedly, and her eyes met his.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
waftedverbUS /ˈwɑːftɪd/

past form of “waft” — be driven or carried along, as by the air

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
windowsnounUS /ˈwɪndoʊz/

(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading It was a lovely, cloudless morning, and the scent of flowers with the hum of bees and the chirrup of the cicada wafted in at the open windows of the cool, half-darkened sitting-room.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading What her countenance expressed it would have been difficult to define.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 11 of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance by Bertram Mitford holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

What does chapter 11 of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance contain?

Chapter 11 holds 415 sentences of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 11 of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance by Bertram Mitford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

How do I study chapter 11 of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance?

Work through the 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 83 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.

Can chapter 11 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance

Common questions about reading A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance by Bertram Mitford on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance?

Yes. All 5405 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32922 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #32922, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance take to read?

About 450 minutes of reading across 1081 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance section by section

How to work through A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

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  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance

Words and structures a reader meets early in A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Veldt
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Official
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Bertram
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mitford
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Veldt Official: A Novel of Circumstance; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.